The defect
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BALL JOINTS CAN EXPERIENCE A LOSS OF LUBRICATION THAT CAN LEAD TO CORROSION, ACCELERATED WEAR, AND POSSIBLE SEPARATION FROM THE STEERING KNUCKLE.
The risk
A BALL JOINT THATHAS SEPARATED FROM THE KNUCKLE COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AND COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM BALL JOINTS WITH MODIFIED ASSEMBLIES AND HEAT SHIELDS ON VEHICLES BUILT BETWEEN JANUARY 2, 2001 AND OCTOBER 4, 2002. ON VEHICLES BUILT BETWEEN OCTOBER 5, 2002 AND MARCH 26, 2003, DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES (AND REPLACE THEM AS NECESSARY) AND INSTALL HEAT SHIELDS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON DECEMBER 15, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-992-1997.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Jeep Liberty | 2002, 2003 |
Components: SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeep Liberty | 2002 | 1,808 | 8 |
| Jeep Liberty | 2003 | 1,352 | 7 |
Other suspension recalls in 2003
25 of the 527 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2003 concerned the suspension; DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION filed 203 campaigns in all.
| 03V436000 4 Nov 2003 | RHODES TRAILERS |
| 03V411000 22 Oct 2003 | MOTOR COACH INDUSTRIES, INC |
| 03V371000 6 Oct 2003 | FINN CORPORATION |
| 03V369000 3 Oct 2003 | NEWMAR CORPORATION |
| 03V341000 15 Sept 2003 | TRAVEL SUPREME, INC. |
| 03V328000 12 Sept 2003 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| 03V342000 12 Sept 2003 | COACHMEN RV COMPANY, LLC |
| 03V278000 1 Aug 2003 | MITSUBISHI FUSO TRK, AMER |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2003