Problems · NHTSA complaints

2009 Jeep Liberty problems

Owners filed 108 complaints about the 2009 Jeep Liberty with NHTSA between Mar 2009 and Jun 2025. The most-cited component is structure (20).

Complaints
108
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
6
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Structure20
  2. Electrical system19
  3. Fuel/propulsion system15
  4. Air bags12
  5. Wheels10
  6. Suspension7
  7. Engine7
  8. Tires7
  9. Visibility6
  10. Fuel system, gasoline6
  11. Visibility/wiper4
  12. Exterior lighting4
  13. Vehicle speed control3
  14. Power train3

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 27, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20092
20100
201111
20124
201313
201423
201514
20168
20176
20188
20199
20202
20212
20220
20232
20241
20253

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Structure

20 reports
“snapped rear control arm. I own this vehicle in a salt state. no issues prior, it literally rusted and snapped with myself and my 5 year old in the car, causing me to lose control and almost crash.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 15, 2025Structure, WheelsODI 11661305

Electrical system

19 reports1 fire
“ON FRIDAY, 07.07.2017, AS I WAS DRIVING INTO A TURN LANE FROM THE HWY, I HAD SLOWED WAY DOWN FOR TRAFFIC THEN PICKED UP SPEED SLIGHTLY, NOT EVEN 10 MPH, TO FOLLOW CARS IN THE TURN LANE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR BECAME SLUGGISH AND THE JEEP CAME TO A STOP. AS I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AGAIN THERE WAS A VERY LOUD POP FROM UNDER THE HOOD. EVERYTHING QUIT, THE ENGINE, THE ELECTRIC, THE STARTER WOULD NOT TURN OVER WHEN I TRIED TO START IT AGAIN OR THE EMERGENCY FLASHERS. JUST BEFORE THIS HAPPENED THE ENGINE LIGHT AND, WHAT I FOUND OUT LATER, THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS CONFUSED AT WHAT JUST HAPPENED. THINKING WHAT I SAW NEXT WAS STEAM COMING FROM UNDER THE JEEP WAS STEAM I POPPED THE HOOD TO GO LOOK. THERE WAS TRAFFIC ALL AROUND ON THE HWY. ONCE I OPENED THE HOOD I FOUND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ON FIRE, BACK AGAINST THE FIREWALL BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND THE STEERING COLUMN, BEHIND THE BATTERY. THE FIRE GOT BIGGER ONCE THE HOOD WAS OPEN, IT SPREAD VERY FAST. PEOPLE IN OTHER CARS WERE YELLING AND A GUY STOPPED TO HELP ME AND TOLD ME TO GET AWAY FROM THE JEEP BECAUSE IT WAS GAS THAT WAS BURNING. THE FIRE DEPT WAS CALLED YET BY THE TIME THEY GOT…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 17, 2017Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemFire reportedODI 11005614

Fuel/propulsion system

15 reports1 fire
“Fuel Spit Back During Refueling. When refueling at any gas pump, flammable fuel almost always spits back out of the filler hose, down the side of the vehicle and pools on ground by the tire. There has been a recall issued for the same issue and same vehicle model: Jeep Liberty KK, which runs from 2008-12. However, the recall only covers year 2008.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 20, 2024Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11572950

Air bags

12 reports1 crash
“OUT OF THE BLUE WHILE DRIVING THE AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED - I TOOK IT IN TO HAVE IT RESET - IT WORKED FOR A BIT THEN CAME BACK ON: THE MECHANIC ADVICES THAT THE SENSOR LIKELY WENT BAD AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 30, 2019Air bagsODI 11240526

Wheels

10 reports
“CUSTOMER WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE CABLE THAT HOLDS THE SPARE TIRE SNAPPED AND CAUSED THE SPARE TIRE TO FLY DOWN THE HIGHWAY, ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF OTHER DRIVERS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 29, 2019Wheels, Unknown or otherODI 11210596

Suspension

7 reports1 related recall
“While driving I heard a popping sound and felt the vehicle sway slightly. The vehicle continued to making intermittent banging noises towards the rear passenger side. Upon stopping and investigating I found the rear control arm had failed on the passenger side. I also examined the driver side rear control arm. It was intact but has significant rust, which likely contributed to the passenger side failure, as it also has significant rust. Car has been parked since the incident. I would like to know if the manufacturer/dealer will replace both components free of charge. There was a safety bulletin for the same issue for the 2004-2007 model year of the vehicle (18V-278). A search on the internet found the same failures in my model year for the lower control arms.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 11, 2023SuspensionODI 11554620
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.