2002 JEEP LIBERTY — Complaint #957928
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT filed January 14, 2013
NHTSA complaint #957928 (ODI reference 10492927) concerns a 2002 JEEP LIBERTY and was filed on January 14, 2013. The owner reports the failure occurred on December 22, 2012. The vehicle had 180,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Connecticut based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:front:control arm:upper 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:upper 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 2002 JEEP LIBERTY shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 JEEP LIBERTY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE DRIVER WAS PARKING, THE FRONT PASSENGER TIRE SEPARATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S HOME AND WAS INSPECTED BY A PRIVATE MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER UPPER BALL JOINT FRACTURED DUE TO CORROSION AND CAUSED THE TIRE TO SEPARATE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 180,000. UPDATED 04/02/2013 *JS
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 957928 |
| ODI Number | 10492927 |
| Date Filed | January 14, 2013 |
| Failure Date | December 22, 2012 |
| VIN | 1J4GL48K52W |
Similar SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT Complaints for 2002 JEEP LIBERTY
CHRYSLER HAS ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE 2002 JEEP LIBERTY REGARDING THE UPPER CONTROL ARM FAILURE. THIS FAILURE IS DUE TO FAILURE OF THE BALL JOINT SEAL ALLOWING CONTAMINANTS TO EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE BAL
I HAVE A SAFETY RECALL ON MY 2002 JEEP LIBERTY (SAFETY RECALL J17 FRONT SUSPENSION UPPER BALL JOINTS). WHEN I CALLED JEFF WYLER DODGE/JEEP IN FT. THOMAS KY, I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING ONLY
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 JEEP LIBERTY. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH IN REVERSE OUT OF A PARKING SPACE HE ATTEMPTED TO MOVE FORWARD AND THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE COLLAPSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER
2002 JEEP LIBERTY UPPER CONTROL ARM BALL JOINT BROKE WHILE BACKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY. VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALERSHIP AWAITING REPAIRS. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN RECALLED PE
RECALL #009V119000 DATED APR 09, 2009 EXPECTED TO BEGIN OCTOBER 2009 COVERING 2002 JEEP LIBERTIES EXCLUDES THE STATE OF LOUISIANA - CONDITION DESCRIBED IN THE RECALL EXACTLY DESCRIBES THE PROBLEM WITH
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.