New owner. Problems already. Not happy.

JonF · **Joined:** Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:54 am **Posts:** 11

Ok. So I pulled the trigger and bought an 05 Liberty CRD Limited with 83,000 miles. When I went and looked at it last friday it was dark when I got up there and the check engine light was on. The dealer asked me not to drive too far so I didnt. I liked it. I'd never driven one before. They sent it to a dodge dealer and had the glow plugs etc... replaced. I went back up monday and looked at it in the daylight. IO drove it again to make sure it still seemed OK. Once again I only drove it about 20 minutes. I made my down payment and drove it home.

Problem #1. By the time I got home (50 minute drive) my legs and hips were killing me. The seat is narrow and uncomfortable. This I think I can fix with some additional foam installed in the seat under the factory foam so I dont sink so far into the bucket. I did this on my Dodge truck and it was great. I dont have a big butt, but I do weigh 230 pounds. I'm open for suggestions if anyone has a better fix.

Problem #2. Yesterday on the way home from work I was in traffic for 20 minutes or so. Normal. The temp gauge had been steady at just below 1/2 every tiome i had driven it. It was unusually warm, 80 degrees but nowhere near hot. Sitting at a light the temp gauge rose rapidly to 3/4 . (It did the same thing today stuck in traffic but s-l-o-w-l-y went back to 1/2 after about 3-5 miles at 50 mph) Then the light turned green and once I was moving again it settled back down to just below 1/2. then I got home. This morning the low coolant light was on after I started it. I giot out and checked the level. it was below the full cold line, just at the bottom of the letters "cold". I decided it was OK and drove it to work. but when I started backing out of the driveway...

Problem #3. The red brake light and the yellow ABS light came on. I continued driving. After a minute the low coolant light went out. The red brake light and yellow ABS light stayed on until I turned the truck off.

I am an unhappy camper right now. I really like the CRD but I'm thinking I bought a piece of junk. It's back at the dealer now and they are going to have it checked out. I dont want it. I dont want a money pit. They have my down payment and I was supposed to go to my credit union Friday to get the loan done for the rest. I dont want to do that now. I want out.

Anyway. I'm open to suggestions, comments, experiences, etc... with these problems. From what I've seen there are some very knowledgable people here and I appreciate any help.

One last thing. I dont have an owners manual. Does this have a glowplug light? If so what does it look like? Or are my glowplugs not working? The last 2 days it has been around 50 in the mornings. I thought i should at least see something on the bulb check at startup.

LMWatBullRun · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:51 pm

from my limited knowledge I can speculate on the following:

-Your temp rise is probably due to a failed fan clutch, a relatively easy fix (go with an aftermarket, not an OEM)

-This may or may not have resulted in a warped head/headgasket problem, but given the coolant loss, it may have. I doubt this is the first time this has happened, so you may well have a bad HG/warped head. If so, and this is by no means certain, this is NOT an easy fix. Diagnosis can be troublesome on this. There are any number of threads on the results of overheating.

-Glow plug light only stays on for a second or two; if you blink, you miss it. It's in the upper left side of the panel. If the CRD starts then it's working.

-I weigh 250 pounds and have a skinny backside and have no problems with the firm seat, so cannot advise you.

If your gut is telling you to bail, listen to your gut. :wink:

Where is the dealer? I've been thinking about another CRD.....

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:55 pm

I've been in 105 degree traffic with the AC on - and the temp gauge never went past centerline.
in fact in 107K miles the only time it went past centerline was climbing mountain passes in Colorado.

Seats - you probably need to swap in some of the 02-04 versions - but you'll have to change the air bladder - sensor in the passenger seat or - the repad reupholster idea.

Manual - check the Noob guide http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54207

the biggest problem from day one - has been finding Techs who know how to work on one of these.

(FYI - the overheat and low coolant light - make me think of a leaking head gasket)

FYI 2 - at 50F the glowplug light is only on for a second or 2 - if it's not working you will get a CEL

racertracer · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:33 pm

You came to the forum a bit late.

Did you not do your due diligence prior to purchasing it?

Besides all the other problems the vehicle is showing…… the worst one is the coolant issue, it is a sign of a head gasket leak.

Sounds like you bought someone else’s headache. I suggest you immediately return it to the place you bought it from and get your money back.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:22 am

There are other places for coolant to leak besides the head gasket.

The seat was not changed out from when you test drove it to the time you bought it :5SHOTS:

And yes you came here a little late :JEEPIN:

dirtmover · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:23 am

What did the dealer change besides the glow plugs? He could have caused the coolant leak and got air into the system causing the overheat when he was working on it however a coolant level around the min mark alone shouldn't cause it to overheat.

Given the issues you're experiencing you probably have cause to bail. Spend some time reading this forum and decide whether you want to deal with the headaches and expense that come along with this vehicle. Bear in mind also that in the next 12 months you'll have the expense and inconvenience of dealing with a timing belt change.

Owner manuals are available for download on the Jeep website.

I hear you about the seats. I find them perfectly comfortable for my daily 30 min commute but anything approaching an hour and my hips and back start killing me.

naturist · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:36 am

There are indeed other possible causes for leaking coolant than a head gasket.

These things are programmed to cut fuel when they get hot, and if necessary shut off fuel entirely to prevent things getting so hot the head warps. How successful that programming might be, I cannot say, but I'd look elsewhere for a coolant leak before suspecting a head gasket.

I had such a leak a while back: turned out to be the lines to the egr in the exhaust system. Parts were cheap, labor not so much.

There are two fans to cool the radiator. There is an electrical one and a mechanical one. From the sounds of it, I'd look at the electrical one first -- for some reason it seems to not be coming on, hence the rise in temp in traffic. The mechanical one is on a clutch that is a known weakness on this vehicle. They are supposed to kick in when the temperature gets up around 3/4 gauge, but the clutch is prone to wear out and not activate. Go for the Hayden 170˚F clutch rather than the OEM 190˚F clutch.

I weigh 250, and while the seat isn't the most comfortable one I've ever driven, it's not bad. It sounds like your seat is broken down. I'd second the replace recommendations.

On the other hand, if your gut tells you this one's a bad deal, you should go with your gut.

maxwellp · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:04 am

Take it back now if you can! You only have so many days to do this.
Or have the coolant checked for Exhaust gas, you will then know if the head gasket it bad.

geordi · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:26 am

BAIL OUT.

MOSFET · **Joined:** Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:40 pm **Posts:** 295

Based on your comments, I would return it. CRDs are not good to have unless you can do most of the work yourself or are lucky enough to find a knowledgeable mechanic (very rare).

Get your money back. It is not the vehicle for you.

jlgail4309 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 4:38 pm

offer 5000.00 less and buy it!! I bought my 06 for 4200 need work. Thats the way to find them broke and in need.
cheap.

Lancer · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:35 pm

I love mine, and personally I find that the seat is very comfortable, but if your gut is telling you to bail I'd listen to your gut. Even if there is a simple (and fairly cheap) solution to the cooling, even if you get the seat sorted, you are likely to be hypersensitive to things going wrong. Basically if you are not happy now, you are unlikely to be happy in a couple of months time. As someone said, it sounds as if you may have bought someone else's problem.

JonF · **Joined:** Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:54 am **Posts:** 11

They took it back. I liked it but did not want to deal with the problems. Sure I could have fixed it, I'm a mechanic myself, but where I work now I cant do it at work and I dont have many tools or much room here to work. I dont mind doing minor stuff here but major jobs are a PITA. Spending the money for parts I did not want to do either. I read quite a bit here before I bought it. I had a plan for doing what I needed to make it what I wanted, but did not figure in a potential headgasket issue or ABS issue. The first thing that came to mind after the gauge rose then went back down when i started moving was a fan problem. I didn't check any futrther that evening because I had other stuff I needed to do. Also, the gauge rose quickly, quite quickly. I've seen that many times on vehicles with headgasket failures. It doesn't usually rise that quick on a healthy engine. I did not see the seat bottom swap until someone posted it here. I had intended to ask to drive it for a few days before buying it. The check engine light being on threw that option out the first time I looked at it. Then I would have known prior to doing any paperwork. But... Its gone and maybe someone else's headache. The dealer said he "drove it around' and there was nothing wrong with it so he is going to sell it to someone else. I told him I hope you sell them a good extended warranty with it.

laplaya · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:43 pm

That's too bad that things went south for you. At least the dealer did not screw you around and took it back.
Better luck on your next purchase.
I just had a guy in Toronto trying to sell me an 05 that had too many issues for me to list, yet his ad said all was good (lies)and he lied thru his teeth in our phone calls.
I drove 6 hours for my abuse

at least yours was more local.
Is it O.K to ask where this occurred?

camo · **Posted:** Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:21 am

You've got nailed!!!! but don't blame the CRD, It can always happen when you buy a car and don't do the research, I t can happen with any car not only the CRD.

JonF · **Joined:** Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:54 am **Posts:** 11

I have no real issues with the dealer. They did the right thing and took it back. I dont think they knew it had problems. They didn't know what they had until they got all those calls on it. They are still in denial about the issues and said they will sell it to someone else. They probably called one of the other people that were interested in it who said they would buy it. They said they had a lot of calls on it when I bought it but it was in the shop getting the glow plugs fixed so I was the only person that had looked at it. I hope the next buyer gets an extended warranty. The front brakes are dragging too. I never told them that. Its an easy fix that I was going to do. I'd rather fix my own stuff than have some hack work on it, but I didn't want to start with a list of problems.

I also dont blame the CRD. All vehicles can have problems. Of all the vehicles I've owned I think the best were my 87 Jeep Comanche and my 03 Hyundai Elantra. I had almost no problems with each of those.

I wont say the dealers name. I dont want to cause any problems or advertise for them. But I will say it was a dealer in MD that has been around for quite a while.

maxwellp · **Posted:** Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:28 am

Lancer wrote:

I love mine, and personally I find that the seat is very comfortable, but if your gut is telling you to bail I'd listen to your gut. Even if there is a simple (and fairly cheap) solution to the cooling, even if you get the seat sorted, you are likely to be hypersensitive to things going wrong. Basically if you are not happy now, you are unlikely to be happy in a couple of months time. As someone said, it sounds as if you may have bought someone else's problem.

X2 I have done this with a Truck. Just did not feel right and never would. Seller was very nice and took it back. I do this with things I sell because it has happend to me. Makes it so you can sleep at night. :pepper:

JonF · **Joined:** Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:54 am **Posts:** 11

Yeah I've sold 4 of my past vehicles to good friends or relatives. They knew they were getting good vehicles that were well taken care of. I've alwys been totally up front when I've sold something to anyone. I'm not gonna rip someone off. I think you get what you give.

Kind of sucks I had to back. It was a beautiful dark blue Limited with gray interior. I really liked it and the more I drove it the more I liked it. My girlfriend liked it too and I got a lot of compliments and "is that a diesel?' comments. I only put a little over 200 miles on it. I checked the mpg after the first 160 miles. It was 90% highway and hand calculated at 23.1 mpg. It had pretty good potential with proper maintenance and the GDE tune.

Damnit! But right now I'm tuned off at the idea of looking for another. My diesel Ram 2500 will be paid off in a year. Maybe I'll look for one then and be able to keep the Ram.

New owner. Problems already. Not happy.

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