2002 Jeep Liberty: jerking or lurching

Filed Jun 22, 2017 · Engine · 173,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 jeep liberty. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk forward independently without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the valve seals failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic who diagnosed that the motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Jan 31, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · 59,850 miles · AZ

I was driving on the highway with cruise control on doing about 60 MPH when suddenly the jeep liberty started jerking and the RPM needle arm and the speedometer arm started going crazy up and down. The liberty started to slow down so I had to press on the gas pedal to maintain speed. The speedometer quit working and so did the cruise control , the auto door locks also quit working. The motor also started to die whenever I slowed down or come to a stop at a stop sign or red lights. Where its dangerous is when I am slowing down to make a turn and going in to it or half way in to it the motor dies and I lose the power steering. It takes alot of strength to complete the turn safely. I took the liberty to a repair shop where they hooked it to a analyze machine. It said the speed sensor was bad, I had it replaced but it didn't fix anything. I took it to the dealer where I bought it, they told me it could be hundreds of dollars just to try to find out what is wrong with it. Recently I checked in the internet and saw that there are hundreds of other 2002 jeep liberty owners having the same problem. Speedometer quits working, motor died when you slowdown, and replacing the speed sensor doesn't fix anything. Its dangerous because you can crash when making a turn and the motor dies and you lose your steering. I know I have had some close calls. I hope you will check in to this problem. Just check in the internet and you will see alot of people have it with there 2002 jeep libertys. Thank you for your time.

Filed Nov 5, 2014 · Engine · 211,000 miles · MS

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 jeep liberty. The contact stated that when accelerating, the vehicle jerked forward as the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the co2 filter needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 211,000.

Filed Apr 3, 2013 · Suspension, Wheels · IL · 2 injuries

I just got off of the highway and was heading to the gas station. Made the right turn and the vehicle on the right side jerked to the ground and hit hard. Put it in park and got out of the vehicle and checked the tires to see if one was blown. Noticed fender above front passenger side tire was off and my ball joint arm was on the ground. The lower ball joint came completely off. It was not rusted and was well lubricated. Had to pay for a tow to haul it to my parents house. I need to know if chrysler is going to repair my vehicle.

Filed Aug 10, 2011 · Engine · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 jeep liberty. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would violently jerk and the engine would make a knocking sound. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure the first two times it was taken in. When the vehicle was taken in for a third time, the dealer stated that the engine was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired.the failure mileage was unknown and current mileage was 71,996.

Filed Jul 12, 2011 · Suspension · 102,000 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 jeep liberty. The contact stated that the front driver side tire felt felt abnormal and the vehicle begin jerking violently. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop who diagnosed that the front control arm and the driver side upper bolt joint assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 102,000.

Filed Sep 8, 2008 · Suspension · 88,620 miles · CT

On 09/08/2008, the vehicle(2002 jeep liberty sport), was being driven at a slow rate of speed approximately 5mph exiting right out of a parking lot. It was at this time the drive of the vehicle heard a loud pop or cracking noise. The vehicle jerked forward and then came to a stop at which time the driver struggled to move the vehicle to the side of the road out of traffic. The driver then exited the vehicle and discovered the tire was folded under the vehicle. The driver noticed a broken part that was later determined to be the upper ball joint. Had this incident occurred at a higher rate of speed maintaining vehicle control would have been impossible causing injury to the driver or to other motorists. It should be noted this vehicle received a recall for a similar part in 11/2006, the lower ball joint. This recall and all other recalls had been completed according to jeep records. The owner is currently awaiting an estimate for repair.

Filed Apr 28, 2008 · Suspension · 70,000 miles · KY · crash

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 jeep liberty. The vehicle was included in two previous recalls regarding the lower ball joints. While driving between 30-35 MPH, the contact suddenly lost control of the vehicle. It jerked to the left into oncoming traffic and crashed. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and it appeared that the upper ball joints snapped out of place, causing the loss of control. The vehicle was destroyed and a police report was filed. The failure mileage was 70,000.

Filed Apr 22, 2008 · Steering · 35 miles · KY

2002 jeep liberty: since purchase at 6k miles and 6 months old the vehicle has had major issues and I feel unsafe driving it but cannot get a new car at this time. Tow bills topping $1000 since purchase in 2003. Between 2003-2004 the jeep was at the dealer several times due to internal grinding, difficulty steering which increased when braking, and felt like it was in 4high all the time. Took to dealership but they could not figure out issue. Fiance was driving & we heard loud bang vehicle started jerking & making a grinding noise, then we spun into a median and came to a stop not hitting anything luckily. Turned off and back on and seemed to work fine. It broke down again in lexington, ky during rush hour traffic about 2 days after the dealer told me the problem was in the anti lock braking system. We lost all gears and started rolling backwards at a redlight almost hitting a car until I pulled up emergency brake. It had to be towed to dealer. Transfer case had cracked and exploded at less than 30k miles. Dealer replaced under warranty with refurbished parts. Has broken down several times with sensor issues & battery problems. Has been towed at least 3 times when sensor problem was not properly fixed at dealer and overlooked as the problem. Entire time I have owned my jeep the steering wheel has had a major shaking and rattling action which increases when applying brakes due to recall on ball joints & issues with steering column according to dealership when asked why it will not drive & brake smoothly. After fixing recall jeep worked fine for about 3 months then goes back to previous issues again. Ball joint issue causes much difficulty in steering and braking properly and makes me feel unsafe & uncomfortable driving it. I feel as though the ball joint issue prior to & after recall repair has still not been fixed and seems to worsening.

Filed Oct 10, 2007 · Brakes · 34,000 miles · MA

When braking, left brake sticks and jerks vehicle to the left. Extremely dangerous at highway speeds. Almost causing several accidents. Brakes have been serviced several times. Replacing rotors, and pads at dealership. Condition lessens after being serviced but continually worsens over time.

Filed Aug 22, 2006 · Suspension · 34,000 miles · GA

There had been some occasional front end squeaking but not enough to take notice. Several weeks ago I was informed by my mother that certain jeeps had been recalled. We went to jeep's website put in the VIN as the page requested and were unable to find a record. One saturday morning I called a local jeep dealership to ask if I could bring it in and have them check it. The dealership said that it would not do any good because jeep had not released any information about the recall and that I would have to wait until early september and a letter would be sent advising of the recall. Sunday, august 20, 2006 I was taking our daughter to work and heard an awful thud and the jeep lurched to a stop. I had to leave it in the middle of the street and use our other vehicle to take our daughter to work. When I arrived home, my partner told me that she contacted her brother and he said it sounded like it was the ball joint. I tried to move it and the ball joint broke and damaged the tire and the grey material over the tire. I contacted jeep's headquarter as well as a local dealership and it was at that time that we were informed that this vehicle had been recalled and repaired in march of 2004 (it was a ball join issue at that time as well). This was not reflected on our carfax report.

Filed Jun 13, 2006 · Suspension · 57,796 miles · MO

1. I had driven the vehicle all day prior to the incident without any noticeable irregularities. On the morning of the failure, monday, june 12th, 2006, I had just started the morning commute to the babysitters with my 1-year-old daughter and had been on the highway for about a mile driving between 55 and 65 MPH when the failure occurred. 2. The failure was initially thought to be a flat tire (front driver side), although I had never experienced a flat tire that slowed a vehicle so fast and jerked the car so suddenly. I honestly feared that the vehicle might flip or roll over, and seeing other cars nearby in my rearview mirror, the safety of myself, my daughter, and other drivers was my initial concern. I can only imagine how bad this might have turned out in the winter on a snowy surface or even just a rain soaked surface. Once I got the vehicle slowed down and onto the shoulder, I attempted to change the destroyed tire. It wasn't until after getting all of the lug nuts off of the wheel that I realized there was a bigger problem. The wheel would not budge. 3. I called a tow truck and had the vehicle towed to the nearest local tire store (tires plus). That is when they diagnosed the broken left lower ball joint which had separated and became lodged into the wheel and destroyed the wheel. I had tires plus replace the ball joint, order a new (conditioned) wheel, and replace the tire. Later they discovered that the lower right ball joint was loose/had movement and advised me to have it replaced along with a second new tire as well. I am assuming this steering/suspension issue caused excessive wear to the two front tires. I authorized the repairs and am now out a little over $1200. Internet research today LED me to many incidents involving jeep liberty lower ball joint failures and an ongoing investigation. No help/consolation/reimbursement was obtained on the phone with daimler chrysler. They basically said "sorry, there's nothing we can do".