Jeep Liberty: Believe the hype?

It sounds like your sister went and paid retail, just like 99% of the population. The world hasn't ended for them so don't sweat it.

As much as i hate people who do high-dollar car shopping impulsively when they really cant afford to screw it up, i agree with the sentiment of this comment.

I've never understood the "Jeep thing".

It meant something different before the Liberty was produced.

I dont like the Liberty but i think actual Jeep fans probably like it more than they like my opinions about it. I think the original Liberty should have been based on the PT Cruiser. Basically, i see the Patriot as what the original Liberty should have been. People who bought liberties didn't need big v6s (even though they didnt act big..) and RWD-based longitudinal architecture. They didnt need a 4000 lb vehicle that got E36 M3 mpg to do what they did with those vehicles. I think the liberty was a mistake from the beginning.

Brett_Murphy wrote: We hated our Liberty when used as a main car. I think we may have had a different opinion if we had got a 4x4 diesel.

The Diesel is a lot like the 3.7 except it is louder, leaks more, smells worse and vibrates a lot.

Once they updated the PCM to allow the trans to live behind a large diesel four, the fuel economy really ain't all that great.

Teh E36 M3 wrote: Ouch- $19k for a 26k liberty? I see those new all the time for something like $15-17k. Unless she has the limited or something. For what it's worth, Expedition Portal actually had nice things to say about theirs.

yeah, that's about what you'd pay for a 26k 4Runner (I know this, because I sold mine with 30k for about that). And the 4Runner is about 100x better vehicle in every respect than the Liberty.

TGMF wrote: is a 2009 (4th Gen) Toyota 4Runner. Fully capable off road, reliable, will tow most people's toys, and has decent on road handling.Will run forever, and still be worth something when they want to sell.

Find a SportEdition 4Runner with the XREAS suspension (all SE's have it, and it was optional on Limiteds) and the on-road handling goes from decent to "the best handling body-on-frame SUV ever made" IMO. It's night and day difference versus the non-XREAS suspension.

I don't know if the '12 is similar to the '02, but if it is...

It's not all doom and gloom. The wife has a 02 that just turned 223K. I'm not real fond of it, but she loves it. She's short and it fits her. It's only been towed once and that was because I ignored a rattle in the front end until a lower ball joint failed. Easy as hell to work on. Runs good, drives fair. In the 70K miles we've had it, it's needed two sets of plugs, ball joints, front pads, one coil, and Rock Auto just dropped off a power steering pump kit. Parts have been reasonable and Chrysler did the lower ball joints gratis. The uppers only took about 30 minutes.

Do not use platinum plugs. They will missfire. Go for the good old fashion copper and change them every 20-30K. They are so easy to change, my 14yo and my wife did the last set in under an hour.

The pros, easy to work on, outstanding brakes, tows well, fair fuel economy, the 3.7 is willing.

The cons, rides like a truck (Like a 1970s Dodge Power Wagon), twitchy to drive, too small for me, the leather sucks.

I will say, we won't be buying another. We've been using my F350 crew cab as the family car because it will seat 5 comfortably, the Liberty won't.

Its definitely no XJ, but my impression of the semi neglected one I have any relation to is it's about average for an American car.

In reply to Toyman01:

Did they put the heat shields on the lower control arms too? The story went, the rotors got hot, the reflected heat made the ball joint boots fail, water got in etc. So the new ball joints have (IIRC) kind of milky green boots and there are two heat shields that snap onto the bottom of the knuckles, keeps the boots from getting too hot.

To the OP: 2012's have a different design knuckle and ball joint, aren't involved in this recall. The last year was certain 2006's, basically if it doesn't have round headlights it's not involved.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

They did, but the last set had the heat shields also. I was kind of surprised they changed them under the recall. The thing had over 200K on it at that point. That falls under wear and tear to me, not that I was going to try to talk them out of it.

Well, here's the deal: safety and emissions related recalls never actually expire. So consider the lower ball joints as lifetime warranty.

How does the FJ cruiser compare to the 4Runner? They seem to be similarly priced. Seems like 4Runner is generally more capable as far as towing goes.

I'd take a 4Runner over an FJ simply because there is more utility. It seems to me that the FJ is a style vehicle.

I drove a 1st gen Jeep liberty 3000 miles across country a long time ago. I remember it was extremely unnerving in big crosswinds and it was a dog in the big mountains. Other than that though, it was a completely unremarkable, spacious appliance that I would never ever ever think of towing anything more than a bicycle with.

I had a 2002 Liberty, drove it 72k miles. Trailer package and towed my 3900 lb. trailer all over the NE. Mpg ran 12/15 when towing. Driving 70+ mph unladen on trips 19/20 was norm. Other than two ball joint recalls, pretty much trouble free. I hated the automatic transmission sometimes. I had to replace the pan due to rust, from the inside.

Desmond wrote: How does the FJ cruiser compare to the 4Runner? They seem to be similarly priced. Seems like 4Runner is generally more capable as far as towing goes.

4Runner is better in every way except hardcore off-roading (FJ has locker(s) IIRC). FJ doesn't ride as well, has less space and feels cramped, and has blind spots everywhere. Also has dorky ergonomics, like they did the interior out of the parts bin. I've spent a lot of time in one with a female co-worker of mine (no, not in the back seat, lol...).