Overview & Reviews

Sold from 2002-'12, the Jeep Liberty was the successor to one of America's original compact SUVs, the Cherokee (which returned in 2014). True to its tough, capable Jeep lineage, the Liberty has considerable off-road capability, thanks to steep approach and departure angles and exceptional suspension travel and articulation. The Liberty was also rated to tow up to 5,000 pounds, a robust figure for its class. These are qualities not found in most other small utility vehicles from this time period, which saw the rise of crossover SUVs optimized for the suburban lifestyle.

Demerits for the Jeep Liberty include a weak engine lineup, with sluggish acceleration and dismal fuel economy from both the four-cylinder and V6 engines offered over the years (the first generation's briefly optional diesel engine is impressively fuel-efficient, however). Interior quality and comfort are also lacking, and by today's standards, the Liberty's general lack of refinement leaves much to be desired.

User Reviews:

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  Liberty!?! DONT BUY ONE - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By dawniredskins - August 14 - 5:10 pm

  I bought my 2006 liberty sprt 4wd (3.7l 6 cyl manual) in 11/06 brand new. First visit to the shop was 01/09/07 for Windows/e-brake/pass air bag light. Since then (06/05/08) it has been to the dealership now 11 times- most of which--window problems, e- brake, etc. Also having trouble "weak clutch" or tranny. Dealer says. Only could duplicate one time, so "oh well". Never ever will I own another Jeep. Especially a liberty. And it is not comfortable. And no space up front at all. Glove box is so tiny, the owners manual and cool jacket it came with doesnt even fit! Id look elsewhere. Chrysler has 31 TSBs out on 06 liberties. That should say something!

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  windows? what windows? - 2007 Jeep Liberty
  By Ghost73 - June 3 - 11:40 am

  Bought the thing in August of 07. Windows have fallen down in the door 16 times! Yes 16 times! The dealership always fixed them for free. Then they claimed they have a new improved part. Windows kept falling. The last time it happened I got charged for it. I was told Chrysler had changed their policy. Hmm so I get penalized for their poor product. Sounds fair. I dont even roll the windows down. Yet they fall any way.

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  Pray for a good one - 2004 Jeep Liberty
  By anderix - January 10 - 10:00 am

  From day one, my lemon-flavored Liberty has not been able to drive in a straight line. I have had the vehicle for 5 weeks, and have had it in the dealers shop 6 times. And Ive heard this is not an uncommon problem. On other sites, I have found that there may be a problem with the uni- frame being misaligned from the factory, but the dealer refuses to even look at that. So much for my warranty! Luckily, Texas has very consumer-friendly lemon laws, but I am not happy that it has come to this. My advice: dont buy one without having a mechanic you trust check it out first.

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  I hate it - 2004 Jeep Liberty
  By alm - January 26 - 6:46 am

  We bought this Jeep thinking it would be reliable for our daughter as she just turned 16. So far shes terrified to drive it because the car has spun multiple times from poor traction. Ive sat it in more now and see that the seats are extremely uncomfortable, the technology/music is hard to reach and you have to lean forward to get to it. The wheel base is short and the vehicle is hard to turn and maneuver when you are an inexperienced driver, I wish that my husband and I would have gotten a better car for our daughter and we are highly considering getting her a different car.

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  Recall and Crush - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Corey - October 13 - 1:43 am

  Traded in 96 xj Cherokee with 298k on it for this Lemon,, What was jeep thinking.. Liberty Averages 13mpg, it cant tow, It is usless off road, It is slow, the interior rattles, Needed balljoints at 43k cv joints at 65k, rear spring broke at around 70, Traded it in on a 2001 xj with low miles.... Good riddance Jeep Junk

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  Third-World Car - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Tennessee - July 25 - 10:00 am

  My husband has one of these lemons. Hes just dealt with his 5th window regulator issue. Stained seats are a total embarrassment. Congratulations to Daimler Chrysler for selling a piece of junk that looks and performs like something youd find in the third world. I intend to get results from customer service, or the CEO and board of directors WILL be receiving some very nasty, frequent communications until this is made right for us.

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  The worst vehicle I have ever seen, bar none. - 2008 Jeep Liberty
  By sal42 - May 6 - 7:30 pm

  We bought it new in 2008 and it was the worse mistake my family ever made on cars, EVER. On the test drive the dashboard was literally coming out and you could see the wires and tubing under the dash. I pleaded with my father to not buy it, yet he was swayed by the exterior styling. During 3 years of horror (aka vehicle ownership), 3 of the window motors broke leaving the windows stuck in place, the plastics/materials are horrendous and the dashboard popped out twice. Besides that the seats were the most uncomfortable I have ever sat in, like sitting on concrete!!!!! The car is crampt, and the MPG figures are A LIE!!! The car barely got 10 MPG in the city, and maybe 16 or so freeway.

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  Disappointed Liberty Owner - 2002 Jeep Liberty
  By Disappointed - February 14 - 4:26 am

  Mechanical issues from start. Stalled, would not start, transmission slippage, major tire problems with Goodyear tires, very noisy. Dealership consistently denied problems. I now see that my problems are a common occurrence with this vehicle. Finally was able to get a dealership mechanic to admit to me that the 02 year of this vehicle has many issues as it was the first year made. At least that was validation of my problem but does not resolve my problems. By the way, dealership still refuses to acknowledge what mechanic confirmed.

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  Worst vehicle Ive ever owned - 2008 Jeep Liberty
  By John - November 10 - 10:14 am

  Dont buy this car. There are too many quality cars available today to waste your time and money on this piece of garbage. The engine and 6 speed manual transmission are pretty reliable, although poorly suited to the car. The engine is not powerful enough, has a microscopic power band, and the ratios are just too long. Below 3000 rpm theres no acceration, and above 4000 rpm its only good for turning gas into noise. While the powertrain has been reliable, literally every other thing jeep attached to it has not been. 4wd has failed twice for electronics, wiper switches, window switches, door lock switches, airbag sensor, door sensors, gas tank wont fill (replaced twice), shift boot falls apart, seat trim falls apart, spare tire doesnt stay tight and knocks around, wheels seem designed to deliver pebbles to the brake pads, brake pads cannot be secured and rattle constantly, car wont restart when warm, exhaust flex joint cannot be secured and periodically disconnects, entire interior vent system had to be replaced when an internal seal melted and jammed the actuators, multiple hvac fans have failed (noisily), and the list goes on. And on... I bought this car new with the lifetime powertrain warranty and lifetime maxcare. Even at $50 per work order and paying $35-$50/day for rental cars while the jeep is in service, it cost me $2000 this year to maintain this POS. I just dumped the thing yesterday... Id kept it for so long because I knew the warranty would protect me when something major failed... but eventually it bacame clear that the major expenses were not likely to fail, and the car was milking me dry, a few hundred dollars at a times. At one point this year, I had the car in for repair for three different unrelated issues in one week. Each time I picked it up, I couldnt even make it back to the house before something else crapped out. Another time it was in for service for two consecutive weeks, brought it home, and had something else fail the very next day. To wrap this up - do yourself a favor and dont buy this car.

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  Thinking of buying a Liberty - Dont! - 2005 Jeep Liberty
  By Jenelle - June 4 - 2:40 am

  I bought my car new and liked it at first. Now Im having many problems with it - mainly brake issues. At 22,000 miles I had to replace the caliper and brake pads. Now, only a year later and only 4,000 miles later the brakes are bad again and they say I need to replace front and back brakes completely. They claim this is because I live on the ocean (which corrodes breaks faster) but I have lived on the ocean all my life and have never had to replace breaks at 26,000 miles on any other car! The seats put my legs to sleep when driving (and others have told me the same), the horribly designed seats stain extremely easily.Ive also had no luck w dealer. Do yourself a favor dont buy this car!