2003 Jeep Liberty: loss of power steering

Filed Mar 11, 2026 · Steering, Suspension · 160,000 miles · NY

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, the steering wheel was difficult to turn due to a loss of power steering assist. There was a grinding sound while turning the steering wheel. The sound was loud enough to hear outside of the vehicle. There was an unknown orange warning light displayed briefly. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact found information online related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 09V119000 (Suspension); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Filed May 17, 2018 · Steering, Suspension · 110,000 miles · FL

Took my liberty to my mechanic because it started making a horrible sound up front when ever I made a turn. Upon inspection my lower ball joints had disintegrated, crumbled into their hands. They could not believe how lucky I was that it did not break while driven. Nothing was holding it in or together. Come to find out there are recalls on both the upper and lower ball joints. I was never notified. I have had the lowers fixed and paid for with lifetime warranted parts. I need reimbursed for the lower $488.27. The upper ball joints also must be fixed on a separate recall that I was never notified of. Do these people have any idea how bloody and devastated an accident would be when your wheel shears off and there is no steering? It's called flipping the fringing jeep over!!! Not only is it unacceptable that I wasn't notified but I could have killed my father and others in an accident. My mechanic told me straight up if I had gone over a bump or turned I would have wreaked! I can not believe that there are other people that have had accidents with more damage or a full total of theirs and others are not being reimbursed for the entire damages. Thi fixed wrong the first time by the dealer, before their wreak. How is that not their responsibility? There is no excuse for any of those jeeps or mine not being fixed. These are straight up recalls something is wrong with this, really wrong.

Filed Aug 1, 2013 · Suspension · FL

Wondering why florida is not in the group since it is surrounded by salt water on 3 sides: the upper and lower ball joints are bad: 2003 jeep liberty front control arm recalls recall number: 09v119000 owner notification date: april 12, 2010 record creation date: april 9, 2009 defect description: chrysler is recalling 42,469 my 2002-2003 jeep liberty vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in salt belt states of connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, kentucky, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virginia , wisconsin and the district of columbia. The front suspension upper control arm ball joint may experience a loss of lubrication which could lead to corrosion, accelerated wear, and possible separation while driving. Defect consequence: failure of the ball joint could result in a loss of steering capability, increasing the risk of a crash. Corrective action: dealers will replace the front upper control arm assemblies free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or about april 24, 2010. Owners may contact chrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.

Filed Mar 30, 2013 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 120,000 miles · FL

I was leaving from work going about 45 MPH, I smelled electrical components burning,before I could pull the jeep over to the side of the road it shut off unexpectedly leaving me with no power steering and no power brakes,I nearly lost control of the jeep,by the time I got to the side of the road the smoke had filled the cabin,the smoke was coming from front drivers side dash. Now I have no headlights,wipers,door locks, radio,alarm,int lights,speedometer,engine light is now on. Mechanic investigated and found that the bcm has a large burn hole in it the size of a silver dollar,I was very glad that my daughter was not in the jeep with me that day,,

Filed Jun 27, 2012 · Body, Suspension · 66,000 miles · NJ

At only 66,000 miles original owner directly from a 4-year corporate lease, a large corrosion/rust hole through bottom of passenger side body frame rail has been discovered, where lower control arm meets the frame rail. Breakage of the rear frame rail is pending due to rust hole, would likely cause a spontaneous loss of steering, injury or death. Jeep is too dangerous to drive. Must spend $2,000 to try to replace frame rail. Contacted chrysler but they would not fix due to year of vehicle, corrosion recalls are 2004-2007. The entire underside of vehicle is rusted and only a matter of time before all other components rust through including suspension and brake lines as well as lesser parts already going like rear window currently rusted shut and engine parts with corrosion beginning. I live in nj which is included in the "salt belt" -states that use salts to de-ice roadways in winter, so the recall on my would not affect my vehicle regardless of it's year. It is my opinion that there is a major corrosion/rust issue in the earlier jeep liberty models which makes these vehicles very dangerous to drive. Buyers beware especially in the northeast. Have a thorough inspection for rust before buying any used jeep liberty.

Filed Dec 22, 2010 · Engine · 38,000 miles · NY

I was driving on the highway (rt17) heading north, doing about 55 and got off at exit 120 or 121 and as I was driving down the ramp at about 35 MPH during rush hour my car just came to a halt. I heard a ding ding, noticed I had no power steering or power brakes and coasted to the side of the ramp. It went from riding with no problems to just dead. I can't even begin to think what would have happened if I was riding in the passing lane or the middle lane of rt. 17 in middletown, ny. I probably would be dead. My son was with me also. I had to have the car towed home and my husband looked at it and told me that the spring had broken and come off and the rocker arm and two clips. We still don't know how much damage has been done to the engine. Apparently, and this is from a jeep mechanic. In both the 3.7 and 4.7 engines, the valve seats are steel and the cylinder heads are aluminum and the two metals contract differently and when they do the valve seats fall out of the head. I have seen this problem listed on the internet by so many people that it's unfair that jeep can do this to people. I bought this car with an inheritance , I don't have thousands of dollars to fix it. I have bought the rocker arm, the spring and the clips but still at this time need a rocker arm installer. This car has been kept up on all fluids and changes.

Filed Jun 13, 2010 · Engine · 60,000 miles · OH

My daughter was driving her 2003 jeep liberty on an interstate in a congested area when it began to shake and died, losing power steering and brakes. She was somehow able to pull over in heavy traffic without having an accident. It was discovered that it was a broken valve spring for an intake valve, similar to many other complaints for jeep libertys. This liberty only has about 60k miles and valve springs should be able to last 150k+ miles. This appears to be a relatively common occurrence for this vehicle and it should be unacceptable for an engine with this low mileage to have valve springs break. An engine failure at high speeds could result in tragedy and property loss.

Filed Oct 5, 2009 · Suspension · 68,289 miles · OH

Drove into a driveway with a bump up of about 6 inches, and suffered a catastrophic failure of the right hand upper ball joint causing loss of steering control, in my 2003 jeep liberty limited. Recall work for lower ball joints was completed june 28, 2007. Upon inspection, upper ball joint had lost all lubrication (seals/bushings rotted) and joint was severely pitted and rusted. I pulled the ball joint and am attempting to replace it. However, local chrysler dealer only sells the entire upper control arm (incl. Bushings and ball joint) at $215 per side.

Filed Mar 30, 2008 · Suspension · 154,195 miles · OH

While driving my 2003 jeep liberty the front passenger wheel snapped off. The date was 3/9/08. I was turning a corner and felt a sharp snap and the front end dove toward the ground. I had the vehicle towed and it was repaired at a cost of approx $400 plus $60 for towing. The description on the repair bill is "ball joint came out of upper control arm. Replaced rt front upper control arm assembly." I tried calling jeep's corporate office (3/14/08 at 10:45am) per the dealer recommendation. The corporate person said it was out of warranty, she very rude and refused to do anything to assist. When I asked to speak to the person's supervisor she refused saying they she was authorized to make these decisions. My greatest fear is that if I was on my normal daily commute of 70 miles on the freeway and the wheel snapped off, then I probably would not be typing this message today. The car would have easily flipped. I have the old part and it is available for review. I wish jeep corporation was more responsible to recognize the seriousness of this failure. Of note, is that there was a recall on the vehicle in 2006 for the ball joints causing loss of steering control. I had that repair completed in 2006. However it certainly did not prevent me from losing control of the vehicle during this incident.

Filed Aug 20, 2007 · Engine · NC

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep liberty. While driving at speeds between 5-60 MPH the engine would stall. The check engine and oil warning indicator lights illuminated. There was a loss of power steering and brakes. The vehicle would restart but would stall again unless the gas and brake were applied at the same time. The dealer replaced the speed sensor but the failure continued. The current mileage was 86,000. The failure mileage, VIN, engine size and cylinders were unknown.

Filed Aug 2, 2007 · Suspension · AL

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep liberty. The dealer stated that the front lower ball joints could damage the front suspension and cause a loss of steering. There had been no failure to date. The current mileage was 66,139.

Filed Jan 23, 2007 · Suspension · PR

Safety record f23-lower ball joints. I notified the local dealer on nov 28, 2006 about the letter. They told me in a week they received would the parts. I've called several times without any results. At this date january 23 2007 my jeep has not been fixed. The problem is water may enter into the lower ball joints on my jeep this can cause the ball joint to corrode and separate .ball joint separation can result in loss of steering control and cause a crash without prior warning. I appreciate any help on this matter. Thank you.