Top 5 Problems Jeep Liberty SUV 1st Generation 2002-07

Hey, friends. It's Len here from 1A Auto. So today, in the studio, I have a first-generation Jeep Liberty, and I want to go over some of the top problems that we've come to find. Let's get started. So for problem number one, we're going to talk about internal engine valve. So I have a head to an engine over here. No, it's not the actual one for this particular Jeep, but it is something that I can show you so you can kind of get a grasp of what I'm talking about. Now, this is going to be more specifically about the intake valves.

What these valves are supposed to do is, of course, make it so your engine can draw in the proper amount of air into the combustion chamber to, of course, be burnt up with the amount of fuel that's being burned. Typically, what happens on these valves, though, is they're just not up to par. Essentially, they need to be replaced with an updated version, and that's going to make it so you can have the proper amount of air to be burnt up. If for some reason you happen to notice that your check engine light comes on or even starts flashing, it could potentially be because one of your valves or even multiple valves for your intake system could potentially be stuck or just not functioning properly.

So if we're going to talk about symptoms for if you possibly have an issue with one of your intake valves, essentially you could have that check engine light that comes on or even flashes, like I said before. Or maybe you find that you have a misfire or maybe even just loss of power coming from your engine. You go to take off, and it just doesn't seem like it's got the power that this Jeep used to have. So if you're finding that you have any of these issues, especially the flashing check engine light, that's something that you need to make sure that you diagnose ASAP. Obviously, you don't want to have any major issues going on with your internal engine components.

So, now, we're going to talk about fixes for this. Of course, it's not necessarily going to be the easiest thing for somebody to go ahead and do in the driveway. It's also not the hardest, to be honest with you, but you do have to get inside your engine, and you have to be able to access the valves. You're going to need a couple of special tools and, of course, some measuring devices. Also, you're going to want to make sure that you get the upgraded valves. If you don't get the upgraded valves, well, then you're really not doing yourself any good.

Okay, friends. For problem number two, we're going to talk about power window motor failure. Now, for symptoms for this, what you're probably going to notice is you go ahead and you try to use that window switch, and for some reason, the window just doesn't function the way that it should. It could potentially get stuck all the way up, all the way down, or even like this one stuck in the middle. Now, inside behind your door panel, you're supposed to have a window regulator that looks a little bit like this and then, of course, a motor.

We have an electrical motor on this because it's going to make our life a whole bunch easier than like back in the day when you had the little manual crank. But the only problem with that is, of course, any electrical component is going to go bad at some point. A common reason why these might tend to fail could be essentially if you were to have your window all the way in the up position in the wintertime and the window gets frozen. You go ahead and you try to power down that window because maybe you're grabbing your ice coffee at your favorite location in the morning.

And, like I said, the window is stuck, but you're really trying to pull on that switch. It's still sending the power down to the actual motor itself. And the motor is trying as hard as it can, but it can't get that window unstuck. Or maybe potentially something else is happening. Maybe that window regulator on the inside of the door panel here is stuck in some way or even jammed. So essentially the same thing, the window doesn't want to move, but the power is still getting sent down to that motor. It's going to potentially burn out the motor for you.

So, now, if we're going to talk about fixes for this, obviously what you're gonna have to do is you're going to have to get to where the window motor is. That's going to be behind this door panel right here. Once you get this out of the way, go ahead and try to get into where the window motor is. You're going to want to test for power going to the wires that come to the actual motor. If you have power and ground where they're supposed to be, more than likely it comes down to the window motor. Of course, you're gonna want to check that regulator at the same time. You don't typically have to replace both at the same time, but if one's damaged, well, it really couldn't hurt to just do both if you're right there anyway.

Now, for our third problem, I want to talk about power door lock issues. Now, for our power door locks to work properly, they have to have actuators. Essentially, when you go ahead and you press that lock button, whether it's on the door itself or on your little key fob, the actuator is going to say go up or go down, essentially lock or unlock, right? But, unfortunately, if this ends up going bad, it's going to cause something where they actually start to bind up. It starts to make a little bit of a noise, or even sometimes you press the unlock button, but for some reason, this just doesn't unlock. This can happen on one door or multiple doors.

Now, for symptoms for something like this, obviously, if the door lock isn't working at all on one particular door, more than likely, it's probably an electrical issue. Otherwise, if it does look like it's working, or you can even hear it trying to work, but it just doesn't seem to be working the way that it should, maybe a little bit of squeaking or even grinding as it's trying to do its function, whether it's unlock or lock, typically, that's going to come down to some type of binding situation. Now, where you're going to find that the binding is going to be is generally behind this panel right here. You're going to want to access this area right there.

This is the latch assembly. That's right where this is going to go down to. And so, essentially, if I have it in the lock position, it's going to make it so my latch will not unlock when I go ahead and pull on this handle. Obviously, you're going to want to determine what's going on. If for some reason you go ahead and you hit that lock button, this doesn't move at all and you can't hear anything, like I said, it could potentially be an electrical issue. If that's the case, go ahead and test for power and ground. You want to make sure you have those where they're supposed to be.

If for some reason you don't, well, then you're going to have to chase that down. It could be something as simple as a broken wire or even a fuse. If you do hear that it is actually trying to function but it's making funny noises or maybe not actually fully retracting in one position or the other, of course, that's going to be another issue where maybe it's binding, like I said before. If that's the case, typically what it's going to come down to is you want to check your rods. Make sure that they're not stuck or frozen in any way. And then otherwise what it typically actually really comes down to is you're going to have to replace your latch assembly.

To do that, go ahead and pop off this panel right here. And, of course, you're going to get in here and remove the latch. Now, for our fourth problem, we're going to talk about exhaust manifold issues. Now, every internal combustion engine has to have exhaust manifolds. This one, in particular, has a V6 engine in it. So, of course, it's going to have two banks. And each one of those banks has to have an exhaust manifold. The exhaust manifold is going to be located pressed right up against the engine. And then, of course, it's going to lead down to your downpipe and then all the way down the vehicle until everything gets shot out the tailpipe.

Now, what happens with these exhaust manifolds, of course, being so close to the engine where the combustion chamber is, they're going to get extremely hot. As metal gets hot, of course, it's going to expand over time. And then as it cools, it's going to contract. Every time you start up your Jeep, the exhaust is going to get hot over time and then hotter and hotter and hotter progressively. Obviously, as you're driving, it's going to keep getting hot. And then after you stop and you turn off your vehicle for a little while, it's going to start cooling down and contracting again.

Some things that commonly happen with these is either they crack, which is typically something that happens on manifolds, but there are other issues that are more prevalent on the Jeep Liberties themselves. And that comes down to the mounting hardware that holds the manifold to the engine itself. Now, you're probably wondering what happens to this hardware that holds the manifold to the engine. Well, the hardware is made out of metal. Same thing like the manifold right here, except it's much smaller metal, just like little nuts and bolts essentially, little studs sometimes.

Essentially what happens with that is with the heat they expand, with the coolness they contract. Of course, over time, adding a little bit of water to the mix and then rust and everything else, it's going to cause an issue. As those nuts and bolts and everything else start to loosen up a little bit, the manifold can start pulling away from the engine. When this starts to pull away, you're more than likely going to start hearing a little bit of a ticking noise. And the ticking noise is actually a tiny bit of exhaust seeping in between the gasket area between the manifold and the engine itself. You're gonna hear, like, a tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

This is typically going to happen especially when the engine's cold, and it'll start going away as the engine warms up. So, of course, you're going to definitely want to have this fixed ASAP. Like I said, diagnose to see where the noise is coming from. If you find a broken stud, you're going to have to go ahead and remove that entire manifold and then go ahead and get that stud out of there and replace it with a brand-new one. Typically, when you do this, you're going to replace all the studs. You want to make sure that the engine is nice and flat and level. And you also want to make sure that your manifold isn't warped in any way.

If for some reason you find that your manifold's damaged like this one right here with a little crack on it, you're going to have to go ahead and replace it. If you wanted to, you can go ahead and replace only one generally unless the other one's bad as well. If you find that there's two bad, just go ahead and replace them both at the same time. Okay, friends. For our fifth problem, we're going to get underneath the Jeep. And I want to talk about four-wheel drive gearbox unit leaks. So overall the leaks that could potentially happen to the front and the rear differential might be about the same.

If you were to look along this side of the differential where the driveshaft goes into it, you're going to be able to find your pinion seal. This is going to be a very common place for differentials to leak because it's just a little rubber seal, and anytime the Jeep's moving, this is going to be spinning. Another area that could potentially leak on your differential could be the axle seal area. That's essentially going to be the area where the axle is going to go into the differential. And once again, it's just a rubber seal. And every time that this wheel is moving, it's going to be spinning, and it could potentially wear down the seal.

The reason why it's very common for any of these rubber seals to leak essentially is because, well, what do you do with your Jeep? Maybe you take it off-roading a little bit. Maybe you live on a dirt road, or maybe you just use the four-wheel drive for what it's used for. Now, the rear differential could potentially have the same leaks. You have your pinion seal right along the front here, but unfortunately, the axle seals are going to be located a little bit further out. And to be able to see those even, you're going to have to take apart your wheels and your brakes and everything else to be able to look at them.

So now common areas on your transfer case would potentially be right along here on your output seal along the front area for your output seal on the front driveshaft. And then, of course, you have an area right in between the casing right here that's going to have a nice seal. These are all common areas for your transfer case to leak. Of course, if you were to have a leak, you're going to have to disassemble this and then go ahead and replace the seal. If you had a leak on your transfer case that was coming along this seal right here, you're going to have to remove the transfer case from the Jeep itself and then take it all apart so you can go ahead and replace this seal.

And, obviously, if you had a leak on either of your differentials, you're going to have to go ahead and replace that seal. This one right here is going to be fairly easy to do. These ones out here are something a little bit different. You're going to have to be able to remove the axles completely from the differential. To do that, you're going to have to remove your rear cover right here, of course, replace all the fluid, and then reseal everything. Okay, friends. So that's pretty much what I've got for you for some of the top problems that we've come to find on a first-generation Jeep Liberty.

Of course, every vehicle has a problem of its own. Maybe you've got something that you want to talk about. Leave it in the comments section below because I always love to hear from you. If you like the video, smash on the like button. For me, it would mean the world. While you're at it, go ahead and subscribe and ring the bell. That way there you can be kept up with all of our latest content. Thanks.