Comments: 1-15, 16-27
Engine Failure.
My 2003 Jeep Liberty shut down on me while going down the freeway. I received no warning whatsoever. I just noticed a loss of acceleration. I was fortunately able to coast off the freeway to a safe place. When trying to restart I got no response at all from my vehicle. There where no warning lights on, no indications that it was hot or overheating. It just died. I had it towed to the nearest Chrysler jeep dealership. After keeping my vehicle for 3.5 weeks and demanding oil change receipts and berating me after every call I made to check the progress of my vehicle, the claim for the 70,000 mile warranty was denied. My jeep had 41106 miles on it I was able to provide the last 8 oil changes all at around 3000 mile intervals. Unfortunately the Jeep dealership where the first few oil changes were done closed down and they are not making the service records for that dealership available to us. So we only have the last 8 oil change receipts where the oil changes where done by a licensed mechanic at an oil lube business. When we went to look at the engine the amount of sludge inside the engine and the valve cover was unbelievable. I was totally shocked you could have taken a spoon and just scooped the sludge off the interior walls. The bearings were fried. there were parts of the engine that were so burned and blackened it look like it was set on fire. I know that we did a good job maintaining our Jeep. I don't know what is wrong with the 3.7 Liter engines that can cause this problem to happen. The mechanic at the dealership told us it was a heat issue and that Chrysler should have warrantied this repair. How does Chrysler get away with this? How Do we fight back? I still owe quite a bit of money on this Jeep and now they want 6000 plus to fix it? What was the purpose of the 70,000 mile warranty? I will never buy another Chrysler product again and I will make it a point to tell everyone I know how we have been railroaded by Chrysler. I hope this information sticks in your mind if you are considering buying a Chrysler product This was my 4th jeep and I have loved them, but Chrysler has no loyalty to its loyal customers. Chrysler you should be held accountable for your actions I am so sorry that President Reagan bailed you out of bankruptcy. You were going bankrupt for a reason and I hope you go bankrupt again when word gets out about how you treat your customers.
Contact a lawyer ASAP. The car may qualify to be bought back by the dealer under the lemon law.
Stick with the older Cherokee's next time. I never had any major problems with my 99 Jeep Cherokee Sport. Only problem I had is that it wore out the first set of tires by 29k, and I should have replaced them with the factory stock ones. Its fast, reliable, has a great 4wd system, and looks good also I thought about maybe trading it in before for a newer liberty to my client's Chrysler dealership, but he told me to hold onto my Cherokee since the Liberties were garbage.
DiamlerChrysler is jerking your chain. That engine is a known sludge pump. Consumer Reports had a report on this earlier in the year.
If you have been changing the oil about every 3000 miles for the previous 8 changes, there should be no reason to deny the warranty claim. Now if you have gone 24k without changing the oil, then the engine died, I could see thier point.
If you don't get a new engine soon, hire a lawyer and teach them a thing or two about customer service!
I have an 04 liberty Limited and hate it. I had a 97 Wrangler before and thought the quality would be close..nope. I am getting only about 17mpg. I change the oil myself every 3000.The suspension is horrible. My wrangler was smoother. This jeep has depreciated in value so much in a couple of years I can't even trade it in without loosing money! No more domestic cars for me.
Don't know where your from, but in Canada, we have small claims court. Which for the amount your talking about, might be better than a lawyer who could be expensive, especially upfront. Also get tough with Chrysler, this is clearly their fault, not yours.
The above comments have put me off a purchase that I was contemplating.
I was seriously considering a new Jeep Liberty within the next few months. After reading the reviews and comments listed above I have decided to go with a different SUV.
I was considering trading up a ford for this jeep in upcoming weeks, as the ford is thankfully paid off and prepared to be unloaded. Thanks to all those who commented before I made a second bad purchase.
I had the same problem with Chrysler (a horrible company) concerning a 2003 Jeep Liberty Limited, I wrote a letter to the State Attorney General and Chrysler saw the light.
I have had the same problem with the sludge. I have all my oil receipts and maintenance records that I supplied to Chrysler. The dealership repaired my vehicle three times and even did the last oil change which did not report any sludge at that time. I brought it back because it was over heating and making noise. The dealership ran it for 2-3 hours each day for three days and returned it to me saying it was fine. A little over a month later the engine was blown and sludged up. Chrysler denied my 100,000 Mile warranty due to neglect. How did I neglect my Jeep, when I have all maintenance and oil receipts? I contacted a lawyer, but was not able to take Chrysler to court since I agree not to when I signed the employee discount agreement. A result of fine print that I did not see or was never explained. I bought the warranty for nothing, since I cannot use it. Now I am making payments and insurance on a vehicle that I cannot even drive. I will never buy another Daimler vehicle.
WARNING-DEATH BY JEEP LIBERTY. Coming Out of Gear. PLEASE, If anyone has experienced a similar problem please contact me rockinghamcafe@yahoo.com
I pulled in front of my in laws house. Put my jeep in park unbuckled my seat belt, and leaned into back seat and adjusted my baby’s head because she had fallen asleep in route. I then exited my jeep walked in front and around the jeep to the front door. I stood there a few minutes talking to my mom in law. I then saw my jeep DRIVING AWAY by its self!
It just took off. No one was even near it. In turn, I ran after it. It hit a flower bed which made turn and go down a 30ft incline into a freezing pond. I jumped in and swam out to her my father in law heard me screaming. He swam out, we couldn’t open the doors the speed had picked up enough to make the automatic lock to lock! My baby was inside drowning. The lock on the doors finally pop open. I give God the credit {but some people say the electrical stuff got wet and it made it unlock.} But then it was too late. The water pressure was to strong & I couldn’t open the door.My father in law was smart enough to pull himself on top of the jeep causing it to tilt enough for me to open the door. I almost drowned & so did my baby we all ended up in ICU, but my father in law DIED he had a massive heart attach in the water and died helping to save my baby! When I got her out he was face down in the water! I had NO choice, but to try to swim back to the docks and save my baby! Chrysler had a recall on 05 & 06 because of a misplaced part in the transmission. Over 400,000 of them. Chrysler SAID it didn’t apply to 04’s. I found out ALL transmissions for 03,04,05 &06 were and are the same. They all were assembled from the same product line. Chrysler even sent a their people across country to look at my jeep. Why would they do that if the KNEW it only applied to 2005 & 2006??? I know for a fact my car was in park that night! Something went wrong with the jeep. My statue of limitations for court expires Jan. 07. My time is running out to get justice for my mother in law! I am desperately looking for some DRIVE OFF BY THEMSELVES BE CAREFULL who has had similar trouble with the transmission. Please contact me & PARENTS BEWARE JEEP LIBERTYS CAN DRIVE OFF BY ITS SELF!
I have had the same problems as described in previous comments. I bought a new 2005 Jeep Liberty from Chrysler. It has less than 30,000 miles on it (warranty is for 36,0000/3years). I have always kept it in good condition, and have done all maintenance (oil changes, tire rotation, etc.).A few of my oil changes were done at an oil shop, even at the Dealer. So, out of the blue (no warning lights, or "strange" sounds previous to this) I went to warm it up, living in Mich where the winter's are brutal and all. As soon as I started it, I heard a funny "clanking" sound. Not a tick, or a knock, a clank. Almost as if someone had a large wooden stick and was hitting it under the hood in a rhythmic like pattern. I then got in, thinking (hoping) maybe it was just a fluke due to it being so cold outside. But figured I’d also be cautious, and take it around the block just in case. When I got in the battery light flashed once. I had never seen it do this before. Then when I put my foot on the gas to pull out, the "clanking" noise increased. So, I parked it and had it towed to the original Dealership the following morning. First, they looked at and said they weren't sure what the problem was, but would have the Engine Tech. look at it. He finally did (after about 3 days of hearing nothing) and said that I had a “bad valve”. Then they called me a day or so later and said that my "engine head" was bad and that the entire engine would have to be replaced. I asked what the cause of this was (since before they claimed they had no idea when the first Tech looked at it) and they said that my oil was sludged up so badly that it knocked the engine apart! That sounded like a crock to me. Not to mention, wouldn’t the first Tech. Have noticed something so obvious??? Admittedly I was due for another oil change, but I had checked the oil level and the condition, and it was not "sludge". NOW THEY ARE SAYING THEY WANT ME TO PAY THE $6,000 TO REPLACE THE ENGINE EVEN THOUGH IT IS STILL UNDER Warranty! The only way they will cover it, is if I bring ALL of my oil change receipts in. Well, newsflash… I don't have all of my oil change receipts. Some were done at oil change places, and some were changed by a family member who is a certified Mechanic. I was so angry b/c nowhere in the warranty book does it state that you must keep all receipts! Sure like most of us, I keep receipts for utility bills, expensive purchases, etc. But not run of the mill type stuff. I've contacted Chrysler via email, and they said, "We concur with the Dealer...” (how convenient huh?) So now I'm at a stand still and very frustrated! I'm a single mom that has special needs child, and need my car to take him to the Dr. frequently. On top of that it's a few days before Xmas, so the timing is horrible! I don't know what to do. But I do know that I'm ANGRY and feel that this is unfair, dishonest, and the worst customer service I've received in a long time. (b.t.w. my first jeep was a '99 and I never had any problems. It had over 100,000).
If anyone has any suggestions I would gladly appreciate it. Thanks for listening.
I found this site while looking for info to help my brother-in-law, who unfortunately bought a 2002 jeep Liberty. It now has a blown engine at 80,000 miles. I looked at a jeep before I bought my 2004 Chev Trailblazer. Boy am I glad I didn't buy the Jeep Junk.
I have the same problem as some of you I have a 2003 Jeep Liberty renegade with 69000km on it and noticed this morning that my oil light was on and the car was stalling. Had it towed to a friends garage and opened the oil cap and it was frozen sludge. I have done my oil changes at the dealer every 5000km so I have no clue what has happened. My car is now at the dealer and I'm waiting for them to call me with the news. They better pass it under warranty, I even told them that a few people on the internet had this same problem so it isn't something I did, its your chysler motor and your crysler oil. And all he said was I've never heard about a sludge problem and that you could find anything on the net... haha perfect answer just what I knew he would say.
To 11:44- Let the games begin!...