I just installed a set of 235/70-16 Bridgestone Dueller AT Revo tires on my CRD Limited, which has about 2k miles on it. They are a major improvement in handling (even dry) and amazingly quiet for an AT tire. I can honestly say that at highway speeds I don't hear them at all, and can barely notice their presence under any conditions. Hope this holds up as they wear. They also look much better on the Liberty, which borders on too cutesy and soccer mom looking IMO, esp with the Wranglers. I agree with everyone that Wrangler STs are not worthy of any Jeep. I have a feeling that they must perform well on the EPA mileage tests and that is the only reason I can imagine they put them on the CRD instead of the standard 17" that the Limited comes with otherwise.

So far, and I only have maybe 500 miles on the Revos, they seem to have decreased the fuel economy by 1-2 MPG from the Wrangler STs. They are also slightly smaller in diameter that the STs, so the decrease is actually a tad more. They are wider and the tread is more aggressive, so this is probably just something you sacrifice for a better and more capable tire. I am wondering if others have noticed this range of drop in MPG?

In my past vehicles, I wouldn't have given this loss of fuel mileage a second thought, but I have been having a ball eeking every last MPG out of the CRD since getting it. It has actually become kinda of a driving challenge game. If you are willing to slow down a bit, they have a nice sweet spot at 60-62 MPH, but you have to first exceed 65 MPH to get the torque converter to lock and then drop back to around 1700 RPM. The diesel clatter is really pleasant at the lower RPMs too. I use cruise to keep it there. Go any slower and the converter unlocks again, or it drops into 4th, and you have to speed up to then slow back down. Driving in the sweet spot as described, I get 27-33 MPG on my work commute of 20 mainly highway miles, the higher range with the prevailing wind and the lower against it. wimp footing around, I can do 25 MPG in city conditions. These are figure are without AC, which is something else I now turn off if the weather allows. I never gave that much of a thought on my previous vehicles either.

I just cannot figure out why it has taken this long to get a diesel SUV on the market that is not 20 feet long and 6000 pounds. I have been waiting for the CRD for a long time, and am glad Jeep is the first to do it. Now if they just put the diesel in a wrangler and gave it 4 doors and a hardtop and a manual transmission, and I would have my dream truck. I have had CJs, a Wrangler, and a Grand Cherokee previously. I personally would prefer a rubber floored, utilitarian kind of SUV that you can take offroad without worrying about a little scratch from a tree branch, or getting mud on your carpets. I hate being forced into a luxo-barge just to get 4 doors. Am I the only one who has ever wanted something like this?

My experience on the TC locking is to get it over 58 mph, at which point it locks into 5th, and you can then back it down as low as 55mph before it unlocks and/or shifts into 4th. I'll have to check the over 65 rule and see how that works.

Hmmm....

I also noticed a slight (1-2mpg) drop in mileage when I changed tires, but I went from 225/70 STs to 255/70 Wrangler Silent Armors.

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2005 Jeep Liberty CRD, Provent CCR, 2.5" lift

That 27mpg to 33mpg on your work commute it pretty amazing. I'm hoping this is an instantaneous measurement from the over head computer while driving in the "speet spot" for engine rpm? I don't have one of those computers so I can only calculate mpg by the tank full. At 2k miles on mine I've only had an average best of 24mpg, which dropped to 22.5mpg with my P255/70R16 Revos.

The Revos handle great!

What grade of diesel are you using. Any bio-diesel, cetane improvers, or anything special?

My CRD is a 2006. I drove some 2005s before I bought this one. The 2005 went into TC lock quicker and stayed locked lower. I liked the 2005 programming for my driving style better. BUT, the 2005 steering feel on center was off, and they fixed that in the 2006. The 2005 CRDs were very heavy on center, yoy hard to twist hard to get past that, but once off center they steered normally. This was true at parking lot speeds and also on the highway. The 2006 sterring is dialed in just right. i am thinking they dropped the heavier diesel in the 05 and didn't update the power steering to accomodate it, or something like that. In any case, the 06 feels totally different and better.

As for fuel, I am buying Flying J diesel , and for $2.35/gallon last tankful. The mileage is not instantaneous, but my average from home to work, or from work to home, resetting when I depart. It includes 2 miles of stops and hills, and the rest is highway. I checked the computer versus tank gpm and total miles and it was accurate, so I trust it. I have not compared driving at 70 to driving in the sweet spot just yet, but just watching the computer, I would estimate that 8 MPH more to 70 would drop 3-5 MPG. I will let everyone know as I get more data. I like the way it sounds at around 1700 rpm, and as I watch all the people flying around like madmen, just enjoy feel nice and relaxed and unhurried. Do this for a while and you can almost feel the stress in most of the harried drivers.

Be sure you break the engine in for a while before going slow and easy. The diesel engine is better off if you goose it once in a while during break-in. The high compression seats the seals. Check your owner's manual. Also, cruise control keeps the engine at a steady rpm, which is not a great idea to do very much while the engine is new. After all the little bumps are ground off you can use cruise all day, but best to avoid it early on.

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TxAshurst
'05 Liberty CRD
Mod.s to date: Added biodiesel and mud, but not in the same places; Upgraded tires to General AT2 M+S 235-70R16; U-Haul towing receiver; front tow hooks

Yeah, I really notice the heavy on-center feel compared to my Wrangler, especially when towing. Makes it a bit of a fight to keep the thing in the center of the road in gusty conditions. Sucks that they fixed it on the 06's but w/ the over $4K off I got on the '05 I couldn't pass it up.

Also, rumor has it they are going to drop the CRD into the Wrangler next year. Thought about a CRD Wrangler Unlimited for a few minutes but the KJ actually fits better w/ what I'm using it for.

Regular Wrangler CRD will he a helluva rock climber. Just put it in gear and let it idle over everything

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Chris
Current:
2007 Steel Blue Metallic Grand Cherokee CRD Limited
GDE Eco Tune and DPF delete
CB Engineering DPF delete pipe
EHM

Past (sold to Mountainman):
2005 Patriot Blue Liberty CRD Limited

The Wrangler ST's suck....the REVO's are great.
I swapped all 5 of mine out within 3 weeks or so of purchase of my CRD....had them on the '02 I traded in and they were great.
Greg

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2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 3.6L and A8
*SOLD*2005 Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4 CRD, Bright Silver Metallic, Dk/Lt Slate Gray Leather w/bun warmers, 5 spd auto, 22G pkg, Trailer Tow, 3.73 Rear Axle w/Trac-Lok Differential, P235/70R16 Firestone Destination LE's, Power Sunroof, Selec-Trac 4WD, Infinity 6-Disc In-Dash, Magnaflow #15870 System.

As for the dream SUV, I had a Land Rover 110 which was awesome (but no diesel). If Jeep followed Land Rovers cue and came out with a 4 door Wrangler diesel, I would be the first in line at the local dealer.

Also my mileage is about 22 to 24 average.

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05 Liberty CRD Sport in Dark Khaki
Sirius satellite radio
ARB bumper
Safari Rack
All Husky lined
Full Mopar Armor / Olympic Rock Rails
Daystar 2.5 lift - Rancho RS 5000's
Moab rims
265/75/16 Kumho KL71 MTR's
Magnaflow muffler / DR perf module
Security system - German Shepard

This is off topic a little...but do we KNOW that they have revised the steering on the '06 models, or is this just a suspicion of someone based on their "feel" of the vehicle during a test drive? The '06 brochure mentions nothing of revised steering. Just wondering...

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2005 Stone White KJ Limited CRD 4x4
Off-Road Pkg
Trac-Lok
Emu 790s/948s
Skyjacker H7088s rear/Bilsteins front
15x7 Black Rock Lobos/31x10.50 Firestones
GDE HOT Tune + TCM Tune
Euro TC
CB radio
Thrush Turbo muffler
AEM DryFlow filter

The change in the steering is not just a suspicion, and I will relate how it was discovered. I had originally planned to buy one of the 2005 CRD leftovers. I drove a Sport version and noticed the funky steering feel... like the wheel was stuck on center until you tugged it off. Almost like a magnetic attraction to center. I then drove their demo 06 CRD Limted and it felt just fine, so I assumed that it must be something different on the Limiteds. So I ordered in an 05 Limited to purchase. When it arrived, it had that same steering issue. The salesman and I then drove all three of their 05 CRDs and then the 06, and we agreed that the difference was night and day. I then asked the service dept if there was anything they could do to improve the 05 I wanted. They drove several, agreed it was different, and said they could maybe improve it some, but not get it to be like the 06. We also drove an 05 3.7 Limited and it did not have the funky steering feel, so it seems to be a problem on the CRD models. I think you could get used to this heavy on-center feel over time, but if you ever drove the 06, you would want that version. It just feels "right." They were good enough to offer me essentially the same deal on an 06. I lost the 0% financing from DC and $500 in added rebate, that was it. They must make hundreds of changes to the vehicles each year, and unless it is adding a new feature, I doubt you would read about them in the brochures... esp if it was correcting a problem and there will still lots of the old models unsold.

Well this is very interesting information. If you or anyone else finds out exactly what was changed to make this difference, it would be appreciated if you'd post that info. here. Some of us '05 guys might want to fit the newer parts on ours. It could just be that they upgraded the steering pump (especially since it provides vacuum for braking functions too) or something simple like that. So if anyone finds out what the difference is, let us know!

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2005 Stone White KJ Limited CRD 4x4
Off-Road Pkg
Trac-Lok
Emu 790s/948s
Skyjacker H7088s rear/Bilsteins front
15x7 Black Rock Lobos/31x10.50 Firestones
GDE HOT Tune + TCM Tune
Euro TC
CB radio
Thrush Turbo muffler
AEM DryFlow filter

I became curious about this steering issue. So I did a little research myself. I contacted Jeep and asked if any mechanical changes were made to the 2006 CRD model to improve it's steering. This is what they said:

"There have been no changes made in the mechanics or design of the Jeep Liberty CRD since the 2005 model year."

So hmm... I wonder what is going on? Are they using a different tire on the '06s maybe? The tires can make a difference in steering feel.

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2005 Stone White KJ Limited CRD 4x4
Off-Road Pkg
Trac-Lok
Emu 790s/948s
Skyjacker H7088s rear/Bilsteins front
15x7 Black Rock Lobos/31x10.50 Firestones
GDE HOT Tune + TCM Tune
Euro TC
CB radio
Thrush Turbo muffler
AEM DryFlow filter

I haven't noticed any steering problems with my 2005, but than started driving jeeps when I was 8 and it was a 1946 with a flathead 4, questionable brakes, 7.75X16 Firestone Super All-Tracs on split rims, and standard old steering. Have been in hog heaven ever since my '69 CJ5 with the Dauntless V-6. Guess I drove too many tractors, farm trucks and old jeeps to sweat the small stuff.
So far this rig taken me everywhere I wanted to go and just how I wanted to get there. Smooth as an old single malt scotch.

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No one knows as much as all of us.

The DC brochure for the 06 models talks about new features such as the ESP stability control system, anti-rollover mitigation, electronic traction control, emergency braking assist, and larger brakes on all the wheels to name the quickly identifiable stuff. The shift programming in the transmission is different, having driven both. Same with the steering. The latter two are not noted in the brochure, but are easy to notice. I don't think your info source is credible, since even the salesman tout the changes noted in the brochures. The 05 models we drove had limited slip rear ends, while the 06 models use the electronic traction control instead... I am not sure you can even get the trac-lock any more. I don't know why this would affect steering unless the rear ends were really not slipping much at all. I know steering gets stiff in part-time 4wd if the traction is too good.

What is the difference in brake size from 2005 to 2006?

What is the mechanical/part difference in the steering from 2005 to 2006?

Anyone?