The Jeep Liberty, also known as the Jeep Cherokee, is a compact SUV that was produced by Jeep, a brand of American automobile and a division of FCA US LLC, that was produced from the model years 2002-2012. Introduced as the replacement for the Cherokee, a compact sport SUV that was produced in one generation from 1983-2001, the Liberty was priced as the middle of the road option between the Wrangler and teh Grand Cherokee.
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The Jeep Liberty is one of the smallest 4-door Jeep SUVs, until the company produced the 4-door Compass and the Patriot in the 2007 model year. Similar to the XJ Cherokee, the Jeep Liberty featured unibody construction, with the first generation being produced from 2002-2007, and the second generation beginning from 2008-2012.
The class is compact SUV, with the body style being 4-door SUV, and the layout is front engine and rear wheel drive, or four wheel drive. You can figure out what model would be the best for you to purchase by analyzing and looking at the various Jeep Liberty problems that are apparent in each model year.
In order to prevent your car from having any further issues and to keep your car safe, you need to recognize and diagnose the frequent and common Jeep Liberty problems.
What Are The Top Jeep Liberty Problems?
Liberty owners have reported numerous complaints, with nearly 2200 issues on CarComplains spanning over 12 model years. A majority of the user issues that are directly related to the Jeep Liberty involve the windows and the windshield. The Jeep Liberty’s overall PainRank of 29.4 ranks 5th in terms of 9 models.
The top Jeep Liberty problems include the TRW crash sensor defect. There is some concern that some type of electrical overstress is messing with the airbag control units. In addition, there is valve stem corrosion, with Jeep making a mistake by using aluminum valve stems in some of their early tire pressure monitoring systems.
The top three issues start with #3, with the third issue being that the regulators fail prematurely, with the 2007 LIberty costing around $300 to fix and the average mileage of the problem coming to around 59,000 miles. The second most common problem is the engine can fail in the 2002 Jeep Liberty, with the average cost to fix coming out to around $3,800 and occurring at nearly 130,000 miles.
The top problem in the Jeep Liberty focuses on the window regulator breaking in the 2006 Jeep Liberty, with the average cost to fix being around $300 and the average mileage of the problem happening at nearly 60,000 miles.
2002 Jeep Liberty Problems
The 2002 Jeep Liberty was the first model year that had significant issues, especially compared to the relatively safe and reliable 2001 model year that had very few issues. The main category of complaints focused on the engine, the windows, and the windshield.
The main concerns focusing on the engine deal with the engine failure, the check engine light turning on, the defective valves, oil sludge resulting in engine failure, excessive engine noise, losing oil, loss of compression, defective camshaft, and unintended acceleration while braking. The typical repair cost for the engine failure comes out to around $3,850, occurs at around 127,000 miles, and has the most common solution of replacing an engine.
The top issues for the windows and windshield include the window regulator breaking, the power windows failing, the leaking windshield, the rear glass support rusting, and the rear wiper breaking. The typical repair cost for the window regulator breaking comes out to around $360, with the average mileage of occurrence happening at around 95,000 miles, with the most common solution being to replace the regulator.
2003 Jeep Liberty Problems
The top categories of concern in this model year include the windows and windshield, with the main user concerns dealing with the window regulator failing, the power windows breaking, the moon roof breaking, the rear window latch being poorly designed, and the sunroof off track and leaking. The typical repair cost for this window regulator failing is around $320, with the occurrence happening at around 96,000 miles, with the most common solution being to replace the window regulator.
2004 Jeep Liberty Problems
The main categories of concern for the 2004 Jeep Liberty also deal with the windows and windshield category, with owners of this car focusing on the problems with the windows failing, the windows dropping on the floor, and the rear window and door not being able to close. The typical repair cost comes out to$320 and occurs at around 83,000 miles, with the most common solution being to replace the regulator.
2005 Jeep Liberty
Along with the previous model years, the 2005 Jeep Liberty also has big issues with the windows and windshield. The top concerns for this model year include the power window regulator failing, the latch not opening to close the rear window, and the rear window shattering. The typical repair cost comes out to around $300 and occurs at around 79,000 miles.
2006 Jeep Liberty Problems
The 2006 model year has the most overall complaints for all model years, and is commonly rated as the worst model year depending on the severity of heat issues, the repair cost for any problems, and the average mileage at which the problems generally occur in the car. The most reported problem with this Jeep Liberty involves the window regulator breaking.
The top problem category for the Jeep Liberty in the 2006 year includes the windows and windshield, like all of the previous years. The next highest categories of concern focus on the AC And heater, along with the fuel system. Regarding the windows, the top issues deal with the window regulator breaking, the windows falling down, the skytrack coming off track, and the windows making noise and vibrating. The window regulator breaking needs a typical repair cost of around $360 and occurs at around 59,000 miles.
The next highest category of complaints in the 2006 Jeep Liberty involve the AC and heater, with the AC stopped blowing cold air, the blower and compressor failing, the air conditioner shorting out, the heater blowing cold air while idling, and the AC making noise during use. The AC not being able to blow cold air has a typical repair cost of around $600, occurs at around 65,000 miles, and has a common solution of buying a new compressor or replacing both the blower and compressor.
2007 Jeep Liberty Problems
The model year with the second highest number of complaints is the subsequent year, the 2007 Jeep Liberty. Along with the previous years, the topic category of concerns focus on the windows and windshield, and has the fuel system as the second highest category. The windows and windshield concerns focus on the regulators failing prematurely, the windows falling into the door, the window latches not working correctly, the windshield cracking easily, the wipers not working correctly, and the sunroof leaking.
The fuel system issues of the 2007 Jeep Liberty include the gas overflowing while filling, the gas tank potentially catching on fire, and a recall being issued for the potential of the gas tank exploding. To fix the overflowing gas tank, the average mileage of the problem occurs at around 62,000 miles and has users stating that the ABT sensor has gone off, the gas cap notification light turns on, and the check engine light keeps turning on.
2008 Jeep Liberty Problems
After two years of relatively high Jeep Liberty issues, the 2008 model year has fewer problems than any year leading up to this one, besides the 2001 year of inception. The top category of concern in the 2008 Jeep Liberty include the electrical system. The main owner concerns focus on the faulty TIPM sensor, multiple electrical glitches, the horn sounding randomly, the engine not being able to turnover, the malfunctions in the electrical system, the fuse box catching on fire, the hesitation at startup, and the starter sticking in a certain mode.
The typical repair cost for the faulty TIPM comes out to around $1,040 and occurs at around 107,000 miles, with the most common solution being to replace the TIPM. Even though the 2008 had fewer issues, the Jeep Liberty problems are still expensive for some model years.
2009 Jeep Liberty Problems
The top categories of concern focus on the electrical system and the fuel system in the 2009 Jeep Liberty. Regarding the fuel system, the top concern focuses on the overflowing gas tank, with the typical repair cost coming out to around $800 and the average mileage of the problem comes out to around 61,000 miles. Despite having relatively few issues, the Jeep Liberty problems are still prevalent.
2010 Jeep Liberty Problems
Along with the previous year, the 2010 Jeep Liberty model year has the highest number of complaints in the category of electrical system, along with the AC and heater. The top electrical concerns from 2010 Jeep owners focus on the TIPM being faulty, the TIPM not being able to start, the battery not keeping a charge, the key fob starting wipers, and the turn signals not being able to work. The typical repair cost of the faultyTIPM comes out to around $1,270 and occurs at around 82,000 miles.
The main AC and heater issues focus on owners stating that the heater core went out, the vents do not work, and the evaporator core stops working. The heater core going out has a typical repair cost of around $700, with the average mileage coming out to around 51,000 to replace the heater core. The 2010 Jeep Liberty problems have caused issues with the electrical system and the AC and heater.
2011 Jeep Liberty Problems
The 2011 Jeep Liberty had the main category of concern is the electrical system, with the engine coming in at a close second. The top electrical concerns deal with owners stating that the TIPM module is faulty, the engine stalls during use, the cruise control does not work, and the doors continuously unlock during use. The typical repair cost of the engine stalling comes to around $1,040 and occurs at around 72,000 miles, with the main solution being to replace the TIPM module.
The 2011 Jeep Liberty earned similar rankings in the crashworthiness tests, with the moderate overlap front crash test and the roof strength rating both earning “Good” rankings. The overall evaluation of the side crash had various rankings, with the overall evaluation earning a “moderate” ranking overall, with the structure and safety cage category coming to just “Acceptable.” The worst ranking dealt with the torso driver injury measure, which earned the lowest score, a “Poor” ranking.
2012 Jeep Liberty Problems
The top concerns in the 2012 Jeep Liberty focus on the electrical system, along with a high number of complaints for the seatbelt and airbags. The top seatbelt and airbag concerns focus on the airbag light turning on during use, with the typical repair cost coming to around $520 and occurring at nearly 51,000 miles, with the most common solution to begin to replace the airbag control module.
The Jeep Liberty crashworthiness ratings range in terms of performance. The moderate overlap front rating came out to “Good” which is the highest ranking you can get. The side crash rating came out to “Marginal”, which is the second lowest rating that a car can earn. The last two ratings dealt with roof strength and head restraints, with roof strength rating coming to “Good” and the head restraints earning an “Acceptable” ranking.
In the overall evaluation of the safety ratings for the Jeep Liberty car, the ratings deal with the structure and safety cage, the driver injury measures, and the driver restraint ratings. The only rating that earned a below “Good” score was the left leg and foot category, earning an “Acceptable” rating.