There was an unspecified design change (cost cut?) for 2004 Jeep Liberty models.
Chrysler is recalling more than 265,000 Jeep Liberty SUVs because a rear suspension arm can corrode and fracture in salt-belt states and Canada. The Jeep corrosion recall comes almost one year after the National Highway traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation of the defect after receiving complaints from nine owners of Liberty models.The suspension failure investigation was upgraded by NHTSA to a more serious engineering analysis covering 2004 and 2005 models last September.
It appears from publicly available documents that Chrysler resisted the recall, doing so only after a meeting with safety regulators in February. The recall to replace all the suspension arms is expected to begin in April. Chrysler said in the required NHTSA filing that it is unaware of any accidents.
“The excessive corrosion is a result of extended exposure to road salt, which is why the campaign is limited to vehicles originally sold or currently registered in salt belt states as defined by the NHSTA,” said David Dillon, Head of Product Investigation and Campaigns, Chrysler Group in a media statement.
Jeep Liberty SUVs originally sold, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Canadian Jeeps are also being recalled. (209,746 U.S. and 24,727 Canada) Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
