Upper ball joint failure under normal driving conditions.
Although this Jeep does have so-called high miles, this part (upper ball joint) should never fail under any circumstances. After successfully negotiating the Liberty to a stop from the 40 MPH breakage, I took some pictures of the interior ball joint. I am a excellent mechanic and can honestly say this ball joint broke due to corrosion and fatigue. Chrysler said they inspected the part and determined it was from an "Impact"... Yeah, Right... anyone have a bridge for sale?
Anyway, I found there was a recall on the lower ball joint and not the upper, and after fixing the problem I know why. The upper ball joint is fused into the upper "A" control arm and would cost Chrysler a ton of money to replace all those Liberty's out there. I was told by Chrysler that I'm on my own, I just wish someone would have informed us by a warning or possibility of breakage for the Upper. So check yours if you own a Liberty, because it seems to me "inevitable!"
I just returned from the dealer (Ferman of New Port Richey) after having my 2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade with 71,493 miles on it repaired for the F23 safety recall on the lower ball joints (They may fall out and kill you).
Under recommendations they made the following notations:
"both front upper ball joints are split".
"Upper ball joints parts/labor 742.88".
"4 wheel alignment 58.95".
This is supposed to be a durable rugged off-road vehicle. One should reasonably expect it to have a sturdy suspension system. They want about 800.00 to fix something which should never have failed to begin with. This particular vehicle has never seen anything any more "off-road" than a flower bed.
Even though Chrysler will probably never admit any responsibility, this problem is likely due to the same faulty design that caused the lower ball joint failure in the first place. It seems very likely that the excessive play of the faulty lower ball joints put unnecessary and undue stress on the upper ball joints, at least contributing to, if not being entirely responsible for, causing them to fail as well.
The very least their service department could have done would have been to notify me of the problem while I was still sitting in their waiting room and the suspension system was still disassembled and on the rack. Instead they reassembled the entire front suspension with the defective parts still in place.
They expect to charge me for the labor to disassemble and reassemble the entire front suspension system a second time to replace the still faulty upper ball joints.
That is like going into surgery to have your appendix removed, waking up from the anesthesia with your gut sewn shut, and having your doctor tell you your gall bladder is infected and it needs to come out too.
When would you like to schedule your next appointment?
How about:
Not now, not here, and not by you.
This is not my first experience with Chrysler dancing around and denying its responsibility to its customers, but it is certainly my last.
I am through with them.
Never again!
I have had the same problem with the Ball Joints on my 2004 Jeep Liberty. You can go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and file a complaint. The NHTSA conducts investigations that lead to national recalls; you could get your vehicle fixed for free or get reimbursed for repairs that have already been completed if the agency finds a manufacturer's defect.
Http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm.
I took my Liberty into the dealer to get the lower ball joints replaced due to the recall, and they failed to tell me the condition of my uppers, and here it is, not 6 months later and the jeep drives as though I'm driving on a cattle trail because the uppers are falling apart. I would have appreciated a heads up on the condition of the uppers when I took it in the first time. "Trail Rated", yeah right! Only if that trail consists of going to the market.
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