I remember when I was a kid my mom bought one of these used years ago and the one vivid memory I can recall is that she took it through a flood that came up almost above the wheels and she said it was the best car she owned. A month later she sold it due to *water damage*

This vehicle was so overlooked that I, among many, didn’t even know a diesel option existed. Let alone any aftermarket support for it.

As someone who's been a used car business for over 20 years I can honestly tell you you don't want one of these Jeep liberties. There are a few cars that are a no-go for me, and this one's on the list.

I was still a jeep/dodge tech back when these first came out, and I specifically remember constantly replacing the front ball joints due to a recall because most were faulty and peoples wheels were were flying off at highway speeds. The last diesel version i drove did have the manual transmission though which was pretty rare for the Liberty diesel, at least in the US

My uncle lifted his Jeep liberty way up in the air it looks absolutely atrocious and let’s just say this video perfectly explained him

No joke, the one Jeep Liberty driver in my area goes around to the back of the supermarket to pick fruits and vegetables out of the compost bins.

Jeep Liberty, the car that didn't have enough liberty to replace the Cherokee.

One thing I love about having watched this channel for many years is seeing the pavement in that parking lot they film in degrade, Pennsylvania-style, to gravel and potholes over time.

I had a CRD Liberty for a bit, was a great little truck. My favorite part of owning it was pulling up to diesel pumps and having the Diesel Bros tell me I can't put that stuff in my car. There was no doubt it was diesel as soon as I started it though, it was a clackety one.

I had a friend that drove one of these for a while, it met its end when he tried to jump it on an ATV trail.

This Jeep really brings back memories for me. I was at a voting rally when I was just out of high school, met an amazingly cute girl there, and saw her get out of one of these, same color. I was intimidated by her, but talked to her anyway. Soon found out, it was her dad who was the politician running for office, and I felt even more intimidated to ask her out so I bailed on trying. If I remember correctly, even her aunt there tried encouraging me with hints to go for it. Wish I had of now. Still, kinda fitting that a politician drove something named Liberty lol

"The interior is like sitting in Delaware." Tremendous! I've never been to Delaware, but I LOLed at that.

Former coworker at a bee farm had one of these. The bees really liked to settle in the crevices of the plastic trim

I had a liberty in the beginning of my post grad life. While objectively a terrible car, it got me home in several blizzards thanks to the 4x4, and it managed to get me from coast to coast twice. Break lines blew on me, in traffic, and that was when I called it dead. I’m glad I’m done with it, but every car I’ve owned since has been a 4x4.

The v6 got a little punchy low end torque though, thing lasted me like 300k, had it in rwd which probably suited it better, had absolutely 70s car level of mpg towards the end of it's life though

I delivered pizza to a dude with a crd Patriot, somebody traded it at the dealership he worked at. Dude was pretty cool. I remember when he ordered on April 20th 2015. He tipped *good* and handed me a slice while I was chatting with the group he had over. Fun times

I had a 2005 Liberty CRD. It was a great little truck. With a small lift, skid plates and rock rails, it went up and down some of the hardest trails in Uwharrie.

“The interior is as disappointing as Delaware” 😂

It's always amused me that I have never seen one of these without a spare tire, because it won't last long enough to even bother changing the tire

Matt's Off Road Recovery rescued one of these; it was lying on the lid. They were actually impressed: the owner had gone down a trail that was a challenge to the Morrvair before rolling.

Thanks for the video, I had a good time watching it. I bought a new Liberty CRD in 2005. Still have it. It runs great. It now has 260,000 miles on the original engine and trans. No major problems. BUT: I have the transmission serviced regularly and don't abuse it. I have worked it hard pulling heavy trailers but I shift it manually when accelerating. My CRD has pulled a big bottle gas truck out of the ditch, I used super low range for that, and numerous other small cars. With General Grabber tires it has pushed through snow drifts so high they momentarily blocked the headlights. I had to replace the alternator last month. Darn thing only lasted 17 years. Rats, don't make them like they used to. The exhaust is still in good shape thanks to the stainless. Back in the 60's and 70's I remember only getting three years from a new exhaust system. I agree, the plastic is nowhere as nice as the leather and wood of some interiors, but it wipes clean real easy and still looks like new. I confess she needed some tie rods and the bushings in the rear last November. But I had her Ziebarted to combat the WI winters and so far all is good. I'm saving up to have engine and trans rebuilt at the 300,000 mark. I told my kids they would have to draw straws to see who gets it. I thought about being buried in it but that would be a tragic waste of an amazing vehicle.

The Liberty's true mission in life is to be a "going to town truck" that can occasionally be pressed into light duty on the farm. The 3.7 v6 engine was a strong feature if I remember correctly, and it was easy to drive and park. My sister drove one in high school courtesy of my parents, and my dad absolutely loved driving it on the farm after my sister decided she wanted to buy her own car after she got a job and moved out.

I had one of these and I towed everything with it. It was a beast. I wound up selling it when I needed more room inside. I sold it to a guy in the Czech Republic for a bundle. It was a great ride. Having the guy at the gas station shut the diesel pump off inside because he was worried for you putting in diesel was always funny :)

I wanted one of these so bad a few years ago. I kinda still do. They're a good idea on paper, small SUV with a turbo diesel 4 banger, but in practice they have issues. You kinda HAVE to modify the engine. The EGR will let gunk through and eventually clog up and kill the engine so you either delete it or tune it to dummy the EGR valve. The ceramic glow plugs they put in at the factory are prone to burning, breaking and pieces falling into the engine so it's best to replace them before they do so. I'm sure there are other issues too I just don't know about.

It's wild how much of a "chick car" the 3.7 is I have literally never seen it not be driven by an early 20 something nurse tech/ems type girl

I aggressively drop everything when RCR drops a new vid

I love how gruff and pudgy this car looks, it's unintentionally adorable

In my small village on the Italian Alps there's a guy with a CRD Liberty (Cherokee here), he uses it for deer hunting and to go check his apple orchards when the tractor isn't needed. AFAIK he's pretty satisfied with it. He also put a couple Ferrari stickers on it, years before FCA was a thing.

My best friend in high school was given one of these by his parents. We lived in FL and he went to college in chicago and stayed there after graduating. I have no idea how, but he continued to drive this thing for well over 10 years AFTER graduating college (2009) and making countless road trips between FL and chicago. Any time we would meet up I was always amazed that his liberty was still running. He knew it was a shitbox, but somehow he got a good one.

7:40 it's the other way round, full time for all conditions, part time for off road only because you lock the centre diff, everybody gets confused because pt is next to 2wd and ft next to low range, so you think the higher i lift the lever the more off roady it gets, but it's not. The most amazing thing about this particular example is that the struts are still holding pressure, unless of course they are changed. In Europe we hold these things to a higher regard but every time I get into one I wish they were like a grand more expensive so they could make the little things a bit nicer (screws that are less prone to rust, better, struts, better speakers etc)

I learned to drive in my mom's Liberty and that thing was terrible. It struggled to average 13mpg and had a ride that was neither stiff nor soft, but rather BOUNCY. I'll never forget watching my friends bounce around in the back seat on a fairly smooth stretch of road.

At the beginning of the pandemic my neighbor who had a leased C-class returned it and came home with a jeep liberty. He says it's one of the best decisions he made in his adult life 😂

"Keep playing Kino, it'll pay off some day" is a good start to any review.

I had a 2007 with gas engine. I had it for 10 years and put over 120,000 miles on it. Honestly the biggest problem was the window regulator keep going out. I drove through some of Northern New York’s biggest snow storm and never got stuck. The heater blows hot even when it is -10 F outside. I love it.

Had an 03 Libert 5 speed. Loved it. Bought it at auction, paid next to nothing for it. Basic maintenance, only problem ever had was water pump exploded which I replace in 10 mins in my mom's drive with hand tools I happened to have in the back. Proper 4x4, low range came in handy several times. Trunk space was basically non-existent tho.

Now that you mention the Chevy Colorado, I finally learned that the Chevy Trailblazer, Colorado's SUV equivalent, ran VM Motori-based engines; both cars are sold in Indonesia, with the Trailblazer being the more popular choice because kitted-out, ladder-framed, mid-sized SUVs are THE sh*t here in Indonesia.

My neighbor purchased one of these (diesel variant) new figuring he’d save fuel. He dumped it due to a never-ending series of recalls and problems, and purchased a rav4. He drove the rav4 for over 200k without a single problem. I asked if he missed the mileage of the diesel, and he said the rav4 got better mileage, and 87-octane is way cheaper than diesel.

Is the end song a reference to Omega Mart? TOP QUALITY

2:33 technically, Patriot Blue Pearl existed before the Liberty went into production debuting as a color on the 1st generation Durango, and is still a staple of Dodge’s color choices today.

My dad worked for UPS as a mechanic in the 90s and they had the idea to use VM Motori engines in their trucks. Sent him to Detroit and all to learn about them. They lasted for about 6 months before they switched back to the old engines. 🤣

Guess I'm gonna see these everywhere from now on

Mom used to have a Cherokee like this one, with the renegade trim as a company car. It was comfy, and drove aight for the time. Repairs got really expensive suddenly and the car almost tipped over due to some suspension failure. Mind you, it only had 40k kilometers as well.

I am a writer and I fancy myself a good one. But they way you can paint someone's whole life, past experiences, outlook, and values in just a few words or a couple of sentences is a fucking masterpiece. I applaud you every time.

I am surprised by this video, I was expecting a much more cynical take on this vehicle. The liberty was the beginning of a long line of Jeeps that were Jeeps in name only, and then the Patriot came along later and took its place

I’m of the minority. I had a first year liberty limited 4x4 and aside from it not being very fast and driving like a bar-stool , it was an excellent vehicle. The only reliability problems were brought on by my behavior or just miles: seizes A/C compressor. A couple wheel bearings (from me hitting deep puddles and 30mph plus), and rust. The rust did not start until I stopped washing it after every snowfall. I did at the end start having transfer case problems and my engine put some valves into the pistons, but that was after 160k and after I had ceased all maintanance on the vehicle except oil changes. Sometimes the oil changes went near 10k miles, and we suspect my oil got low which led to the final engine failure. The vehicle finally died after 240k miles. (For clarification, engine, trans, and transfer case lasted nearly 220k miles before any issues).

Never knew there was a diesel -- the only one I ever rode in fit Mr. R's description, though. Strangely, the guy who owned it also had a Volvo P-1800, one of the coolest classic cars I've ever seen.

I bought my 05 Liberty sport 3.7L In 2020 (currently with 245,500 km). Mostly for Winters in Canada. I also have a super reliable 8200rpm B16a swapped EK civic. This past January in the biggest snow storm we've had in 20 years, 30 to 40cm, it just cruised through it like there was no snow. It's a very bare bones vehicle. Everything works the power mirrors died but I think It's the interior switch. 4x4, 4 hi, 4 low works. So far it's Been reliable. Its like 95 percent rust free. The underbody is almost flawless. The OG rust protection from factory is still in tacked plus I did rust protection. Only major work done was a full break job. I'm happy with it so far. Engine runs smooth n quiet, burns no oil. Front diff is leaking a bit but I will attend to that in spring. Other than that it's reliable. It's survived minus 35 degrees Celsius. I'm happy.

I had until a recent deer hit I a 2004 Jeep Liberty, it had heated leather seats, A/C and Heat worked, all power windows. It was a solid little truck that I thoroughly enjoyed. I drove that little shit from Southeast Iowa to Orlando and back for my cousin's wedding. It handeled all the weather and road conditions I had to deal with. I miss Jiberty.

Love the Omega mart tune at the end

Just bought a liberty as a new daily. Thanks for making me laugh knowing what I have to expect!

I've owned 3 Libbies, one being a CRD. What I can say is the engine and trans is bullet proof, both engines. One other thing I'd say, is that him saying it's reliable must have been mixed with paint huffing, because every. little. thing. breaks. All. the. time.

I was a delivery driver for Wings Over at Penn State many years back (very specific reference, but considering how Pennsylvania this channel is, maybe people will appreciate). The weather out there is truly terrible - it snows about 3-5 times per week, about 2-3 inches at a time or more, and I had a front wheel drive Mazda 6 sedan. But, my roommate had a Jeep Liberty, and sometimes he let me borrow his car to make deliveries if a really bad snow storm came. I have to say that I thought it was an extremely cheap vehicle, drove like crap too, but in the snow??? It was a tank. You could drive normally, as if the roads were completely dry. At that point, I was impressed.

That Omega Mart jingle caught me way off guard, awesome work you guys

9:48 the casual omega mart jingle, excellent!

My wife has a Silver 04 jeep liberty CRD 4x4. With brush guards. A grill guard and a winch. It hauls ass. My late father in law used to take it out to the desert here in Southern New Mexico to hunt coyotes. Even after years of abuse getting stuck in the dunes, it still runs like a champ. Transmission kicks a little. But not too bad. I'd say they're worth having. And ive seen some pretty sweet off road builds with the Jeep Liberty

I may be in the minority, but I love my 08 Liberty. Much more similar to the Cherokee and has just enough power. Fantastic 4WD system, beats the Silverado I had. Obviously not a great handler by any means but it’s not what it’s for.

I had a 2006 3.7 4x4 6MT one of these and it was genuinely fun to drive with the stick. Also will probably remain the worst car I ever had

Loved my Liberty same year but V6, skid plates were wicked low though hit everything. Also it was as loud as a helicopter inside on the highway. Drove well though good 4wd and a real low range I've crept it around a few jobsites. Good review always wondered who bought those desiels

I got rid of my 04 Jeep Liberty 2 years ago. It was a nice vehicle for the money. I bought it was 136K miles on it and it died at 255K. The things I replaced on it for 6 years were: Tires, Brakes, Brake Calipers, Power-steering Pump, Water Pump, Radiator and Hoses, Fan, Belts, Ball Joints on front and rear, finally the Rack and Pinion. While mine wasn't the diesel model, but the V6 3.7L and purely stock, it performed better than my buddies lifted GMC Canyon. Even in 4x4 conditions it would out perform others in PART TIME. I miss it a lot, it was a nice ride.

I can't say for sure if they changed things up by the time of the liberty but the part time and full time (at least in the older models) are not the most straight forward naming... It's more based on use than how the 4wd engages... Part time is the 50/50 hi range meant to be used part of the time Full time is usually something like a 20/80 that can send more to the front as needed... And can be left on full time

I remember these as the “sporty kid’s soccer Mom” type vehicle from HS in the late 2000’s

I've got an 04 liberty V6 and my mom used it for towing for about 40k miles, just now at 185k miles, I'm driving it now and the trans is just now going out

My mom had one of these when I was a little kid. It wasn't anything special but if got us through a few Pennsylvania winters well. However, that was until we hit black ice and bounced it off a tree. To Jeep's credit the thing could apparently take side impacts well, ripped a wheel off, but everyone inside was fine.

Slight correction about the 4WD modes. 4 Part Time locks the center diff and should only be used on loose surfaces. It's your traditional 4WD. 4 Full Time allows the front and rear drive shaft to spin at different speeds and can be used all the time like on wet roads. It's more like an AWD mode.

I like this body style. Bought one for my kid as her first car. Easy to park living im NYC. She wound up blowing a tire out and spinning across Staten Island Expresway. Truck damaged bad,( still started!), and it kept her safe. Replaced it with the new body style liberty and bought myself a nitro. Mostly on Engine recommendations

I swear, early 20s female college students drive these things but with the 3.7l v6. The 3.7l was a terrible motor and the Liberty turned into a crappy replacement of the XJ Cherokees thanks to Daimler killing off the XJ because it sold too well.

Commonrail injections also usually preheat the cylinder with a little pilot injection to make it run smoother and reduce the nailing noise.

Nice Omega Mart tag, Roman!

Jeep Liberty: the Chevy Cavalier of SUVs.

the jeep that wont get you jeep waves. I even got waves in my 02 grand cherokee.

Have a 2003 jeep renagage 3.7L I crash it on to a pole and it still ran I had to change to bumper but it took the hit like a champ. It has it problems and 300k mile but goddam it just won’t die. That’s why I really respect this car

literally jumped out of my cummins at a gas station the other day to stop an elderly woman from filling one of these crd's with diesel fuel.. she looked at me like "you idiot , i know its a diesel'" and never felt so dumb in my life !!!

My dad had one since new and I had one as my first car. As a first car, it's good; just don't pay too much for one. Yeah, my 2016 F150 5.0 gets better mpg, but the jeep acts like half the size. It's not the worst car.

I had a 3.7 liberty, way better than any Generic motors product I have ever owned. It would always make it to point B from point A unlike the HHR I purchased brand new.

"part time" 4x4 is regular four wheel drive with front and rear driveshafts locked 1:1. "full time" gives you center differential action "like a subaru" appropriate for any conditions.

I disagree, the ford “aspire” was very aptly named. It “aspired” to be a real car. I owned ‘95, and aspired to get rid of it as soon as I could afford to as well.

The official car of "Carhartt stuff"

The one example of a diesel SUV that every automaker should've made

"status isn't even the point if you're buying this jeep it's because you've already had it with life" I love that line lmfao definitely my type jeep 😂

For a sec a thought the jeep in liberty was the next giveaway car.

I will speak in defense of people not making their bed. Dead skin cells, dust mites and other bacteria grow and thrive in warm darkness. Making your bed as soon as you wake helps them do so. If you don’t make your bed right away, all those things tend to dry out and die off. And knowing is half the battle.

My girlfriend has a Liberty for a few years and honestly it wasn't a bad car. 4x4 worked great in snow, gas millage with the V6 was ok, enough power to tow a small boat over a mountain pass, no rust due to no salt being used here and mechanically was very solid. Only big problem i remember it having was the radiator blowing up and that was a $350 repair. She replaced it with a RAM 1500 and sold it for $3000 with 150k miles and regrets not having it around as a cheap beater.

I had a small Jeep Liberty toy car in black when I was a kid (it's still here somewhere in storage). Seeing this brings me back memories.

One of my roommates has one of these. Let's call him T. I remember a couple of years ago when we got a lot of snow in Arizona, and I was working late that night. When I finished my shift, I had asked my friend group chat if anyone could follow me up the mountain to my parent's house because my old dog was there and my parents were away on vacation, and I didn't want to leave her outside in the cold. T answered my plea and waited for me while finishing up with my shift, which was running 2 hours over. Luckily it had stopped snowing by the time I got out, so we didn't have too much trouble getting up the mountain. All the while, he was driving his Jeep Liberty. That same car is now waiting to be scrapped because he has had a ton of issues with it and he doesn't want to deal with it anymore.

My 03 Liberty has gotten me through the end of high school, undergraduate, and now its working through grad school. I only bought it for 4,000 and have only done regular maintenance on it. It has been a fun vehicle, easy to mod and fun to drive, my friends honestly prefer it over the fancy wrangles some of them have. My seats are actually really comfortable, and the shocks are good (probably aftermarket), but I did have to cut the leather steering wheel cover off; that thing was annoying.

I learned to drive in a gas version of one of these. It eventually became a camp vehicle for our family's hunting camp in Northern Maine, it did that until someone hit a wash out on a logging road and the frame gave up

Love the Omega Mart jingle parody at the end!

My mom had one of these. I liked it. It might not have been as good as the old Cherokee, but it was still a real SUV that was a lower end option than a Wrangler. It was nothing like the front wheel drive based car based soft roaders that are all the rage these days. And what's wrong with having a cheap plastic interior? What's with these car journalists being all snooty about the niceities of everything? Nobody needs a super nice interior, and not everybody wants one. The crazy thing is that my current 5th gen 4Runner gets criticized for its cheap plastic interior, but it's waaaaaaaay higher end than my own old second gen Liberty. We don't need to Mercedes everything up, people! I would have been happy to pay less money for a more basic interior. Unfortunately, the 4Runner's one of the few real SUVs left without going full on luxury.

I had a 2006 CRD with a Frankenlift and Detroit LSDs front and rear. The rack and pinion system constantly snapped its mounts but I still miss that thing. Wonderful vehicle and surprisingly good off-road.

A friend of mine bought one of these, going all the way to Pittsburgh to get it. At the time he was doing a lot of driving, and the reliability and efficiency of the little diesel seemed like a good plan. Then the fuels market shifted and diesel got way expensive, and those long trips he had to do tapered off. That, and his Liberty CRD was a piece. In 45,000 miles, he replaced either two or three torque converters under warranty. Each time, the dealership would detune the engine, which he'd promptly reverse. He was so disgusted by the build quality that he traded it for an older and higher-mileage Subaru Baja, a vehicle he still has today.

Seems like they missed an opportunity when the trans went out to find a rusted out manual donor, that would have been kinda cool to have a manual transmission Liberty Diesel that never existed in the USA at least. If I could get a clean little CRD Liberty like that for a decent price that would be kinda cool. I had a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD rental for a week in Germany that had the OM605 it only had like 150ish HP and 300ish TQ with the 5sp auto and it moved quite well, I believe we hit 230-240km/hr and it managed reasonable mileage while we toured Frankfurt, Koln, Manheim, Heidelberg, Kaiserslautern and Sarbrucken. We had a little fun off roading in Lampertheim where my Army unit did field operations. Those were good days.

Oh! I have one of these in 2wd v6. The thing with this one is there is always something breaking or broken, but it still just goes. Great little beater with cheapo parts.

The CRD was pretty much the main engine choice in Europe. Now they’re quite rare because of anti pollution measures, you can still find them in some rural areas

My dad's 2004 Liberty got me through many upstate NY winters in college... I miss that little jeep.

Ahh yes the 2.8 CRD, we had these on the TX4 'London Taxis'. It was a clattery old lump but evidently reliable. It's not uncommon for these to rack up hundreds of thousands of hard miles.

Very cool. While not the most popular, my wife loves hers, not a diesel, that we have had since new (2007). Overall, it's been reliable and easy to take care of. Closing on around 250k miles. Pretty much all Liberties (up to 08?) potentially have the window regulator issue until you get them taken care of with the upgraded parts.

2005 Jeep Liberty, The Official Car of getting offended by the OmegaMart video your son shared with you.

"The interior is like sitting in Delaware." Sometimes it's the simple ones that make my day.

I have one as my daily, drinks gas like no tomorrow, small interior, paint is flaking away, but reliable. 196k miles

I had a 05 liberty and let me tell you. Yes little things stopped working and it was falling apart. BUT every single time I needed that bastard to start it did. Without question. Had 268k miles and sat for a year not even being started with 2 year old oil. Dropped a new battery in it and purred like a kitten. Sold it to a guy and he was using is as a commuter vehicle from pa into new york city. Hands down the most reliable dependable vehicle I have ever owned.