2002 Jeep Liberty Sport from UK and Ireland - Comments

As I drove down a forest road, I got stuck in a mud pool.

To my surprise 3 of the 4 wheels turned bud did not have any grip, the fourth wheel (front right) had grip, but didn't turn at all.

Result: it dug in so deep that it went with it's belly on the floor and it took a monster of a 4x4 tractor to pull it free again.

Is this normal? I expected all four wheels to have power, it seems I have only 3 wheel drive when the going gets tough.

The more worrying thing is that my Liberty flooded within minutes although the underside of all four doors where above the water level, you can understand that I was shocked.

Is this normal? or did somebody at the factory forgot a plug somewhere?

I will bring my Liberty to the Dealer next week to check the bottom for leaks, but they are quite reluctant and told me I should contact my insurance company to deal with it.

In the meanwhile I spend 4 days drying the carpet and electrical connectors out, but it is still very damp. (by the way, the electrical connectors are fitted under the carpet, you would expect them a bit higher up in a 4x4 don't you)

Don't get me wrong here, I love my Liberty, that's why I'm shocked about what happened to my car.

Update:

I visited my Jeep Dealer today and they had a short look at it, but didn't care at all.

They told me that 95% off all Jeep owners drive them around town and never leave the road and the ones that do some off roading and the ones shown in the brochure are all specially prepared.

So it was quite stupid of me to buy a Jeep and drive it off road because they are not build for it!!!???

So when you buy one they tell you that you are buying a "though off road vehicle" with 60 years of off road experience and if your Liberty falls apart at the first piece of mud you encounter they tell you that you are stupid to take it off the tarmac at all.

I THINK THIS IS A PURE CASE OF MISLEADING ADVERTISING AND THERE MUST BE A LAW TO PROTECT US AS CUSTOMERS.

It seems this is fairly typical Jeep dealer attitude. I have a Grand Cherokee, and met the same sort of BS when anything went wrong. He even went so far as to blame me for warping the brake discs through bad driving saying he had another customer who went through a pair every 10k miles?? Ludicrous, I have thrashed a small Nissan to death in Africa on and off road, with nary a problem with the brakes. Drive my jeep like my granny and the brake discs warp.

Funny though I have just received a recall notice for all Grand Cherokees of similar age to replace the brake discs (rotors) (some 500,000 vehicles in all).

Simply put: Jeeps are great, but don't expect it to be as reliable as a Toyota, and NEVER expect common decency from the dealers. Mine was a well known London dealer.

Unless you have a limited slip rear differential or lockable front and/or rear differentials, you don't really have four wheel drive. With an open differential, all torque goes to the wheel that has the least resistance. If one wheel is in the mud and one wheel has grip, an open differential will send all the torque to the wheel in the mud, as you experienced.

If you want true four wheel drive, make sure you buy a Jeep with at least a limited slip rear differential.

I was told that the Liberty has a limited slip rear differential, but maybe I had to fool it by using the hand break.

Update:

Still waiting for Jeep UK to check my car (3 months now), after two phone calls and a letter they replied that they will check my car for leaks within 3 weeks and that was 16 days ago.

Changed dealer for the first service and already thinking of buying an other brand in two years time.

It is a pity because I like this car a lot, it is only the non service I get from the dealer and Jeep UK that will force me to buy an other brand next time.

Update:

Good news, the dealer and Jeep UK offered there apologies for what had happened to me and told me they where sorry my case was handled improperly.

They will need my Cherokee (Liberty) for a couple of days to find the leak and offered me a free service.

They also told me that this should not have happened to a Jeep as they are build for it and my situation (Leak) is unique and they never heard of it before.

Update:

I wrote a letter to Jeep UK again in the beginning of January, two weeks later I got a call from the Area After Sales Manager, who was again very upset about my experience with my dealer.

He promised to get my car sorted out at an other dealer (150 miles away) and he would contact me as soon things where sorted out.

Today is February the 8th and I'm still waiting.

This is going on since September 2002 and although I still like the car a lot, I'm getting a bit tired and frustrated.

Update:

Jeep invited me to an off-road track to show me that the Liberty is capable of going off-road and to proof if it leaked again.

I can tell you that the Liberty is worth the Jeep name in every aspect and yes it leaked again.

According to Jeep this is an exceptional case and they have never seen a Liberty leak before so they offered me a new car.

They also showed me a Jeep dealer who cares about his cutomers and I will take my business there in the future (only 350 miles away!?).

So in the end everything went alright (not due to the dealer who sold me the car) and I'm waiting to take delivery of my new dry Liberty.

Bad news, I just found out that they are not that good at all.

After the ball joint recall they did not re- aligne the front wheels and now I have to replace the front tyres prematurely as they are totally bald.

I also noticed that the wheels where not rotated (I always mark my wheels) but it was checked on the list.

They forgot the 25.000 Miles rear axle oil change (did charge for it though) and ignored my complaints about problems with the rear axle from that moment on until it is now out of warranty and they want to charge me £850,00!!! and I need new tyres also as the rear axle damaged them.

Thanks a lot for that one!

Looks that they have taken over the staff (and bad habits) of their predessesor.