There are 7 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2009 Jeep Libertyin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I HAVE JUDT BROUGHT MY JEEP IN MAY IT IS OCT AND I AM HAVING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. PLEASE CAN YOU ASSIST IF THIS IS A RECALL
CAR TURNS OFF WITHOUT WARNING WHILE IN MOTION. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO SHOW A PROBLEM... CAR HAS TURNED OFF ON HIGHWAY AND WHILE MAKING TURNS. HAVE TO PLACE VEHICLE IN PARK AND START CAR AGAIN TO WORK. LIGHTS AND RADIO ALL STAY ON.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP LIBERTY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE COMING TO A STOP, SMOKE AND FLAMES EMITTED FROM THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.
ENGINE SUDDENLY STARTED RUNNING EXTREMELY ROUGH, AND MAKING LOUD NOISES. IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND TURNED ENGINE OFF. WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND ATTEMPTED TO RESTART ENGINE, BUT AGAIN IT MADE LOUD NOISE AND WOULDN'T TURN OVER. HAD IT TOWED TO OUR MECHANIC. HE TOLD US ROCKER ARM JAMMED, LIFTER AND CAMSHAFT TOASTED, AND HEAD BLEW, AND MORE THAN ONE CYLINDER IS INVOLVED. HE ALSO TOLD US THIS IS THE THIRD LIBERTY ENGINE HE'S HAD TO REPLACE FOR CUSTOMERS IN THE PAST FEW YEARS - AND THAT'S IN A COMMUNITY OF LESS THAN 250,000 PEOPLE.WHEN I GOOGLED THE ISSUE I FOUND MANY LIBERTY ENGINE FAILURES REPORTED ON SEVERAL BLOGS - EDMUNDS, CARTALK, ALLPAR, TOPIX, ASK, ETC., BUT NOT ON THE NHTSA SITE. DON'T KNOW WHY PEOPLE DON'T LODGE COMPLAINTS HERE FIRST! REGARDLESS, WE'RE NOW LOOKING AT ~$4000 REPAIR/REPLACEMENT ON A WELL-MAINTAINED VEHICLE WITH LESS THAN 55K MILES ON IT. WE WENT TO OUR LOCAL JEEP DEALER, WHO TOLD US THE JEEP LIFETIME POWER TRAIN WARRANTY DOESN'T COVER THE DAMAGE AS WE'RE THE SECOND OWNER. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW IN THE 3.7L ENGINES THAT CAUSES THEM TO BLOW, AND CHRYSLER/JEEP MUST BE AWARE OF IT, AND SHOULD REPLACE THE FAILED ENGINES. IF THE ENGINE HAD BLOWN AT FREEWAY SPEEDS IT COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED A DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE RESULTING IN A CRASH. NHTSA NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THESE ENGINE FAILURES! *TR
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH DOWN A BUSY ROAD, MY LIBERTY'S ENGINE SHUT DOWN WITHOUT WARNING. NO WARNING LIGHTS LIT UP ON THE DASH, OIL WAS FULL, AND IT WAS RUNNING GREAT JUST BEFORE THE FAILURE. UPON INSPECTION AT A CHRYSLER DEALER IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE #5 VALVE FAILED CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SEIZE IMMEDIATELY. COST TO REPLACE THE ENGINE WAS $6971.00. CHRYSLER NOR MOPAR WILL ADMIT THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THESE ENGINES, YET THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD HAVE DONE TO PREVENT THE ENGINE FROM SEIZING AT 81,152 MILES. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO GET IT OFF THE ROAD AND STOPPED BEFORE I WAS HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. LIBERTY WAS 1, 152 MILES OVER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP LIBERTY. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 25 MPH WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE SUCCESSFULLY RESTARTED AFTER THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE AND ENGINE COILS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 26,123 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 26,150. UPDATED 03/09/12*LJ
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP LIBERTY. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL SPORADICALLY WHEN DRIVING 20 MPH AND ABOVE OR WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE ENGINE WOULD INTERMITTENTLY EXHIBIT AN ABNORMAL INCREASE IN RPMS WHEN DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. VARIOUS REPAIRS, INCLUDING A TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT AND FUEL PUMP REPLACEMENT, WERE PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE BUT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,220 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 29,319.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026