Opinions of the Jeep Liberty

hunterdan

hunterdan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Location
Morganton,NC
My wife needs a new ride and she has her heart set on a liberty. What says the forum?
We have looked at quite a few and many have 200k + miles and are still going. Anything's to look for on them as far as common issues?
What about the diesel engines that some are equipped with?
 
We bought a new one in 2005 and drove it for about 3-4 years and traded it in. Wife liked it and it gave us great performance up to 80k miles with zero issues. I'd buy another one for the right price for a commuter SUV.
 
We had an 03 with the gasser V6. It had 267k miles when we finally sold it. It was my wife's dd/grocery getter. We loved it. Only issue we had with it was a cracked radiator, stupid plastic. 4x4 worked just like every other Jeep I've ever owned. I would definitely own another
 
We had a 08 and the trans was going at 120k, heater core went and moon roof leaked other than that my woman loved it...
 
tsconver said:
has replace one head once and the other head twice due to valve issues and random misfire condition.
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IIRC, they had problems with dropping valve seats. I had a coworker who had one and got rid of it for that reason.
 
shawn said:
IIRC, they had problems with dropping valve seats. I had a coworker who had one and got rid of it for that reason.
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Yeah it was valve seats. First time he paid for both heads to be replaced by a dealer. Did not have much choice needed the vehicle. The second head was replaced under the warranty from the first replacement. But in its defense his son had overheated the motor on one occasion. That caused the original issues. They do not like to get hot. Same as 4.7L V8, if they overheat you are replacing parts. Second time not sure what caused it, had not overheated but had been shredding belts due to a bad ac compressor so that was probably putting more heat into the head than it wanted.
 
Atla said:
I despise it for the sole reason that it replaced the XJ Cherokee.

One of Jeep's unforgivable sins.
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But don't worry, they brought the Cherokee back. As a front wheel drive chinese man.
 
Getting it checked out prior to purchase by a reputable shop should steer you away from one with sludge or head/cooling issues (small leaks won't necessarily show in a test drive, even if it's longer). And overall condition of cooling system for prevention of future problems.

That and/or get a warranty with your purchase on the power train if reasonably possible.

My $.02
 
Found one for the wife and now have some issues. We paid for it and drove home yesterday. It had just gotten a new battery and we drove it for a day or two with a dealer tag while waiting for the pcm finish it's loop and allow it to be inspected...after it finished its loop and passed inspection at dealer we came back to morganton to do the dmv stuff. Well it had been fine but after going in a store and restarting it ...it began to shake right after crank up. It did smooth out mostly but a light came on and code is P0300
From what I've read that means random misfires. I called the dealer and he says just change the plugs. Went to a couple shops and they all say it could be blown head gasket. There is no white smoke, not loosing any coolant, not gaining on dipstick, not running hot. One mechanic said for me to wait til it's cold and crank it this morning and see if it runs rough or smooth. He said any anti freeze that leaks onto the pistons would cause it to run very rough. I cranked it this am and it is still running pretty smooth with just a slight bit of a miss. Does this mean I can rule out the head gasket and look at something else?
I thought about changing plugs but one mechanic said if it was plugs then there would be a P0300 with P0301/P0303... for the bad plugs

What else can cause a P0300 code (random misfire ) besides a blown head gasket.

Ever since we started driving it I have felt like it was missing a lick. When driving normally it fells like it's kind of putting along but when accelerating harder it seems pretty smooth. Basically a little rough when low rpm and fine at mid high rpm.

I dunno?
 
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Go to the dealer and get your money back! If they give you shit about it hang around and cause one hell of a scene in front of other potential customers. Also pull a @CasterTroy move and go to social media to really get their attention. Pretty good chance they knew about the problem and tried to cover it up with the battery deal.
 
Battery is brand new from the date sticker. Also has new ac compressor and starter.

I've been doing some reading on the P0300 code and many times it is the crank or cam position sensor. Other times it's the coil packs. Supposedly the crank sensor won't throw a code for itself until it's totally gone. It just sets the random misfire code.
I just went to check a random plug and it is dry but has build up and age with excessive gap. It's a autolite iridium. I was told that this engine needs proper mopar plug with proper gap. Could bad plugs cause this code? If so, since we can't take the jeep back this am should I spend 25$ and change the plugs/test coils?

We have not done the tag/title work on it so I don't think the dealer can do much but give a refund. That is still our most likely course.
 
hunterdan said:
Battery is brand new from the date sticker. Also has new ac compressor and starter.

I've been doing some reading on the P0300 code and many times it is the crank or cam position sensor. Other times it's the coil packs. Supposedly the crank sensor won't throw a code for itself until it's totally gone. It just sets the random misfire code.
I just went to check a random plug and it is dry but has build up and age with excessive gap. It's a autolite iridium. I was told that this engine needs proper mopar plug with proper gap. Could bad plugs cause this code? If so, since we can't take the jeep back this am should I spend 25$ and change the plugs/test coils?

We have not done the tag/title work on it so I don't think the dealer can do much but give a refund. That is still our most likely course.
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Read the documentation from the dealer on how long you have to return the vehicle. Check into NC laws about this also. CYA
 
If you're considering taking it back, I would not change the plugs. If you work on it at all, I see that as a window for them to claim you caused the problem... or at least undo whatever you tried if it doesn't work, and don't tell them you touched it.
 
Its a used car. When you left the lot with it you own it as is where is. There is no "cooling off period"

You might cause a scene and get a dealer to help, or you may be nice and get them to help.

But while I'm not a lawyer I'd bet you have zero recourse here. Doesnt matter that you havent done the tag/title. They have your money and a signed contract and you have the car. Whether you ever tag it or not doesnt change the game.

I'd bet @Jody Treadway could offer insight into the code and @1983Bronco could offer some insight into the legal options of the sale.
 
It ain't the head gasket. I've spent a ton of time under the hood of Liberties but never for head gasket issues.
More likely than that would be an injector leaking down over time, leaking fuel into the cylinder. Then when you crank it up, the excess fuel will cause a miss that will clear up. Hooking up a fuel pressure gauge and monitoring it will rule this out.
A very, very likely cause is valve seats causing the misfire. To verify, crank it up and WHILE ITS MISSING, hold a dollar bill at the tailpipe. If the bill gets randomly sucked up the tailpipe, there is an exhaust valve not sealing well.
If this is the case, it will need new cylinder head(s).
It's not the CMP or CPS. Electrical components rarely cause intermittent engine misses.
 
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