general problems of the 2003 Jeep Liberty

31 problems related to steering have been reported for the 2003 Jeep Liberty. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Jeep Liberty based on all problems reported for the 2003 Liberty.

1 Steering problem

Failure Date: 03/09/2026

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, the steering wheel was difficult to turn due to a loss of power steering assist. There was a grinding sound while turning the steering wheel. The sound was loud enough to hear outside of the vehicle. There was an unknown orange warning light displayed briefly. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact found information online related to NHTSA campaign number: 09v119000 (suspension); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

2 Steering problem

Failure Date: 01/22/2023

The ball joint and cv axle broke making me wreck. I had no control of the steering.

3 Steering problem

Failure Date: 12/24/2019

I am the second owner of this vehicle, when I acquired it, I had it serviced at the dealership and they preformed all recall work. It has been kept serviced and up to date on any recall work since. During the day on christmas eve 2019 I was returning home from a visit at my mother's home and suddenly lost control of the Jeep. There was loud noise and things breaking off the vehicle as I fought to control it and pull over. Upon inspection, saw the passenger side front wheel had come loose from the suspension, tore off the fender wheel well and broke a piece off the right-side running board. Undriveable, I had it towed to my mechanic. Unfortunately, they were closed until after new years. In early January I found out the diagnosis was a sheared lower ball joint failure. I looked in my files and found that this was one of the recalls that had been preformed to the vehicle. Safety recall f23- lower ball joints was done on 8/1/2006. Obviously, you assume this problem is resolved and the vehicle is safe after the work is done. I luckily was traveling at 30mph, and not at highway speed, so I have only encountered a financial burden. (about $4k for rental, repair & bodywork) I am sure if I was going faster or in traffic, I would have been injured or killed. How do the thousands of Jeep Liberty owners still on the road who are up to date on recalls confidently drive their vehicles if the recall work fails in the exact manner described as the problem meant to be fixed by the recall? I've been driving for close to 40 years and have never had any vehicle suffer a catastrophic failure resulting in a crash before this.

4 Steering problem

Failure Date: 09/01/2019

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that as soon as the vehicle was parked in front of her driveway, by her husband, the air bag in the steering exploded and emitted smoke, without warning and without impact. . The contact's husband who was at the front driver's seat sustained some burns on his left arms and left hands. The vehicle was towed to the ray byrant Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram fiat dealer (504-363-1999, located at 1660 westbank expy. , harvey, la 70058) where an inspector from the NHTSA (bill janin) came to the shop to inspect the vehicle. The contact was asked whether the vehicle was involved in collision. The contact stated �no� . The contact was not provided any report about the inspection. The vehicle was towed back to the contact's residence after the inspection. The contact did not know whether the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. Fe.

5 Steering problem

Failure Date: 04/04/2019

Tl- the contact owned a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the steering wheel began maneuvering on its own and the vehicle ultimately crashed into a median. The vehicle's airbags failed to deploy upon impact. The contact suffered severe injuries including a concussion and bruising to his rib cage. The contact received medical attention on the scene and was taken to a hospital(j. W. Ruby memorial hospital 1 medical center dr, morgantown, wv 26505 (304) 598-4000). A police was filed at the scene. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an independent tow yard. The dealership was never notified of the failure,however, the manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the failure was related to a recall under NHTSA campaign number 03v460000 (suspension). The failure mileage was 170,000. Jo VIN-(xxxx) redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

6 Steering problem

Failure Date: 09/01/2018

A recall was made for Jeep Liberty for the control arms upper and lower and the ball joints. I was told my VIN did not have the recall. However, others had the recall and Jeep paid for the repairs. After the repairs the wheel hub went bad, and a recall was made for that but not my basic model. After replacing the wheel hub the driveshaft was damaged by all the issues. A recall for the same vehicle was made for a driveshaft and again the bass model was not included in the recall. This time Jeep said they would fix the driveshaft and when it came time they denied it.

7 Steering problem

Failure Date: 05/15/2018

Took my Liberty to my mechanic because it started making a horrible sound up front when ever I made a turn. Upon inspection my lower ball joints had disintegrated, crumbled into their hands. They could not believe how lucky I was that it did not break while driven. Nothing was holding it in or together. Come to find out there are recalls on both the upper and lower ball joints. I was never notified. I have had the lowers fixed and paid for with lifetime warranted parts. I need reimbursed for the lower $488. 27. The upper ball joints also must be fixed on a separate recall that I was never notified of. Do these people have any idea how bloody and devastated an accident would be when your wheel shears off and there is no steering? it's called flipping the fringing Jeep over!!! not only is it unacceptable that I wasn't notified but I could have killed my father and others in an accident. My mechanic told me straight up if I had gone over a bump or turned I would have wreaked! I can not believe that there are other people that have had accidents with more damage or a full total of theirs and others are not being reimbursed for the entire damages. Thi fixed wrong the first time by the dealer, before their wreak. How is that not their responsibility? there is no excuse for any of those Jeeps or mine not being fixed. These are straight up recalls something is wrong with this, really wrong.

8 Steering problem

Failure Date: 12/14/2015

I want my car included in recall j17. My car should have been included in the safety recall "Chrysler recall no. J17", campaign # 09v119000 . I have verified with Chrysler that my car was both built and sold in illinois, and therefore in the target recall population. See following excerpt from recall text: Chrysler is recalling 42,469 my 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in salt belt states of connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, kentucky, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virginia , wisconsin and the district of columbia. The front suspension upper control arm ball joint may experience a loss of lubrication which could lead to corrosion, accelerated wear, and possible separation while driving.

9 Steering problem

Failure Date: 09/29/2015

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at a low speed and turning left into a parking space the vehicle crashed into a light pole. The air bag had not deployed. A police report was not filed. Medical attention was required. The approximate failure mileage was 118,761. Bd.

10 Steering problem

Failure Date: 06/16/2015

Every time I turn a corner my steering makes a very squeaky noise. I have visited the Jeep form and many owners of this vehicle have complained about the same issue when its hot.

11 Steering problem

Failure Date: 06/04/2015

While driving an extremely short distance from my home driveway (maybe 50 feet), my "driver side" seatbelt pretensioner and airbag deployed. There is already a recall for airbag/seatbelt pretensioner on my vehicle (m35 (12v-527) or n13 (13v-040) r06). When I brought my vehicle into suncoast Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram, they to told me the recall was for only the "passenger side" and "driver side" was not part of the recall. They said they could not find any reason why the "driver side" airbag and seatbelt pretensioner deployed. They said the cost to replace my airbag and seatbelt pretensioner would be just under $1500.

12 Steering problem

Failure Date: 04/08/2015

We were driving on a busy street to go our house when we heard a warning tone when we were turning over a roundabout. After 10 seconds, the air bags blew up all of a sudden. It was fortunate that we are running only at 10 mile per hour or slower as it was rush hour and there was traffic. Also my husband was able to put on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of us. We were badly shaken, traumatized and had bruises on our arms and chests due to some parts bursting towards us. The steering wheel cover and dashboard where the air bags were are pretty damaged. We totally cut out the air bags to avoid the repeat of this incident. My husband is now traumatized to drive the Jeep. We also heard some strange sounds in the sepertine belt. We don't now if it's connected to the air bag explosion. Our car was bought second. The first owner who is american imported the Jeep from the us and brought it here (another country in southeast asia). We are living abroad (not in us) and we don't know how we can file this complaint on the defects of the Jeep Liberty we are using. We hope someone can respond and help us. I am putting the contact details of my brother who lives in the us in the personal information in case someone would like to contact us.

13 Steering problem

Failure Date: 10/09/2014

I have reported this to daimler Chrysler in regards to the ball joints I feel the recall parts were never fixed and could not get an answer as to whether they were ever replaced this vehicle at one time was in an accident not known when I purchased this Jeep to be safe and it is the worse vehicle ever I have a four year old and like I said to daimler Chrysler if anything happens to me or my family while rising in this vehicle there will be a lawsuit.

14 Steering problem

Failure Date: 07/08/2014

When attempting to switch lanes, it felt as if the steering wheel locked and the vehicle began to swerve between lanes. I had no control over the steering, therefore the vehicle continued to swerve and eventually slid off road into a median full of trees. Once in the median, the vehicle began to roll over. The vehicle rolled 3 or 4 times, eventually coming to a stop passenger-side down. There was damage all over the body of the vehicle, including the front and sides. Airbags did not deploy. Vehicle was taken in less than a year ago to get fixed due to a recall on the air bag system, but airbags did not deploy during crash. I was taken via ambulance to a local trauma unit. Vehicle was totaled.

15 Steering problem

Failure Date: 04/14/2014

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph and making a right turn, the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. The check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 158,000.

16 Steering problem

Failure Date: 01/15/2014

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph, the steering wheel seized causing the vehicle to spin and the rear of the vehicle crashed into a median. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

17 Steering problem

Failure Date: 06/20/2013

I would like to file a complaint about the passenger side upper and lower ball joints. I purchased the vehicle in 2006 as a second owner and in the 7 years I have owned my Jeep I have had to replace my ball joints now 3 times. This is very unsafe and seriously should be addressed by the makers as to why even after being recalled they have gone out twice. Luckily I have been fortunate enough (or I should say Chrysler has been fortunate enough) to not have had an accident or anything serious happen to me or my family due to this. Thanks.

18 Steering problem

Failure Date: 10/04/2012

Left driver side, upper ball joint separated from control arm. Wheel collapsed outward. Fortunately, it happened after leaving the interstate driving 70 miles per hour. Entering service station wheel collapsed. Happened to talk to an individual who was aware of the problem. Individual said that this is a current and on going problem with today's vehicles. The front components are being designed so they cannot be maintained properly. Lack of grease fittings, pressed in joint design on ball joints to control arm , instead of re enforced with bolts or other safe measures. Individual stated that it is occurring on most all makes and models. Instead of just replacing the defected ball joint, the control arm, with no other defect, but this, has to be replaced, costing even more money. Has been reported, that deaths have occurred. The mental impact and feeling insecure after a fix is ongoing. I see more deaths and accidents occurring because of this problem. Thank you.

19 Steering problem

Failure Date: 03/14/2012

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number:12v537000 (steering). However, the part do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced. A failure. Bm.

20 Steering problem

Failure Date: 05/08/2011

My stepdaughter was driving her 2003 Jeep Liberty in her grandmother's driveway when she heard a loud thunk causing the vehicle to come to a stop due to the driver's side front tire separating from the vehicle. We changed the front driver side ball joint and control arm due to failure and tire separation from the vehicle. It was well that my step daughter was not travelling on the highway at a faster rate of speed because that surely would have ended with a more serious result. I see that there have been three recalls related to the control arm and ball joints. This particular vehicle was purchased from a private individual that actually had taken the vehicle in for the recall in 2006, but it seems that the problem has not been resolved. I'm very much concerned for my step daughter's safety while operating a motor vehicle and I hope that something can be done soon to correct this problem.

21 Steering problem

Failure Date: 04/20/2011

I was on my way home from whiteville nc I was going down antioch chruch rd,as I proceded to go into a curve I noticed that I couldn't turn the steering wheel that caused me to go off the road and I lost control and when the vehicle came to a rest in a feild the vehicle had landed one side up I think it landed on the passenger side down. I later find out that there was something wrong with the suspension on the Jeep. I always wondered what caused the accident that night,I am just learning about the recall on the Jeep I had. I lost alot of money that I had including the down payment,the payments that I paid,the stereo system etc. I knew from the begining that something wasn't right with this vehicle. I tried to get the dealership that I got it from to fix it,but in response I was told that it didn't come with a warranty. So nothing was done.

22 Steering problem

Failure Date: 04/20/2011

I was on my way home when it became very hard to steer the vehicle which resulted in a accident,also the airbag never deployed. The insurance company did in fact total the vehicle.

23 Steering problem

Failure Date: 06/12/2009

On Friday June 12th, 2009, my wife was driving our 2003 Jeep Liberty home. After stopping for a stop sign, she turned to the left and immediately the upper front ball joint gave way. (it was completely rusted on the inside) the Jeep has 42087 miles on it. Fortunately my wife was going very slow, otherwise there is no telling how severe an accident could have occurred. Chrysler/Jeep said that there has been no recalls on this particular model, yet I found a April 15, 2009 posting on the internet saying that there have been recalls for the upper control arm ball joints (recall n. J17) on models sold in the "salt belt states". We are in pennsylvania. I've had the part replaced but would caution other Jeep Liberty owners about a potentially serious problem.

24 Steering problem

Failure Date: 04/22/2009

There wasn't an incident/failure in this case, however I am hoping to prevent one from occurring. Over 950 people have the same part (a power steering hose) on back order. If that many people have had to order this part, isn't it defective? meanwhile, well over 900 of us continue to drive a Jeep in which the steering can go out at any moment, causing how many potential injuries and deaths? I think this should be looked into-it is definitely a safety hazard.

25 Steering problem

Failure Date: 08/15/2008

2003 Jeep Liberty - lower ball joints replaced on recall notice now I have been advised that the upper ball joint needs replacing. I have read that this is a known problem but no recall has been implemented yet.

26 Steering problem

Failure Date: 02/01/2008

Making a right-hand turn from work parking lot the front right wheel control arm split in half causing the right wheel buckle. Control arm, knuckle suspension and ball joints were replaced. Contacted Chrysler at the time and told that there was no recall concerning those parts. My mechanic thought the part might have been faulty.

27 Steering problem

Failure Date: 10/25/2006

- the contact received recall 06v288000 on 10/25/06, for 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stook the vehicle to dayton Jeep, and was told that they didn't have parts available to make the repairs. The dealer did not give her an appointment at that time. The contactried on numerous occasions to get an appointment ,and the dealership still refused to setup t an appointment. Also, the contact was having steering problems during all types of weather, especially under rainy conditions .

28 Steering problem

Failure Date: 08/01/2004

Contact received a recall notice for the lower ball joint and had the repair work done. Seven months later the ball joint failed again while the vehicle owner's son was driving at 35 mile mph. The ball joint failed while driving over a bridge ,and t vehicle was damaged. Vehicle had to be towed to the owners home, and then to the dealership for repairs. The wheel and brakes, both fell off the vehicle. The police were called. However no report was filed because there was no crash. Repairs were done. . The owner noticed that before the ball joint failed. There was too much play in the steering. When the wheel is turned it takes the tire a minute to catch up. The owner is concerned that the ball joint is about to go out again. The replacement parts do not seem to be any different than the original parts. The caller heard a report of a lady dying with the same problem in her vehicle.

29 Steering problem

Failure Date: 03/25/2004

While driving between 60 and 65 mph consumer lost control, and rear ended another vehicle. Dealer notified.

30 Steering problem

Failure Date: 08/15/2003

Transmission is leaking,brakes squeal when you are backing up. They say it is from dew. It's in the garage at night. The steering is my main concern. It pulls so hard to the right. It's an accident waiting to happen.

31 Steering problem

Failure Date: 06/17/2003

When turning corners the vehicle's steering wheel be came very stiff as if there wasn't any power steering. This problem has occurred at least seven times. The dealer could not duplicate the problem. The manufacturer is aware of the problem.



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