The car was inspected for ball joint problems (recall) @ 20,000 miles, the dealer said all was good and the work order states that the recall was performed. At 56,000 miles I was leaving turning around in my neighbors driveway when the lower ball joint on the passenger side broke, totally separated. There was no little warning before the joint broke. When the joint broke the suspension gouged the inside of the rim deeply. The car was towed to the dealer. I have yet to speak to them (this just happened and they are closed); however, I anticipate collateral damage to other suspension/steering components as well.
2003 Jeep Liberty suspension complaints
Page 14 of 16: complaints 371 to 400 of 437, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Lower ball joint failure - 2003 jeep liberty the lower ball joint recall was performed on the 2003 jeep liberty at approximately 11,000 miles. At 39,000 miles the lower ball joints where reported to need replacement by a local mechanic during routine maintenance. The jeep was then taken to a chrysler dealership who conferred the lower ball joints need to be replaced. Since the 3/36,000 mile warranty had expired the dealership contacted chrysler for approval to re-open the recall and replace the ball joint. Chrysler denied the claim to re-open the recall and replace the ball joints. The ball joints where then replaced at approximately 40,000 miles by a private mechanic which resulted in out of pocket expenses on a recalled item.
Upper and lower ball joints have gone bad after only 31k miles on jeep liberty. I talked to the service manager at outten jeep and he informed me it was not covered. I feel this is a danagerous and premature failure of this part and should be covered by warrentiejust for safety alone I.
Dt*: the contact stated while turning the steering wheel at various speeds there was a grinding noise in the front end. The dealership determined both front lower ball joints needed to be replaced. There was the federal safety agency recall # 03v460000 regarding the lower ball joint. However, the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. Updated 05/30/06.
2003 liberty sport- lower ball joints were replaced due to recall notice. I took the vehicle to a dealer at 24,000 miles with a complaint of ball joint wear. The dealer improperly inspected the ball joints for wear and said there is no wear and they are within spec. Also, at the same time inspected the vehicle and passed it. Approximately 5000 miles later, after several inspections of the ball joints by myself in the way they specified resulting in no play, the lower ball joint failed and separated. The vehicle crashed to the ground grinding the cv shaft into the ground. The vehicle was towed from the travel lane to the nearest garage. I am looking for input on what my next step should be. I have since called several dodge/jeep dealers and inquired about the procedure to inspect the ball joints and each do it incorrectly. One technician offer to look it up in the jeep liberty service manual and explained the proper way to me. Sounds like gross negligence to me....
2003 jeep liberty, 34k miles (never off-road), left front lower ball joint failure. Failure @ 20 MPH. No injury but lucky not faster speed. Kids in back scared. Rim split, tire blown. Wrecker to return to dealership. Two associates with similar model (early 2003 liberty) have now had joints checked last week and both needed rt. & lt. Lower ball joints replaced. Potentially catastrophic defect!!
Ball joint failure on left front end. Wheel separated when exiting parking lot. Towed to dealer for repairs. My 2003 liberty was not part of the recall group.
2003 jeep liberty left front ball joint failure.
The car was inspected for ball joint problems (recall) @ 18,000 miles, the dealer said all was good. At 63,000 miles I was leaving a stop sign when the lower ball joint on the passenger side broke, totally separated. There was little warning before the joint broke. The car from time to time would feel odd (pulling to one side) slightly but this was intermittent. I never imagined that a ball joint was about to fail. When the joint broke the suspension gouged the inside of the rim deeply and bent the drive shaft against the suspension. The dealer has approved replacing the ball joints (both lowers) but is refusing to replace the wheel or the drive shaft at this time. The ball joints they refuse to give to us.
2003 liberty upper ball joint failed. The polymer bushings and seal failed to maintain lubrication. *ts *nm ***nar***
On or about 1/17/06 while driving the 2003 jeep liberty the front left lower ball joint separated, dropping the control arm onto the inside of the rim. At 71000 miles. Was told by my dealer that there was no recalls on that. After further research I have found that there was a recall on 2003 liberty made b4 3/26/03, took delivery mid april 2003 also have found complaints on the 2004 jeep liberty. I had the repairs made by a local repair shop. I do not have the old ball joint. I am now experiencing front left noises yet to be diagnosed by a professional.
Driving my 2003 jeep liberty freedom edition down a very steep gravel driveway. All of a sudden the entire car hit the bottom of the drive with a big crash. I was unable to steer and went part way into the road. Had to move the car back to bottom of driveway as to not cause an accident in the middle of a mountain road. Oil was leaking and when I tried to drive the car to the end of driveway, metal shavings were coming from the bottom of the vehicle. It was impossible to turn the wheel more than about 1" at a time. The entire fender on the passenger side popped off also. My back, neck and knee were hurt as result of the car crashing to the ground. Had vehicle towed to jeep dealer, where I was told all parts would be replaced. The front ball joint had totally separated causing this very dangerous problem. When I had first bought the car used in april of 2005, I heard about the ball joint recall on the 2003 jeep liberty's. When I called daimler chrysler to ask about this, they told me the VIN on my car was not in the recall. However, the problem I had with this car was the exact same one that the jeep liberty's were recalled for. Obviously they have not fixed this problem. The manufacturer recall center was of no help with any answers and seemed totally unconcerned as I am still covered by the bumper to bumper(original) manufacturers warranty(only 26,000 miles on the car), and " it wont cost you anything to have it fixed". And was told "there is nothing we can do if it wasn't in the recalled vehicles".
Right upper ball joint on 2003 jeep liberty failed due to defective polymer bushing and grease seal. Noticed in a parking lot.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 10 MPH the bottom of the vehicle hit the ground. There is a the federal safety agency recall, # 03v460000, regarding the suspension front control arm lower ball joint. The vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the VIN.
Dt*: the contact stated there was difficulty steering the vehicle followed by a rubbing noise from the steering compartment while turning. The vehicle was seen by an independent repair shop. The repair shop personnel replaced the left front upper ball joint. This repair remedied the problem.
Dt: the contact stated lower ball joints failed while driving. Recall work was done on the federal safety agency recall campaign 03v460000 concerning the driver side lower ball joints in june 2004. The vehicle was towed to a local dealership were the control arm and ball joint were replaced. The contact spoke with the manufacturer about the problem. A spokes person from the manufacturer stated when the recall work was done by the first dealership they must have put the control arm ball joints on incorrectly. *ak updated 02/07/06.
Routine check of vehicle during rotation of tires revealed lower ball joint movement, and right upper ball joint failure.
03 jeep liberty limited ball joint replacement for the 2nd time in 58k miles.
Dt: contact stated while driving the vehicle fish tailed. This, in turn, caused a minor accident. Repairs were made to the vehicle. This problem recurred. It usually happened when the road was wet or snow covered. He took the vehicle to a dealership to have the vehicle checked. They could not determine what was the cause of the problem.
Lower ball joints were extremely worn. Steering felt loose and vehicle was "wandering" on the highway a lot, making it hard to stay in my lane and keep my course. Original recall performed over 20,000 miles ago which only consisted of heat shields being installed. I brought in the jeep and dealer agreed with lbj failure and replaced them under recall notice.
(1) driving back from a camping trip in death valley, ca. (2) complete separation of the lower right ball joint when pulling away from the gas station. (3) I had the vehicle tow to a repair shop and had both lower ball joints replaced.
Dt: on august 13, 2005 the consumer's son was involved in an accident. While turning right and pressing on the brakes ,which acted like a sponge, the steering wheel locked, causing consumer's vehicle to slide into the curb. The vehicle is currently at the dealership. The dealership was unsure of what the problem was. They said that it was due to a driver error. Someone came out from the manufacturer and did a report on the vehicle. They would not release the information to the consumer. However, the consumer found out that there was recall 03v460000 concerning lower ball joint. When the consumer contacted the manufacturer, they told him that this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN. On september 22, 2004 the dealership performed recall repairs by only replacing the heat shield and not the ball joint. The contact was concerned that both parts of the recall were not performed. The manufacturer refused to repair the vehicle. *ak
2003 jeep liberty ball joints replaced approx. 45,000 miles under manufacturer recall, at that time vehicle was making significant road noise from the front end suspension. Dealer replaced lower ball joint assembly at that time. Approx. 66,000 miles vehicle was taken to dealer to find source of front end noise again, dealer could not duplicate and stated there was no problem. Approx. 71,000 miles vehicle taken back to dealer for same problem because it was getting worse. I had a factory authorized repair technician go on a test drive with me on september 23, 2005. Within about a minute of the test drive the technician stated that it was most likely the lower ball joint assembly and that he believed the recall had been extended to lifetime. I scheduled an appointment to bring the vehicle in for repair on september 27, 2005. The dealership had the vehicle the majority of the day and could find nothing wrong. They stated that the ball joints looked fine. On sunday october 2nd, 2005 the lower ball joint on the driver's side failed. Fortunately it was a speed of under 5 MPH as we were turning out of a parking lot. The front driver's side suspension had collapsed. Vehicle was towed to the dealership sunday evening. Currently waiting on the dealerships response. This is a repeat failure and a major safety issue that to date the dealership has chosen to ignore.
Ball joint in the left front lower control arm separated while driving. *ts the consumer found out that in addition to replacing the ball joint they were suppose to replace the wheel.
Dt: there was a recall concerning the lower ball joints. The consumer stated that there was no problem with the lower ball joints . There was a problem with the upper ball joints. The consumer heard knocking noises coming from underneath the vehicle. The problem started before 4-30-04. When the consumer took vehicle to the dealer previously they told them what the problem was. The consumer has not had the problem corrected as of yet.
Dt: the consumer owens a 2003 jeep liberty. The consumer received recall 03v460000 on the ball joints. The consumer was traveling at 50 MPH and the front right side dropped to the ground. The liberty pulled the consumer severely, and she was barely able to pull off the road and kept control of the vehicle. There was metal debris all over the road. The consumer got out of the vehicle and discovers that the right front wheel was bent and split in half, there were a couple of bars hanging out. The tire was half off the wheel base, and there was fluid leaking from the car. The recall was on the suspension; front: control arm: lower ball joint. The consumer had to have the car towed to the dealership. The serviceman told the consumer that the lower ball joint failed, separated and pulled away from the suspension. This was the ball joint that had been replaced on the recall. The consumer stated that the dealership was calling chrysler. The dealership said that daimler/chrysler would call the consumer. This vehicle was not used off road, or abused in any way. The truck was used to drive to work and home and used for driving in the snow. The consumer was scared to drive this car again. The dealership expected her to take off in vehicle and keep it. The consumer was lucky that she was not injured or killed in this incident.
Dt: the caller found out there was a recall on ball joints. He had it checked, and they could not find anything wrong. On the way home the passenger's side tire fell off, and the lower ball joints failed. Caller was driving 20 MPH. The caller had vehicle towed to dealer. Manufacturer has not been contacted yet.
Dt: the contact owns a 2003 jeep liberty. The vehicle had a recall on the ball joints and they serviced the vehicle. But on august 10, 2005 while traveling about 10-15 MPH the lower ball joint on driver's side fell out. About thirty minutes afterwards while driving on a very busy parkway at about 55-65 MPH and if the ball joint fell out the recall work did not solve the problem .
Dt: consumer received a recall concerning lower ball joints in the front. Had repairs done at 12,000 miles , and currently vehicle has 24,000 and the ball joints were defective again. Dealer will not replace lower ball joints under any kind of warranty or recall. In the state pennsylvania one has to have the annual safety test done once a year for the sticker to be put on vehicle. They will not pass the vehicle but jeep was saying it was safe according to their standards. *ak the consumer purchased and aftermarket ball joint and replaced it himself.
Dt: consumer received recall letter on the 2002-2003 jeep liberty on the lower ball joints (the federal safety agency camp id# not available at this time) and the possibly of water entering these joints and causing corrosion. The consumer had the recall repair work performed at 8,521 miles in december. On 7-17-05 while driving about 25 MPH the front driver's side wheel came off without warning. There was noises coming from under the vehicle. The vehicle pulled to that side and consumer's son continued to drive for about a tenth of a mile or so and made it to his home. When pulling into the driveway, the wheel completely separated there in the driveway. The vehicle had to be towed to a dealer that made the original recall repair. The dealer did not know why this happened but it was an issue from lower ball joints and consumer feels this recall repair work may have not been performed properly. Repairs have been made to vehicle by dealership. Consumer did contact chrysler who said it was the dealers responsibility not theirs.
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