NHTSA Complaint #10170831 — 2005 JEEP LIBERTY

I ALMOST LOST MY LIFE ON A CLIFFSIDE CORNER ON HWY 1 WHEN MY 2005 JEEP LIBERTY CRD (COMMON RAIL DIESEL) TORQUE CONVERTER FAILED CAUSING BOTH REAR WHEELS TO LOCK UP AT 55 MPH. HAPPENED AGAIN A COUPLE MILES LATER AND THEN CONTINUED TO REPEAT ITSELF AS I WAS ATTEMPTING TO GET IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. IT HAS BEEN AT THE DEALER 5 TIMES TO DATE FOR THE INITIAL PROBLEMS (STALLING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND GOING INTO LIMP MODES). I KNEW IT WAS THE TORQUE CONVERTER PREPARING TO GO OUT BECAUSE I HAD RESEARCHED CONSUMER REPORTINGS OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS ONLINE. THE DEALERSHIP, HOWEVER, EXPLAINED THAT THEY WOULD ONLY FOLLOW CHRYSLER CORPORATE'S RULES AND CORPORATE WASN'T ALLOWING THEM TO REPLACE THE CONVERTER. INSTEAD THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED TRANSMISSION SOLENOID, THEN TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, THEN CALLED TO TELL ME IT WAS MY AFTERMARKET INSTALLATION PROBLEM (TWICE). EACH TIME THIS MEANT THAT THEY SENT ME OUT IN A "FIXED" VEHICLE THAT STALLED ON ME AND CAUSED ME TO PUT EMERGENCY HAZARDS ON AND DRIVE IN LIMP MODE IN RIGHT HAND LANE OR ON SHOULDER. THEN WHEN THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGER DROVE IT AND PERSONALLY FELT WHAT A "SAFETY ISSUE IT WAS", HAS NOW LOOKED AT THE POSTINGS AND IS BEFUDDLED WHY CORPORATE WASN'T ADVISING THEM OF THIS PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT WITH THESE 2005 AND 2006 JEEP LIBERTY CRDS AND THAT CHRYSLER IS AWARE OF IT BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. CHRYSLER IS PUTTING ITS CONSUMERS AT GRAVE RISK FOR LOSS OF LIFE. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT (1) CHRYSLER HAS STOPPED PRODUCTION OF THEM IN THE U.S. AND MAYBE WE NOW UNDERSTAND WHY AND (2) ONLY 11,000 WERE SOLD IN THE U.S. I AM A LAWYER AND WILL EXERCISE LEMON LAW RIGHT AS THIS VEHICLE CANNOT BE REPAIRED BECAUSE IT IS A DESIGN DEFECT. HOWEVER, ALL 11,000 OF THESE VEHICLES WILL MOST LIKELY FAIL AND THE POTENTIAL FOR LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY EXISTS 11,000 TIMES. *NM