2003 Jeep Liberty: jerking or lurching

Filed Jun 16, 2020 · Suspension · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 jeep liberty. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle jerked with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the upper ball joint was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact was informed of the federal safety agency campaign number: 09v119000 (suspension) however, the VIN was not included. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Aug 10, 2018 · 140,000 miles · AR

Loud ting ting noise and severe popping noise from front left side. Driving - ting ting and upon acceleration loud popping that jerks bad - it can be felt

Filed May 7, 2017 · Transmission · 116,000 miles · VA

When decelerating through 30 MPH, clump sound and slight jerk. Accelerates through 30 MPH smoothly.

Filed Aug 13, 2008 · Acceleration, Electrical · 60,000 miles · CT

Transmission hesitates / lurches randomly. Car stalls out, increasingly frequently despite repairs. When engine cuts out, lose all power steering brakes etc - so far only at low speeds but progressively worse - seems very similar to jeep commander recall at higher speeds. Rpm needle goes wild after engine cuts out. Can restart and limp a few miles, then need tow - 2x towed in 1 week, 3x towed in 2 months, and 4 trips to shop without results. Car currently stuck upstate ny where I was trying to vacation -and chrysler/jeep not so cooperative. There's plenty evidence of stalling problems on internet for 4-5 years - see edmunds. Theories: deceleration / rpms below 1000 make engine cut out. Solenoid is pulling battery amps =12 and causing havoc in ignition system, short-circuiting sensors. Thermal computer module damage. Computer scans for diagnostic codes definitely not reliable. By relying only on computer module for diagnosis, dealers are only making the problem worse because they are sending cars back out without fixing root problem, causing more damage. I had wheel sensor found corroded 6/3, crank sensor fail 8/6 and cam sensor failed 8/10. Sensors don't fail sequentially nor so fast. Something is causing sensors to fail. And while sensors not working they are causing damage of their own...computer, ignition coils (all 6 needed repair in 1 case where burned out). Who knows if the spark plugs, fuel pumps, injection cleans, and throttle body cleans work or not. (some say tb cleanout is important if stalls are at lower speeds - less air inflow). Battery seemed to have issues too soon - may be related. One case where harness wiring rubbed against rear something causing probs. My speedometer broke after 1 sensor repair. Separately (unless water and corrosion are the real culprits) brakes and rotors wearing out - replaced 2x in 40k miles. Not right. Some blog on that, too.

Filed Mar 1, 2007 · Transmission · 34,500 miles · CA

I have a 2003 jeep liberty, with 36,000 miles. In a span of nine months, my transmission has went out 3 times. I don't haul anything with my jeep, nor do I drive uphill. The jeep service department has chosen to either repair the transmission or use a rebuilt transmission, in spit of my consistent transmission problems. The transmission problems consist of my car not able to go over 30 MPH, the rpms shoot up to 6 or 7 and will not come down, and when I try to go faster than 30 the car jerks and smells like something is burning.

Filed Jan 27, 2007 · Acceleration · 58,691 miles · WI · crash

I was coming to a complete stop at a speed of 30 MPH and had my foot on the brake. The engine continued to accelerate while I was pressing as hard as I could on the brake. The car lurched far enough forward to hit the bumper of the car in front of me. This is the second of two occurrences. The first was similar in nature. I was exiting the freeway after having the speed control activated. I was coming to a stop-the vehicle violently accelerated and lurched unexpectedly into the intersection. Luckily, no other car was present. Again, I pressed as hard as I could, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. I quickly change to neutral, where the engine rapidly revved to over 6,000r pm's. I am not sure what I did to finally make it stop-to frightened to remember!

Filed May 16, 2006 · Suspension · 45,600 miles · NJ

Driving in far left hand lane on nj tpke at 65 MPH. Suddenly felt car lurch forward to the right, hit the ground, tire blew out & began to fight to maintain control of vehicle. Traffic was incredibly heavy, due to mother's day weekend. Because of my training as a police officer for the past 28 years, I took my foot off the accelerator, held the wheel tightly and was able to keep control of the vehicle and skid for approx. 1/4 mile across 3 lanes to the roadside. The vehicle was spewing sparks, which caused others to slow behind us and avoid a collision. I still cannot believe the vehicle did not flip & kill both of us. According to the dealership where it was towed, I suffered total ball joint failure on the right front & near failure of the left ball joint. Fyi, the tires were fairly new--michelin tires with 8,000 miles on them. The vehicle is still under review to see if repair is possible due to the extensive damage.

Filed Apr 4, 2006 · Airbags · 59,815 miles · AL · crash · 2 injuries

My son was involved in a one car accident. My son was in the middle of a sharp curve on a 2 lane road when he noticed a car approaching from the opposite direction. The front passenger of my son's car estimated their speed at 50 MPH. The approaching vehicle scared my son and he jerked the steering wheel to the right and hit his brakes. The 2003 jeep liberty skidded head-on into a ditch and then flipped end-over-end twice. My son and the front passenger suffered only minor injuries. No doubt the seat belts saved their lives but the front air bags did not deploy. The car was totaled by the insurance company.

Filed Nov 30, 2005 · Acceleration · 3,000 miles · NY

Dt: the contact stated while driving the vehicle suddenly lurched forward at a high speed. He called a towing service that inspected the vehicle and discovered the throttle was stuck. The towing service was able to free the throttle cable, and towed the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. Therefore, no repairs were done.

Filed Jan 27, 2005 · Brakes · 54,000 miles · PA

At 54,000 miles the vehicle suffered a complete failure of the passenger side rear brake adjuster, causing additional damage to the brake hardware for that wheel including the total loss of the emergency shoe. Because of the extent of the damage and, the unusual amount of corrosion found by the dealer, they insist on replacing much of the rear brake hardware on both sides at a personal expence of around $800 (brakes are only warranted for 1 year or 12,000 miles by jeep). About 10,000 miles and 6 months prior to this incident, new emergency shoes had been installed and worked well for 4 months when banging noises, dragging, lurching and, pulling began with increasing frequency up to the time I took it back to the dealer for the second time on the date I list here; the dealer had found nothing the prior time I complained. There appears to be an issue with critical brake parts corroding extensively and failing in a short period of time under what are considered normal driving conditions for the ne part of the country. There may also be an issue with the tolerance of replacement brake parts that are supposed to be factory authorized components. At any rate, I am not the first to complain about brake hardware problems associated with the 2003 jeep liberty. I have read references to corrosion related brake failures here and at other sites. Given the way the vehicle behaved intermittently and the failure of the dealer to find it early, a potentially dangerous and needlessly expensive situation exists in at least the early production 2003 libertys (I bought one of the first available ones that year and noticed a rash of complaints on this subject beginning last summer).

Filed Nov 5, 2004 · Transmission · 22,678 miles · TX

For most of the year I have been having trouble with my jeep libert automatic transmission. I have had several problems with it and the dealer still has not resolved the issue. I am being told that they cannot replicate the problem. I describe the following as the problems. At a full stop while holding down the brake the trans mission will shutter and make a banging noise. The transmission shifting at lower gears is rough. It is not in a like new condition. He transmission makes a grinding noise. The vehicle has stalled 3 times do to the transmission problem. Thevehicle has lurched forward at a stop sign/light. If not for holding down the brake the vehicle would hit the car in front of me. The transmission has shuttered as it changes gears while driving. Mainly at slow speeds. I consider this to be a safety issue with the vehicle. I believe the transmission will fail and I fear it will cause an accident. I have made every attempt to resolve this with the dealer. The transmission has been reconditioned twice. Once on april 5,2004 and the other on may 26, 2004. The vehicle was returned to me but the problems reoccurred after a short time. I have called daimler chrysler customer service line and talked to several reps. I have file numbers 12578676 and 12805501. I have also spoken with service manager david cargail and distric manager bruce shirley. Nothing has been done to address the problems that I am seeing. I have included the copies of the receipts from the service calls that are related to the transmission problems. I am missing some of the earlier once from this year and will send them if I locate them. I did take the vehicle in today and david cargail test drove it and refused to give me a receipt that I had taken it in to get it looked at. He said that I should have enough documentation that I needed.

Filed Mar 6, 2004 · Electrical, Engine · 10,000 miles · CT

I own a 2003 jeep liberty that was purchased in february, 2003 and currently has 10,000 miles on it. It has stalled 9 times over the last year. The stalling occurs at speeds anywhere from idle to 65 miles an hour. It has serviced by two different dealerships on six different occasions. They have been unable to find the problem. It is currently not drivable and is sitting at a dealership in stamford, ct. The last incident took place while driving at 65 miles an hour on I-95. The car began to jerk and eventually stalled leaving me without steering and putting my family at great risk.