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.
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.
In 2006 the dealer claimed to replace the lower ball joints per the safty recall. We had been experiencing a loosness and rattle in the suspension lately. Upon inspection it was noted that the lower ball joints were very loose and this Jeep has only 18400 miles on it. I suspect that the dealer just signed off on this safty recall instead of doing the required work. We have kept the suspected ball joints for inspection and further investigation in this safety related mater.
The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle began to wobble abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics. The mechanic advised that the front control arm was fractured due to corrosion. The mechanic stated that the front control arm, tie rod, wheel and spindle would have to be replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 06V288000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint) but was advised by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in the recall. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
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.
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 contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact was driving 35 mph when the rear of the vehicle abnormally began to sway back and forth. The dealer inspected the vehicle and advised that the rear trailing arms were corroded and needed to be replaced. In addition, the dealer confirmed that the VIN failed to qualify for repairs under NHTSA campaign id number:12V085000 (suspension:rear). The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 127,854 and the current mileage was 131,000.
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.
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.
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 contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that the front lower ball joint started to exhibit an abnormal noise. The vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 06V288000 (suspension: Front: Control arm: Lower ball joint) but the failure recurred. The dealer was notified of the failure who advised the contact that any repairs to the vehicle would be at the vehicle owner's expense. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure who advised that the vehicle was previously repaired under the recall and they were unable to provide any further assistance. The failure mileage was 76,000.
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.
I was backing out of garage and heard a pop and then grinding noise. Stopped immediately and found the left front upper ball joint had popped out of the control arm. The ball joint is rust pitted badly. I would assume the right front ball joint is in the same condition. I am also aware that the 2002-2003 Liberty's have an open recall for this problem due to water intrusion. I had the recall for the lower ball joints replaced under warranty. I was lucky that there was not a separation while driving at speed.
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. If needed I have the failed part and the other control arm and drive shaft. I also have photos of the failed part.
I recently noticed abnormal tire wear (insides balding) on my front tires so I replaced the tires and took the vehicle for an alignment. Before the repair shop would do the alignment on the vehicle the checked the components to be sure that the was no other problems. They found that the lower and upper ball joints were bad on both sides and stated that it was unsafe to drive. I immediately contacted my local Jeep dealer to inquire about the repairs and to check for recalls. They advised me that there was a recall on the lower ball joints, I asked if the lower ball joints could cause the upper ball joints to go bad and they said that it could. I asked if that would be covered under the recall as well since they could have caused the upper ball joints to become bad, and I was told no that it would only cover the lower ball joints. So my complaint is that the recall should cover the upper ball joints as well because even after the repairs on the lower ball joints the vehicle is still unsafe to drive if the recalled part caused the problem to the upper portion as well.
The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. While driving approximately 55 mph, the rear end of the vehicle began to fishtail uncontrollably causing difficulty in the steering. The contact was able to gain control and maneuver the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated both rear trailing arms were completely covered with rust and exhibited numerous cracks. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
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 possession and will gladly E-mail pictures of it to anyone of interest.
While driving down the main road in our town at 30mph driver heard a loud noise and then lost control of the steering in 2004 Jeep Liberty. The car was swerving and the driver had no control of the vehicle. The car went off the right shoulder of the road, scraped a metal mile marker and finally came to a stop. It has been determined that the left rear lower control arm had corroded and broken. This could have resulted in a very serious accident.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hebron, KY, USA