CarComplaints.com Notes: On August 16th, 2012 Jeep stopped production of the the Jeep Liberty, marking the end of a troublesome journey for the SUV.

All in all, the 2012 Liberty actually excels off-road, but since 99% of drivers never take this thing off pavement, that becomes somewhat of a moot point. The Liberty suffers from the worst fuel economy in its class (16/22 MPG) and offers an uncomfortable ride with suspect braking ability.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
111,295 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Jeep Liberty brakes problems

brakes problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Jeep Liberty:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2012 Jeep Liberty Owner Comments

problem #11

Mar 082020

Liberty

  • 109,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated after purchasing and driving from the dealer bi auto sales (1431 church St, bohemia, NY 11716) an abnormal noise was heard, the brakes failed without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was informed that the brakes were replaced. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred as the vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The contact stated that the failure has occurred at least five times. The contact state that failure was do to the brake calipers not working correctly. The contact stated that while driving she was alerted by another driver that the driver's side front tire was on fire. The contact had to extinguish the flames and had the vehicle towed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the diagnosis was the brake calipers had failed. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle fails to start. The manufacture was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,000.

- Bellmore, NY, USA

problem #10

Jul 232019

Liberty

  • miles
Brakes failed 3 different times with the peddle going to the floor, almost causing an accident.

- Oak Grove, MN, USA

problem #9

Jul 032018

Liberty

  • 53,100 miles
Front and back brakes lock up. Back driver side did it. Then stopped. Smoked from rubbing. Then quit. Now today July 3rd 18 front passenger locked up. Smoked from hot. Parked it went out later alittle better but the back driver and front passenger are still hotter. No lights no warnings. Just calibers not releasing good. Went out on highway yesterday fine. Today in town locked up.

- Galion, OH, USA

problem #8

Jan 052018

Liberty

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

All of the dashboard lights are on. Speedometer, odometer, gps, automatic door lock, remote start, cruise control, none of that works. Tire pressure warning lights are constantly flashing different pressures. Everything lights up upon starting and stays on while moving until it's turned off. This initially happened when I was driving on a highway, and my first reaction was that I didn't have any brakes. It was quite frightening. Subsequent to that the lights would go on and off intermittently, but after a few months they are now permanently on. The dashboard also makes a ping noise every minute or so. I purchased the car in 2017 and this had not been a problem until a few months ago. The known danger is in not knowing how fast I am going. The unknown danger is could the brakes at some point not work, or if I become involved in an accident will the air bags not deploy or will the engine at some point just stop running. I have been told it could be a faulty tipm. I also have a 2008 Jeep Liberty that does not have this problem, however it suffers from the same dashboard random ping noise.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

problem #7

Oct 092017

Liberty

  • 103,000 miles
My Jeep has had trouble switching from defrost to vent or floor since I purchased it. Recently I have been unable to use the heat in my Jeep and it is very cold in the mornings. I have been advised it is the HVAC blend door actuator. I have read reviews online with a lot of people having the same issues and was also advised by a coworker that Jeep have a lot of recalls for problems such as this. I would like to report the issue in the event the Jeep could be recalled for this before I spend a large amount of money trying to have it repaired. The heat will not work at all, it does not matter if the vehicle is in motion or sitting in park. My passenger window will not roll down when being attempted from the passenger side. The driver has to roll the window down. My Jeep was in park and another vehicle backed into it, slightly bumping the front bumper of my Jeep. My Jeep was in park with no passengers inside but rolled backwards several feet. The Jeep was barely tapped therefore, considering it was in park, should not have rolled backwards that far. I travel with kids in my vehicle, this is frightening.

- Clintwood, VA, USA

problem #6

Jul 052016

Liberty

  • 72,000 miles
The orc module and the ABS modules both failed and had to be replaced. The dealership couldn't tell me why so I had to replace out of pocket. The airbag and break lights among other lights were always on and also the door locks would randomly trigger to lock and unlock. The speedometer would also not work at times. These problems would happen when the vehicle was stopped or in motion and on any type of road.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #5

Jul 162016

Liberty

  • 740,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

"takata recall" this vehicle is a saftey hazzard unsafe due to ABS notification system and causing brakes to drag and lock up. I purchased this vehicle at a so called 5 star Chrysler Jeep dealership and it was put on the lot with bad breaks that where metal to metal and a bad electrical system. I had to purchase new breaks which are being damaged due to ABS malfunction causing the hit an miss causing the breaks to over work against the rotar drag and lock up. I was coming home on hwy and had to apply my breaks the break light came on and my breaks locked and I swerve off road to keep from rear ending another vehicle and shut off engine. This is a safety issue vehicle is unsafe and should not have been sold without breaks and electrical system being checked out.

- Vero Beach, FL, USA

problem #4

Jul 182015

Liberty

  • 38,900 miles
I started off by driving down hill on highway 40. All vehicle lights lit up on dashboard, enging stalled, no brakes or steering. I shifted the vehicle to neutral and was able to come to a stop on the shoulder of the road when the vehicle started up the next hill. No turns, the road was straight. Turned the key off and restarted the vehicle, and the Jeep ran fine. Later that day in a parking lot, the same thing happened. Started the vehicle, started to pull out of the parking lot, all of the dashboard lights came on, the engine stalled and had no brakes or steering. Placed the vehicle in neutral until the Jeep came to a stop, turned the key off, then restarted the vehicle and the Jeep ran ok until we got home.

- Mckeesport, PA, USA

problem #3

Aug 072014

Liberty 6-cyl

  • 26,000 miles
This is not the first time this issue has occurred but I can't remember the dates but it is on record at the dealership. We have had this 2012 Jeep Liberty in the shop two other times with the same complaint but with the same results (nothing) !!!!!!!!!!when driving on wet roads and going into curves even at slow speeds (35 mph) when applying the brakes, the front brakes will lock up and the back brakes are not catching... causing the Jeep back end to slide around, , so we tried stopping on a level gravel lot and the front wheels will lock up but the back wheels will keep turning. We have had it to tim short Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge in hazard, ky and one mechanic says that there is clearly something wrong but another states that he test drove another like vehicle and this vehicle does same. And that he talked with star and roland and both stated that this is normal operation. No codes, no problem found at this time. So I received a statement with the signature of mechanic [xxx] (service manager) and [xxx] (general manager). This is very dangerous and if this in "normal operations" then something needs to be changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please help, ,, has there been any other complaints with this same problem? information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Hazard, KY, USA

problem #2

Jun 172014

Liberty 6-cyl

  • 37,246 miles
I feel it important to make others aware of what was just found to be wrong with my 2012 Jeep Liberty. The red brake light indicator came on and stayed on, the emergency brake was not on at the time. Took the car to our trusted local mechanic and once the car was place up on the rack and tires removed you could see the problem. The front brake line is situated in such a way that it hits against the struts every time the wheel is turned. Creating a very dangerous situation, the brake line could be severed at anytime causing immediate brake failure. The car was purchased as a certified used vehicle with the understanding that it had completed the point check and that we were placing our new driver in a safe vehicle. Very disappointing to find out otherwise. Jeep/Chrysler is being very unresponsive to this major safety issue. Not only is this a safety issue but it could have resulted in the loss of lives. Very angry!

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 072014

Liberty

  • miles
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received a notification for recall NHTSA campaign id number 14V154000 (service brake, service brakes, hydraulic). However, the contact was not able to have the vehicle serviced under the recall because the part needed was unavailable to perform the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Arlington, TX, USA

Not what you are looking for?