2004 JEEP LIBERTY — Complaint #1264959
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT filed March 2, 2016
NHTSA complaint #1264959 (ODI reference 10839361) concerns a 2004 JEEP LIBERTY and was filed on March 2, 2016. The owner reports the failure occurred on March 1, 2016. The vehicle had 200,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Pennsylvania based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same JEEP LIBERTY cohort independently describe similar suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2004 JEEP LIBERTY shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 JEEP LIBERTY. WHILE BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AT 5 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD THUMPING AND GRINDING NOISE. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT NOTICED THE VEHICLE WAS RESTING LOW ON THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE DRIVER SIDE LOWER BALL JOINT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1264959 |
| ODI Number | 10839361 |
| Date Filed | March 2, 2016 |
| Failure Date | March 1, 2016 |
| VIN | 1J4GL48K64W |
Similar SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT Complaints for 2004 JEEP LIBERTY
The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that after making a left turn, the front driver-side wheel detached and no warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was then towed to an in
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 JEEP LIBERTY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE FRONT LOWER BALL JOINT FRACTURED AND AN ABNORMAL NOISE EMITTED FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 JEEP LIBERTY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND AFTER IN
2004 JEEP LIBERTY. CONSUMER REQUESTS REIMBURSEMENT FOR TOWING AND PARTS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS WERE REPLACED. *JB
2004 JEEP LIBERTY. CONSUMER STATES VEHICLE FRONT END FELL TO THE GROUND WHILE STOPPED AT A LIGHT. *TGW THE CONSUMER HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED WHERE THEY REPAIRED THE LOWER BALL JOINT AND UPPER CONTROL AR
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.