2002 Jeep Liberty Limited from North America - Comments

If you are considering purchasing a motor vehicle from the Chrysler Corporation, you might want to read this. I have documentation to prove that all of this has happened. I purchased a new Jeep Liberty in March, 2002, from CarMax in Norcross, Georgia. I ordered a model so "loaded" (everything except the sunroof) that the salesman said he had never seen one that expensive. I also bought the extended warranty.

PROBLEM NUMBER 1: The original transmission lasted 10,781miles. It bucked and jumped on its own schedule. When shifting into drive from neutral, the vehicle hesitated for a couple of seconds and then it felt like another vehicle rammed it from the rear at five or six MPH. The tranny had to be removed and "rebuilt" in order to function properly.

PROBLEM NUMBER 2: The people at CarMax in Norcross, Georgia, tricked me out of the use of a rental car during the eleven days I was without my Jeep. (I filed a lawsuit in Small Claims Court for the rental car reimbursement and lost. The Service Manager showed up for the trial with a photo copy of the owner's manual which said the owner is not entitled to rental car reimbursement. This is true under the warranty, but not true under the extended service agreement, which I had purchased from Chrysler Corporation. I didn't have a copy of the extended service agreement with me, so I lost the case. The loss is no big deal, but a good indication of the type of people one deals with at Chrysler and CarMax.)

PROBLEM NUMBER 3: At just over 18,000 total miles (7,000 on tranny #2, after the lawsuit had been filed, but before the court date) the next transmission started acting up again with the same symptoms. I went back to CarMax for service again. The Service Writer, Wayne, added a quart of ATF, but when the Service Manager saw me, he told Wayne to close the hood of my vehicle. The Service Manager basically threw me out of the dealership, "since I had filed a lawsuit against him." I left (of course) and went to All-Star Chrysler in Chamblee, Georgia. They installed tranny #3 at about 18,638 miles. It took them about a month to do the job due to "non-availability of parts."

PROBLEM NUMBER 4: At about 28,000 miles, tranny #3 died. Same symptoms!! I returned the vehicle to All Star Chrysler and requested an adjustment under the "Georgia Lemon Law" (Georgia Code 10-1-780). All Star Chrysler didn't want to talk about the Lemon Law, but offered to try to fix the vehicle again. On the advice of counsel, I refused service, parked the vehicle, set up a "Care Account" at Chrysler, wrote the President, and stood by. Weeks later I have received no written response to my business letter addressed to president. Some dude did call me on the telephone and feed me some "stuff " over the phone about how he thought Chrysler should be able to fix the tranny. I told him to stand by for further developments.

PROBLEM NUMBER 5: I wrote the President of Chrysler a second time, requesting copies of all service orders and documentation relative to the transmission problem. Under the Georgia Lemon Law, I am entitled to these reports. Access to these reports has been refused by the Chrysler employees at All Star Chrysler upon my verbal and written requests. I have not heard from the office of the president. I may have to file a separate lawsuit to get the records.

I am in the market for a new vehicle that will actually work. Does anybody have a story about WORSE treatment by a manufacturer/dealer? If so, I'll know to steer away from that combination as well as Chrysler/CarMax.

Stay away from Ford. Ford's are crap. I think the problem is you got a lemon car, and have a bad dealership. You might want to try a different chrysler dealship. I just bought a Jeep a couple of months ago and I 've driven the heck out of it. In 2 months, I've put 7,500 miles on it. And I haven't had one problem. only thing I did was take it in for oil and filter change, and get my tires rotated at 6,000 miles like my manual told me to do. Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Did you have a sport, limited, renegade, or freedom?

I have a jeep liberty 2002. It has 26,000 miles, and it has been nothing, but problems. The AC went on it, then the heat, then the seat warmers. I have brought it to the dealership 6 times and the seat warmers do not work yet. They said it might be a short, they have to take my seats out, my panels, and my rugs whatever is necessary!!! I am at the point, that I wish I never brought the car!!!

Do you know anything about the ball-joint problem? I will check this site for any comments at a later date. Thanks to anyone who replies.

I have a 2002 Jeep Liberty and at 38,000 my transmission is gone. Out of warranty at 36,000 and I am stuck with the bill. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Post about what has happened since your last post!

I also made the mistake of purchasing a 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport. I've brought it in for service at least 6 times to fix an electrical problem. Speedometer, lights, A.C. and door locks stop working after long drives. It also begins to buck and eventually stall. Unfortunately this problem comes and goes so they can't trace it. I've lost all faith in the service technicians and am now looking to trade it in for a Japanese car.

Sorry to hear your problems, have a Outback with issues to, not as bad however. have you filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau? The dealership/dalmchrysler response sounds terrible, makes me think twice about buying a new product.

http://lemonlaw.bbb.org/

I really feel your pain. My 2003 Jeep Liberty just has been having massive problems. The transmission valve body went at 19,200 miles. They replaced it and said that the transmission may be gone too. But they drove it around after replacing above part and as I was driving it just a few days ago the malfunction indicator light went on and I bet your bottom dollar the transmission now needs to be rebuilt at 19,200 miles. What a piece of garbage. I really think I am going to get rid of it or maybe just maybe drive it around once more until the lemon law applies. I have had it with this car. No more Jeeps!!!

Jeeps in general are garbage. I owned a Jeep Cherokee. The door fell off and the transmission was a constant problem. One of my previous district manager's company car was a late model Jeep Liberty and it also had transmission problems. Car dealers simply sell a product the car manufacturer is the one that must stand behind their product especially if you are the first owner.

I find your insights on Chrysler interesting, and similar to my experiences. My wife wants a Liberty diesel and I am iffy due to my experience with Chrysler products. As far as Carmax, try another location, I have dealt with the ones in Nashville, TN and Greenville, SC and had nothing, but immaculate customer service. So maybe that was an isolated occurence at the Norcross store/new Chrysler dealership?

I also have a Jeep Liberty 2002 and all before 40,000 miles it has been in the shop 6 times for a total of over 30 days! Luckily all of my electrical problems occurred before the manufacturer warranty ran up (down to the last 2 days). I had the same electrical problems I have heard many people say they had, the speedometer suddenly stopped working, lights went off, everything electrical malfunctions. It took them 4 times in the shop to correct the problem. Then a year later I was driving down a paved road at about 35mph when suddenly there was a big bang and the car lurched forward and over revved. I immediately turned it off and had it towed to the nearest Chrysler dealership. When this happened I was on a road trip and in Pennsylvania (I live in Tallahassee), and this happened 2 days before I was supposed to drive home. They replaced the valve body and told me they have seen this happen to several liberty's. They gave it back to me and told me the transmission might also be damaged, but they couldn't tell for sure. I now have the car and am home, but it doesn't have a first gear and won't shift into overdrive. It is at the shop now, I don't know what is going to happen. I am only twenty and this is only the second vehicle I have owned so I don't have a very good grasp on dealing with automobile manufacturers and service technicians (I rarely understand what they tell me), but if it doesn't improve I am investing in a nice bicycle!

Sounds like you have a piece of junk on your hands. I would unload it quickly before you go broke. If I understand correctly, your warranty is up or close to being up. The repair bills will eat you alive. If you're planning on staying with a small-ish SUV, there are much better alternatives out there. Such as the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV-4, or even the Ford Escape. Each one of those vehicles will likely be more more reliable and get better gas mileage than your Liberty. The only benifit to the Libery is its exellent off-road ability. That's something that isn't very important for most people. However, mabye you live on the side of mountain in no-mans-land.

I purchased a 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport after getting divorced. It was my first purchase as a single woman. I think that was my first mistake: going to the car dealer alone to buy a used car. I was a salesman dream: single woman, doesn't know much about cars.

I went to John Elway Jeep (Now GO car dealers in Golden, Colorado). Two days after driving it off the lot, I went back with $1500 worth of problems. They did fix the first round of problems free of charge. However, they did not give me the "key" to get the tires off. They told me that doesn't come with the vehicle and I could purchase a whole new set, but would have to have someone "burn" the old one's off.

I have had my Jeep for two years and have had to replace the radiator and the entire A/C unit. My car does the "knocking" when going into first gear, much like the other persons comments here. I always look in my mirror to see if someone hit me from behind. I guess that is the tranny. Something to look forward to fixing.

I also have a rod or piston that is leaking under the driver side. The dealer said that is going to be $250+.

I was pretty disappointed in Jeep and in the dealership. Being a single mom, my car is very important to me, and repairs are hard to plan for financially.

I was told that 2002 was the first year the Liberty was made. It takes a couple years to work all the bugs out. So, basically we are the guinea pig's, at our own expense, finding out all the problems for them.

Not all Jeeps are garbage. I have a 1994 Wrangler 4.0 w/5 speed and have right at 156,000 miles on it. I have had to replace the oil and filters, one belt and recently replaced a seal on the gas tank. Oh I did replace the exhaust system. I was thinking about getting a Liberty, but since the bad comments on this site and many other are so negitive, I think I will keep the Wrangler. My other car is a 1992 GEO tracker with 160,000 miles on it, I have always had good luck with Suzuki's. Get's right at 28-30 mpg as well.

Thank you all for your comments, sorry about the POS Liberty's.

Same here, sorry to hear about all the problems, I have a 2006 Liberty with 25000 trouble free miles.. just took it to camp jeep and drove the heck out of it off road and on road.. low gears.. high gears.. a/c on..hot as can be outside... with no problems at all.. I have had lemon cars from GM and Ford and Toyota.. sometimes you get a lemon and sometimes you don't..fight it out with the manufacturer and go to court to get whats right for your situation, but I don't think you can say all jeeps stink!

I have a 2002 Liberty Limited with 48,000 miles. It has been a great car. My biggest expense to date has been replacing the crappy Goodyear tires that came on it. They lasted 23,000 miles. I went with Michelin All Terrain SUV'S and it has been a great ride. This vehicle is great in snow and rain. I invested $39 in a K&N air filter at the beginning so I wouldn't have to spring for the $22 Chrysler filters time and time again. The Jeep is great for hauling and travel. My only complaint is the gas mileage, but it is no surprise. This is my 3rd Jeep and I'll keep on buying Jeeps.