2004 Jeep Liberty Sport from North America - Comments

Brakes freezing up in winter when temperature is 10 degrees with windchill of minus 20. The brakes did not work. Calipers froze up and vehicle failed to stop. Had an accident with it because of the brakes. The dealer fixed the vehicle and said that nothing is wrong with the brakes. Another time I tried to stop at a stop sign, when there was snow on the ground and only the front brakes worked. The rear brakes did nothing. Again the dealer said there is nothing wrong and only the front brakes are supposed to lock up, but not the rear. Wrote to Jeep and they said the dealer is right and he is the only one that understands Jeep brakes. Took it to a brake shop and they told me that the proportioning valve is bad. Jeep dealer says that the brake shop doesn't know jeep brakes.

At 5000 miles the transmission is starting to slip when you stop briefly at an intersection, then try to go again.

Sometimes my rear window hatch opens on its own for no reason and the panic alarm goes off. Its inter mitten and no one can find the cause.

Boy am I sorry I got rid of my Ford Ranger for this piece of junk.

Had my Ranger for 10 years of trouble free miles, 130,000 of them.

There is a recall on the rear window latch. Mine did the same thing and so did the first replacement latch. Fortunately, the second replacement latch wasn't defective and it works fine now.

Overall, the Liberty has been a great vehicle for me.

I can't believe you trash the Liberty and build up the Ford Ranger.

By the way, what is inter mitten? My Liberty didn't come with mittens! Did I get ripped off?

By the way readers.. Buy the Liberty if you like them, they are a fun, reliable vehicle. Just expect only about 15-18 mpg.

Well I wish mine did, now that it's a year old, the engine quit for no apparent reason. Had to push it off the road. That's where the mittens would have been handy. It was 35 degrees in the morning when it quit. Had it towed to the dealer, sat in their garage for 2 hours and it started again. They couldn't find out why it quit. As for the rear window, my dealer said there is no recall on the 2004 liberty.

The transmission slips when you stop at a stop sign and then proceed across the road. The dealer said its normal for this transmission to slip after you stop. It takes a while for the clutches to engage. There is a strange banging noise coming from the dash when you turn on the heater and everything gets warm. The dealer also said it was normal.

I think that I got a Friday special.

I agree...DON'T BUY IT. My beautiful 32-yr. old daughter was killed as a result of an automobile accident on October 31, 2006. She was rear-ended on Interstate-10 by a man driving a Ford F-150 pick-up truck. The vehicle she was driving, a 2004 Jeep Liberty, burst into flames upon impact and my daughter was burned to death. Since my daughter's death, I have learned that this same thing has happened before and Chrysler has had numerous law suits that were settled out of court. The problem is, the fuel tank and filler neck on the Jeep Liberty (and Jeep Grand Cherokee) was designed and installed in a location (behind the rear bumper) that is susceptible to rupture or puncture in a rear-end collision. When gasoline escapes from a ruptured or punctured fuel tank, a high risk of fire and explosion exists. Chrysler knows full well about this problem, but apparently it is cheaper for them to settle out of court than to change the design of the vehicle. Because of this terrible tragedy and tremendous loss of such a beautiful life, I feel an obligation to warn everyone of the potential danger when driving these vehicles. The public has a right to know BEFORE they purchase these vehicles. I wish someone would have warned me.

I am sorry for your loss. I truly am, but in any case a big truck like an F-150 hitting the back of an car or light SUV is likely to rupture the gas tank or lines. It sounds like an unfortunate accident to me. Don't give a liberty a bad name just because your daughter died in one.

I too witnessed an minor rear end collision on a Jeep Liberty and the Jeep Liberty burst into flames and burned the Jeep Liberty to the ground in about ten minutes!

That is your rear differential spline that needs to be lubed with 'Lucas Red' found in many auto stores..