general problems of the 2003 Jeep Liberty

Tire blow out.

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Liberty equipped with capitol tires, tire line: precision trac ii, and tire size: 235/70r16. The contact stated that both front tires were low on air. The contact discovered that both tires were experiencing tread separation. The tires were not replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 14t013000 (tires). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The dot number was not available. The approximate vehicle failure mileage was 97,000 and the tire failure mileage was 13,000.

I am on my 2nd repair of ball joints with my 2003 Jeep Liberty, I have also had a repair when water gathered and caused my front passenger side carpet to get soaked with water. My issue is related to my tires, I have had rubbing and veering to the right problems since I purchased my car a few years ago. I have taken it in questioning alignment and was told I needed to rotate every oil change which I due but the premature wear on my tires is bad. I believe it is caused from the upper and lower ball joint problems and feel my tires need to be replaced by the dealer at no charge to me.

: the contact stated while approaching a traffic light at 25 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle restarted, the automatic transmission was placed into drive, but the vehicle would not move. The vehicle was shut off and turned back on 4 times, before it was able to move. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who could not duplicate the problem after performing a diagnostic test. The dealer informed the contact that all 4 tires were worn down unevenly and there were pieces of metal showing on the insides of the tires. Also, it was determined that the brakes and rear rotors were worn, and needed to be replaced, along with all 4 tires. A NHTSA recall letter, #06v288000 on the vehicle, regarding the suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joint was received. The parts needed to repair the vehicle were not available at the local dealership. The manufacturer confirmed the parts were not available. The contact was placed on a waitlist. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop who suggested that the recall work should be performed prior to getting all the other components replaced.

After a flat on 9/30 of this year, I purchased a new set (4) of goodyear wrangler st tires, size p215/75/16, through my Jeep dealer. Within a day of light use, my 2003 Liberty sport started to exhibit unsettled handling behaviors. The vehicle pulls strongly to the right where it did not before the tire replacement, the vehicle feels mushy at freeway speeds and is now very hard to keep going in a straight line. The feeling of lack of control is especially noticeable when trying to negotiate a left turn at speed (the vehicle seems to want to continue to go straight or left and, very noticeable under steer is present). The Jeep feels very unsettled everytime the grade on the road crown changes along turns on back roads and is noticeable enough to compel me to slow down from normal speed limits. When traveling 55 mph and above the feeling of loss of control comes on with very minor changes on straight road surfaces. There is also vibration and noise coming from the right front area of the suspension (comes and goes in proportion to loss of control). The vehicle has 70,000 miles and is on its' third set of these tires (the only one that fits the oddball standard rim) but, this is the first set of these tires that have left me not wanting to use the truck for anything. I checked tire pressures and wheel lugs for tightness but, found nothing out of the ordinary. I had the dealer look at the problem and they kept it for 4 days (and 100 miles) saying afterwards that it needed only a wheel alignment (toe-in was out) after stating that it was alright when the sold me the tires 3 days earlier; they also checked their wheel balancing job and found nothing wrong with that. They went on that there was nothing wrong with any suspension components and that my truck behaved like many other Libertys. Their work abated the right pulling a bit but, the behavior still varies in intensity with road changes. The vehicle does not feel safe even on dry roads.

The caller found out there was a recall on ball joints. He had it checked, and they could not find anything wrong. On the way home the passenger's side tire fell off, and the lower ball joints failed. Caller was driving 20 mph. The caller had vehicle towed to dealer. Manufacturer has not been contacted yet.