Jeep Liberty SUV Rolls Over in Test

[Rick]

Jeep Liberty SUV Rolls Over in Test -- 12/03/2001

A new Jeep Liberty two-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicle rolled over twice during an AutoWeek slalom driving test, the
magazine has reported.

AutoWeek said it was the first such accident since the test sequence was introduced nearly a decade ago. It
cautioned that drivers should heed warning labels about the handling of vehicles with high centers of gravity.

[Michigander]

Oh man... that's a shame

[Okrazie1]

You can find the story about it here.

[Lifted95X]

Did any of you see the Jeep Liberty commercial (I saw it yesterday) where they say "Not every SUV is able to off-road" then they show an explorer stuck. Then the lady says to her husband, "You better get down there to help them out." I thought that was pretty damn funny.

[Alto]

After reading all of the hype about roll overs w/ Explorers, Jeeps, ect...

I have come to these conclusions that...
Yes, Firestones do have a problem. With the treads coming off on so many vehicles. Why is it that the Explorers seem to have more roll overs than others BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE!

The Explorer is the best selling SUV of course there are going to be more Explorers which in tern means more accidents with explorers involved. The people driving them are the problem.

People are driving there Explorers like they drive there sports cars. The Explorer is not ment to be drive like that (Not in stock form anyway)!

Add 3 or 4 other people with there weekend luggage. And guess what happens they drive the same. Just because you can take this turn at 50 mph doesn't meen you can still take it with 3 or 4 others with you.
You can't stop in the same distance that you can when the Explorer is empty.

People get complaisant they drive by themselves so often they get to know what the Vehicle can do, thats fine. But they load up the family and forget about stopping distances, the high center of gravity, the Vehicle just doen't handle like it does when empty and they expect it to.

With the Liberty I think that if you want to you can roll just about anything.

[NoBoundaries]

Rick, you have to bare in mind, and I believe Chrysler mentioned this in AutoWeek's article, that the Jeep Liberty is a vehicle specifically designed for offroad use.
<<cough>> <<cough>>

[Rick]

Looks like a good test scheme to me. An average driver may never push his SUV through a slalom course like that, but a situation could arise in traffic where you have to stab your brakes and turn at the same time. That is what caused the roll according to the article.

I just want to puke at these comments though:

DaimlerChrysler questions the validity of such
at-the-limits testing of an SUV, particularly one like
Liberty that is designed to perform off-road. The
fore-aft inputs from applying brakes at the start of
the run, and throttle while cornering, Stephens
suggested, contributed to the Liberty having pretty
much all of its weight on the left front wheel just
before it rolled.

Though the test Jeep was a 2wd model, it shares
the long-travel suspension (control arms in front, live
axle in back, coil springs and gas shocks all around)
and high ground clearance (eight inches at the rear
axle) of the 4x4. The design allows Liberty to tackle
serious off-road challenges such as the Rubicon
Trail.


Built to tackle the Rubicon huh... Yeah behind a freaking tow strap!

[mmpc]

I hope tdavis never purchases one of those!!! It's about time the self-important Jeep got a dose of reality...

DOH!

[Alec]

Hehe, I think the rollover was on purpose, look how much better the thing looks after the roll than before! Who needs to manufacture body panels when you can just beat them into shape?

[JDraper]

Originally posted by Rick


DaimlerChrysler questions the validity of such
at-the-limits testing of an SUV, particularly one like
Liberty that is designed to perform off-road. The
fore-aft inputs from applying brakes at the start of
the run, and throttle while cornering, Stephens
suggested, contributed to the Liberty having pretty
much all of its weight on the left front wheel just
before it rolled.

I guess when you buy a Liberty, you're not supposed to drive it places where you might get into emergency handling situations.........like the highway or off the beaten path!! :p

[Robert]

That's kinda what I was thinking. Unless you trailer your New Jeep Liberty to the trail, how else are you going to get there besides driving (and no air-drop is not an option)?

[Gina]

I saw a part of a news report simply about the repair cost of a 5mph accident in reverse for an SUV. The Liberty was the most expensive repair job. They showed it backing (at 5mph) into a flat wall and the spare tire on the back completely bent up every rear panel AND broke the rear window! The "bumper" busted up and fell off. It was like $5000 worth of damage! I wonder what would happen if someone plowed into you on the freeway at 70mph!!

Maybe it should be mandatory to have those test-drive wheelie bars sticking out of the sides of SUVs.

[Jason_25]

Originally posted by SSIKORA
Did any of you see the Jeep Liberty commercial (I saw it yesterday) where they say "Not every SUV is able to off-road" then they show an explorer stuck. Then the lady says to her husband, "You better get down there to help them out." I thought that was pretty damn funny.

Hmm have you guys noticed that lately Explorers have been the butt of some not so friendly car commercials?

[ok89]

Did you know that the 2002 explorer wasnt much better? The reason the liberty did so bad was because it went backwards at 5mph into a wall. This meant that the spare tire hit first. Its not an everyday situation. If you were to get rearended it would be hit at the bumper. Also if you were backing in to something chances are you wouldnt be on the gas the whole time. In the test the chain that pushes the car is the equivalent of cruise control at 5mph. There tests are rediculus.

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Well, it looks likr the spot light is off the explorers at least for the time being.

[mmpc]

Originally posted by Jason_25
Hmm have you guys noticed that lately Explorers have been the butt of some not so friendly car commercials?

When you're No. 1, you've got to expect to be a target...



The funny thing is, after years of other manufacturers taking pot shots, the Ford Explorer is still the 4th best-selling vehicle in America. That's right, not the 4th best-selling SUV, not the 4th best-selling truck... The 4th best-selling vehicle! Indeed, for the 2001 model year, Ford sold 394,198 Explorers!

Poor Paul Hogan and his Subaru Outback...

[TarHeel085]

exactly, cause X's rule the WORLD!!

[Robert]

Even if the Jeep Liberty gets rear-ended by a car, the point of impact will be on the spare tire. It hangs down in front of the rear bumper which renders the bumper useless.

['96explorereddiebauer]

Heh...that's what my dad said about the new Liberty. He said, "it's gonna be pretty expensive if you accidentally backed into a wall." Rather than hitting the bumper, you hit the spare, which spread the force all over the liftgate and liftglass. He said everything is good and drives well but he said that's the only weakness. Robert and others said it'll be more legit if a car rearend it, but what happens when a Tahoe or a Suburban rearend it?? It'll have the same effect as what the insurance institute said.

Heh...my dad said the same with brush guards. When you rear-end someone, the brush guard will actually cause more damage because the brush guard will push in toward the front of the rig, causing damage not only the bumper, but also the headlights, front fenders, and the hood. So when I asked dad if I could put a brush guard on, he said "NO! Don't even get it behind my back either." I believed him. Plus, it's technically his car so I have to respect that.

[Rick]

Char car pools with a woman who owns a Liberty. she said the road noise at freeway speeds is horrendous and that's with the little bicycle tires it comes with