Front Suspension Control Arm problems of the 2004 Jeep Liberty - part 2

While driving on the interstate, the driver side rear lower control arm broke causing loss of control and veering to the right. After research I discovered that there is a recall for just such a problem but doesn't include the state in which I reside. Even though I live just 10 miles from two states where the recall is in effect.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact was driving approximately 55 mph when a sudden loss in steering control occurred and the vehicle swayed off the road, crashing into the median. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the driver's side lower control arm was fractured. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number 12v085000 (suspension:rear) however the VIN and vehicle's registered state were ineligible under the recall. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000.

Rear control arms from frame to axle have defective rubber bushings. Bolt holes and bushing are rotted/rusted/worn.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. While driving approximately 30 mph, there was a loud bang and the rear lower control arm detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was advised of NHTSA campaign id number: 12v085000 (suspension: rear). The manufacturer was contacted who advised that the VIN was included in the recall and when the recall remedy had begun, the vehicle would be repaired accordingly. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 174,000.

Passenger side rear control arm broke in half. Caused vehicle to make a hard left turn crossing center line into oncoming traffic. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic at that moment so there was no crash. Visual inspection revealed massive corrosion on both control arms. When this happens, you have no control of the vehicle. This recall needs to be expedited and owners need to be notified before someone gets injured or killed.

I was driving in traffic when I felt the rear of the car suddenly shift at least a one foot to two feet. It felt as if I had been hit by another car. I drove approximately 500 feet where I could pull into a parking lot. I checked my tires and looked the vehicle over. I did not look under the car. I got back into my car which handled very poorly. I drove about one half mile to my destination, got out of the car again and called my husband, explained what happened and asked him to come look at my vehicle. My husband looked under the car, the lower rear control arm had broken almost all the way through and rusted. My vehicle was moved to my daughters house (she lives one mile from my destination, I live 25 miles from my destination) the car is parked until I am able to get it repaired. Pictures taken show that the damage is from a corroded part that should not become corroded. This part failure is the responsibility of the manufacturer. Minutes before the incident I was on the interstate driving 70 miles per hour. If the part had broken then, I am certain it would have resulted in an accident most likely involving other vehicles and injuries.

The rear passenger side lower control arm has completely rusted threw causing it to crack in half while driving at 30 mph which caused the car to swerve all over the road. The driver side rear control arm shows serious signs of corrosion and a crack in the unit is starting to appear.

While driving 60 mph on the staten island expressway in NY I heard a thump and lost control of the vehicle. It was as if I was driving on ice. The rear end of the Jeep swayed side to side until I was able to bring it to a stop. The drivers side rear lower control arm snapped causing the rear axle to move to the rear on the drivers side. This caused the drive shaft to pull out of the transmission and hit the ground. While moving forward the drive shaft was dragging on the pavement moving side to side as it was still turning because the rear wheels were turning. Luckily I was able to bring the vehicle to a stop while just barely avoiding hitting a guard rail and other cars in the lane to the left of me. Once stopped I was stuck on a two lane exit at 11:00 pm with cars doing 60 mph coming to a screeching halt behind me and with some cars swerving into the adjacent lane to avoid hitting my car. This car is driven most by my wife with only my daughter in the front passenger seat. On this evening we had two adults in the front and two adults in the rear seat. I believe it was the added weight in the rear seat that caused the arm to break at this time. These vehicles need to be recalled and repaired as the situation will only get worse as they go through more winters. It looks to me like they want to wait until someone is killed before they do a recall. I also believe that a lot of these part failures are going unreported. Had the drive shaft hit a lip, pot hole or other obstruction before stopping, my vehicle could have flipped over causing serious injuries or death. The cost for the repair which had to include a new drive shaft was over $1100. 00. If needed I have the failed part and the other control arm and drive shaft. I also have photos of the failed part.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving, he lost control momentarily. The contact noticed that one of the tires was deflated and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was advised that the rear control arms were rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 120,000. One control arm was completely busted and rusted through. The other one was rusted and would have broke at anytime. Updated 10/19/2011.

While initially starting to move the vehicle, my wife noticed that the car was not acting correct. She got me, I looked under the car and noticed that the drivers side rear axle control arm was completely rusted through and the rear tire was moving back and forth in the wheel well. Obviously the car was inoperable to use at this time. The Jeep dealership (pinckney Chrysler Dodge Jeep inc. , pinckney, michigan) claimed they did not know of any issues with the rusted through control arm and the service manager did check for any outstanding recalls on the vehicle but I knew we were not the only ones that had this problem. I went to a local jumk yard (because were very tight on money) and bought a used, like new one and replaced the part myself. The junk yard said they sell a lot of them, obviously Jeep has a problem and are trying to hide it with this component rusting through. I do have the failed part in my posession and will gladly e-mail pictures of it to anyone of interest.

For the last year or so we have had problems with the Jeep swaying everytime we accelerate and decelerate. This was becoming a serious safety concern and took the Jeep to my mechanic after researching on google and finding other Jeep owners reporting the same issue. My mechanic reported that he had to replace the rear suspension lower control arm which fixed the problem. I had this work done in April 2012 and have since seen that a recall has been issued for this same problem (NHTSA action number ea11013) but the recall does not include Jeeps manufactured in texas since it is explained that the cause is corrosion due to application of road salts during winter weather conditions. I believe this needs further investigation of the potential causes and needs to be expanded to texas and possibly other states as well. I personally would like Chrysler to be held accountable and believe that I should be reimbursed for my expenses which were quite substantial.

Lower control arm was extremely corroded and fractured causing the rear axle to become detached. This caused the rear end of the vehicle to fishtail at a low rate of speed. Vehicle had to be towed to a repair station.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the driver thought that she had a flat tire, but continued to drive. The driver inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear drivers side control arm had fractured. The dealer was contacted and advised him that there was no recall for that component. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 78,000.

I was driving noticing I had lost control of the car. I thought it might be a blown tire or alignment issue. I got out to check after driving awhile on a 30 mph road. I noticed the rear control arm on the drivers side was rusted and broken apart. I then had no rear control of vehicle.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty limited. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited a loud popping noise while the vehicle was idle. As the contact accelerated to 20 mph, she realized she had little control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they performed a diagnostic test and confirmed that the rear control arm was rusted and fractured. The vehicle was repaired and the dealer advised that the passenger side control arm was also rusted and could fracture at any time. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The current mileage was 61,000 and the failure mileage was 60,000.

On February 21st 2012 I was driving to work. I lost complete control of my vehicle and went down a steep ditch and crashed into a tree. My air bag did not deploy. My vehicle was declared a total loss. Now I have received a recall, saying a control arm could break and cause loss of vehicle control and cause a crash.

The car did not feel right when I was driving home one evening and the whole back end jumped to the right when going over bumps or traffic passed my car. I got off the freeway and as I turned a corner the whole back end just slid and the vehicle was hard to keep control of. I had to drive 10 mph on city streets to get home and the car was difficult to control, it wanted to keep sliding to one side or the other. I found, on getting home, the rear lower control arm had rotted out and failed. It looked as though it had been in salt water for 25 years. If I had been at freeway speeds when it failed there is no doubt in my mind it would have caused an accident and very likely a fatal accident to me. I have seen 20 year old cars that do not have this kind of rot on critical parts like this and feel there is no way this should of happened on a 7 year old car. I have spoken to Chrysler and they will not help me on the repair as it is out of warranty but the real concern is to the pre-mature failure of this critical part. I have kept the part they removed if anyone would care to inspect it. I hope this may help other owners inspect this part and prevent a serious accident. I hope someone from the NHTSA contacts me so I can further express my concerns. Updated 05/12/11.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that the left rear lower control arm broke while the vehicle was traveling 30 mph. The failure occurred because the control arm was rusted. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear right control arm was about to also break due to rust. The dealer stated that the broken control arm needed to be replaced. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 76,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle violently pulled to the right. The contact pulled over and upon examination, he noticed the rear lower control arm was rusted and broken. The vehicle towed to an authorized dealer where it was being examined for the cause of failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were approximately 56,000. Updated evoq 02/01/jb.

Owner of a 2004 Jeep Liberty. Leaving parking lot at slow speed hear crack , stop found left rear lower control arm broken. If car was driven at normal highway speed crash may have occurred and people injured. After closer inspection found that control arm has rusted through causing arm to brake. The control arm was replaced and the right side inspected and found in very rusted condition, it was also replaced and both old parts are available. Updated ivoq 02/01/11.

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. While driving between 15-30 mph, the pivot bushings on the suspension control arms began making knocking sounds. The sound would occur when the steering wheel was turned left or right, during acceleration in a straight line, depressing the brake pedal, and when driving over a bump in the road. A mechanic stated that the pivot bushing located on the front and rear control arms failed. The failure began when the vehicle was first purchased and has become progressively worse. The contact scheduled a repair appointment. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage was 40,435 and failure mileage was 39,122.

: the contact stated the vehicle's front suspension ball joint separated while driving 5 mph under normal road conditions. The vehicle drove down a driveway, made a quick right turn, when the right front end suddenly collapsed making a loud metallic sound. The vehicle would not move. A towing service was contacted and the left front end collapsed when the vehicle was put in reverse while attempting to place it on the tow truck. The vehicle was towed to the service dealer who determined that this problem may be related to an upcoming recall that was currently under investigation. Prior to the failure, the contact experienced resistance in steering. The nature of the failure was permanent.

The contact stated that while driving 2004 Jeep Liberty the left front driver's side wheel fell to the right and was hanging on by lugs:nuts. Upon inspection the upper ball joint and the upper control arm and the axle broke. The vehicle speed was 20 mph. The vehicle was taken the dealership, and the dealer ship offered no explanation as to why this happened. The contact called Chrysler, and was informed that there was no recall. The vehicle currently has only 30,000 miles on. It. The vehicle was not involved in any accidents or hit any road hazard.

Left hand turn at low speed results in Jeep Liberty 2004 turning 180 degrees and rolling over. Primary cause of claim appears to be broken left front suspension control arm. Appears to be metal failure. Total vehicle damage approximately $7,000. 00. Vehicle photographed extensively at crash site. All critical damaged parts salvaged.