At the end of July, I finally came to the realization that I had screwed up. I had collected way too many projects, more than I could hope to finish. And so, I began selling off the vehicles I could bear to part with, and it’s been liberating to see them go and feel the virtual weight being lifted off of my shoulders.
And yet, I’m finding myself drawn to a really bad idea.
Back in the 2000s, Jeep took its Liberty SUV and gave it Italian diesel power. I’ve been wanting to try one out for years and somehow I’ve had the strength to stop myself. But the call of 295 lb-ft of torque is dragging me in. Come along for the ride with me.
If you’ve read our pieces for long enough, you probably know by now that I’m the Autopian‘s resident diesel nut. Five of my current vehicles are powered by diesel engines ranging from an 800cc triple to a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V10 and an 8.5-liter four-cylinder. If a vehicle I want has a diesel option, that’ll be the version I’m getting. Likewise, a diesel option may be a motivating factor for me to buy a certain vehicle in the first place.
David Tracy has successfully sold me on why Jeeps are so great, but for whatever reason I’m not drawn to the silky-smooth XJ David introduced me to or even the legendary Wrangler. Instead, I want the Jeep seemingly so many people don’t like, the first-generation Liberty. But more than that, I keep looking at ones powered by the 2.8-liter VM Motori R 428 four-cylinder. But why have I not pulled the trigger?
The Jeep Cherokee’s Killer
Jeep fans have reason to dislike the original Liberty.
The vehicle that came before the Liberty was the XJ Cherokee, an SUV so legendary that you don’t need to be David Tracy to recognize how awesome they are. Visit just about any off-roading community in the United States and chances are someone is going to be rolling with an XJ. I’ll let resident Jeep expert David shower the XJ with praise:
The Cherokee XJ improved in almost every way over its predecessor (my 1979 Jeep Cherokee is shown in the Instagram clip above), without really sacrificing much. The smaller, boxier Jeep didn’t look as cool in some people’s eyes, but it was more powerful, quicker, more efficient, more capable off-road, quieter, better-riding, better handling, and on and on. The XJ made its SJ predecessor look downright prehistoric, and if you still don’t believe me, read my article “It’s Incredible How Big Of A Quantum Leap The Cherokee Cherokee XJ Was Over Its SJ Predecessor“.
Honestly, David doesn’t go far enough to talk about how amazing the XJ is. I have been participating in HooptieX rallycross events for four years now and there is always one vehicle that always performs well. It doesn’t matter where the HooptieX track is or what the surface is like, the guys and gals rolling in XJs consistently put down some of the fastest lap times and their SUVs put up with a ton of abuse.
The XJ died in 2001 and Jeep fans didn’t even have time to mourn before Jeep rolled out its replacement. The Jeep Liberty, which was sold elsewhere in the world as the Cherokee, was an entirely different SUV than the XJ. I’ll bring David back:
When it left, it was replaced by a vehicle that wasn’t nearly as compelling overall, which is why, if we’re being honest with ourselves, it was 2001 when everyone capable of mourning the Jeep Cherokee shed their tears. This was the final model year of the XJ, and the beginning of KJ Liberty production (The Liberty continued the Cherokee name in other markets).
The new Cherokee (called Liberty in the U.S.) did improve upon the XJ’s ride, on-road handling, NVH, and interior volume, but whereas its predecessor was revolutionary and stood out among its peers, the new Cherokee didn’t bring that much more to the table, and blended in with its competitive set. Here’s what Patrick Foster writes about the KJ Liberty in his book:
“At least one valid complaint could be made about the Liberty. Unlike the Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, or the original Wagoneer, Liberty didn’t introduce any new innovations to the market, and its style, while pleasant enough, didn’t set any standard either.”
Here’s the official word from Jeep:
The venerable Cherokee (XJ) was phased out in 2001 its replacement was the Liberty (KJ). The new Jeep® Liberty featured time-tested design cues like round headlamps and a seven-slot grille. The Liberty infused bold engineering advances like an independent front suspension and a new 3.7L V6 to replace the longstanding 4.0L I-6 engine.
Four-wheel drive is via Command-Trac®; Liberty Limited models received Selec-Trac Full-Time 4WD and 3.73:1 axles as standard. For the 2005 model year, Liberty was offered with an optional 2.8L turbo diesel engine and six-speed manual transmission.
In David’s obituary on the XJ, he notes that Jeep fans weren’t pleased with the fact that the Liberty looked almost joyful and happy, quite the opposite of the rugged and tough SUVs you’d expect from a burly off-road vehicle. David’s problem was with that 3.7-liter V6, which made the same torque as the legendary 4.0 straight-six and 20 more thoroughbreds under the hood at 210 HP. On paper, this was great, but not only did this engine make its power up high, which is not great for off-roading, but the Liberty weighed more than 300 pounds more than a similar XJ.
As a result, the Liberty was slower than the XJ and the engine wasn’t nearly as torquey down low as the old straight-six. David continues that the first-generation Liberty isn’t as easy to repair as the XJ, isn’t as easy to modify as the XJ, and can’t take a beating like the XJ can.
If you’re wondering why Jeep did this, there is an explanation. As the Toledo Blade explains, Jeep’s engineers began their development of the Liberty by taking an XJ and refining it. Jeep then let consumers test it and discovered that while people liked the new SUV, they also compared it to the Grand Cherokee. The designers found out that the Cherokee replacement didn’t really have its own identity outside of being what the consumers would buy if they couldn’t afford a Grand Cherokee. This was unacceptable, so the designers, including head designer Bob Boniface, went back to work.
Jeep’s designers came up with a vehicle that borrowed elements from the 1997 Dakar show car as well as the 1998 Jeepster. The Dakar gave the Liberty a tall profile and big flares while the designers borrowed the Jeepster’s sporty looks and front end. Circles were also a big theme of the Liberty from its interior down to its taillights.
The Liberty was also supposed to be a step forward. It looked like no other Jeep and it was designed to ride like no other Jeep. This was a Jeep with rack-and-pinion steering and the first Jeep with an independent front suspension since the old Wagoneer. Jeep saw itself carving out a new niche with a softer, but still capable SUV aimed at being better than other compact SUVs. Keep in mind there that I didn’t say it was designed to be better than the XJ, but better than other compact SUVs of the early 2000s.
Diesel Power In A Compact SUV Form Factor
In 2004, DaimlerChrysler announced it had new vehicles in its pipeline for people who wanted to go green and save money at the pump.
Reportedly, DaimlerChrysler knew that America was still a bit sore about its past with diesel passenger cars. Diesels gained a reputation for being smoky, loud, slow, and in the case of diesels from the ’70s, unreliable. But diesels had come a long way from then and DaimlerChrysler wanted to prove that diesel was cool. Its plan to make that case was the launch of the Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI and the Jeep Liberty CRD. One would show that diesels are great in luxury cars while the other would prove diesel’s worth off-road. Both were touted as ways to save money in the long run.
DaimlerChrysler’s marketing touted the Liberty CRD as being America’s first mid-size diesel SUV. The 2.8-liter VM Motori R 428 inline-four turbodiesel made 160 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque. That’s far more twist than the 235 lb-ft offered by the 3.7-liter V6 and Jeep said the diesel would get 21 percent better fuel economy than the V6, too. On paper, the diesel solves the problems David described above. It makes more torque at a lower RPM and gets 27 mpg on the highway. What’s not to like?
If you weren’t convinced, Jeep then said that the Liberty CRD went up to 500 miles on a tank of diesel and gave the little sport-ute a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds, the same tow rating as the V6.
Jeep continued with what made the Italian-made VM Motori diesel special:
The 2.8-liter diesel uses an advanced common rail direct injection fuel system. Direct injection of fuel into an open combustion chamber is more efficient than a pre-chamber indirect injection configuration. The system in the 2.8-liter CRD operates at fuel pressures nearly 70 percent above the older distributor pump systems, producing finer atomization, leaner combustion and higher power. At the same time, direct injection provides inherently lower engine-out hydrocarbon exhaust emissions and lower NOx emissions. A high pressure pump driven by the cog belt from the camshaft supplies fuel at up to nearly 24,000 psi. The pump’s electronic control system responds to fuel demand and delivers the optimal fuel pressure, injection timing and injection duration.
An electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger improves control of boost pressure, reducing emissions and improving full load engine power and torque. The turbocharger features moveable vanes that allow it to act like a small turbocharger under launch conditions. At higher engine speeds it acts like a larger turbocharger. The benefit to customers is enhanced low-end and high-end torque. Meanwhile, a vacuum reservoir improves cold launch performance by allowing the turbo to spool up faster from idle, thus, minimizing turbo lag.
Injectors on the 2.8-liter diesel have been improved so that fuel burns more thoroughly, producing fewer particulates and lower emissions than previous generation diesel engines. The Liberty diesel engine uses two pilot injections prior to the main injection. This system prepares the cylinders for the main injection of fuel, which helps to smooth out the main combustion and quiet the engine, especially at idle.
Jeep continued by talking about how the CRD uses electronically controlled ceramic spark plugs that warm up way faster than old-school plugs that leave you sitting in the cold for a while before you can attempt an engine start. Jeep also went in and added sound deadening, engine balance shafts, hydro engine mounts, and more to reduce the transmission of noise, vibration, and harshness.
Jeep then said that choosing the diesel and fueling it with B5 biodiesel not only helped you save the planet with lower carbon dioxide emissions but reduced your dependence on petroleum.
How did all of this translate to real life? Motor Trend liked it:
We have found that the little diesel starts up easily when cold, but is a little clattery at low rpm and idle. This characteristic is reduced with some speed and on the highway the engine is perfectly acceptable. While there is some turbo lag, the Liberty has plenty of passing power in reserve, and it is pretty quick off the line. If you are not careful, it even has enough torque to light up the inside tire while turning during the 1-2 shift.
In addition to the diesel engine, we loaded our Liberty up with navigation, leather seats, seat warmers, and just about every option Jeep would let us click off on the order sheet. We love the maneuverable size of the Liberty and good visibility around town. Even our staffer who makes a regular commute to the office thought it did well in L.A.’s stop-and-go freeway dance.
So far, our experience with the CRD has gone well, and we think the Liberty is a great little SUV. We’d like to see a couple more power points up front, and a little more storage for cell phones and wallets, but overall our first three months with this little trucklet has been great and we are looking forward to logging lots of comments in the log book in between those infrequent fuel entries.
Four Wheeler Magazine had a Liberty CRD as a long-term tester, where the publication reported spending little on fuel and maintenance, but not liking its limited suspension travel, poor ground clearance, and rough ride. Car and Driver didn’t think Jeep went far enough to keep the engine’s clatter from piercing the cabin.
Still, it seemed unless you wanted to do some hardcore off-roading, the CRD seemed to be a bit of a Goldilocks. It was an SUV with some off-road chops, but didn’t murder you with high operating costs at the pump. The allure of saving money certainly drew people in. Jeep reported that after about a year of sales it sold 10,000 Liberty CRDs, each for $25,125 and up. That was about double the number of sales Jeep expected.
Unfortunately, double the expectation didn’t mean a lot of Liberty CRDs were sold. The Liberty CRD was not built to meet the stricter emission standards that went into effect in 2007. Jeep just canceled the CRD after 2006 instead of upgrading the engine. The Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD would take its place as Jeep’s diesel SUV.
So, Why Am I Afraid?
Alright, so it sounds like the Jeep Liberty CRD is everything I want. It’s a relatively obscure SUV with diesel power, some off-road cred, and a decent tow rating. Why haven’t I bought one?
If you’re thinking “not good enough off-road,” that’s not it. I’ve gone off-roading with a Volkswagen Touareg VR6 wearing street tires and suspended (barely) by worn shocks. For me, a vehicle just has to be better than that heavy pig of a Touareg, and that’s a very low bar. That Touareg leaked gas, wept power steering fluid, and slammed gears like Aaron Judge hits homers.
The big reason a KJ worries me is rust. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Liberty without rust. These SUVs have been corroding for years and so many of them in my area have gotten to the point of not having rockers anymore or they have cancerous rust just crawling up what’s left of their doors. Admittedly, I’m not like David and I’m not a fan of rust. Yet, I’m also not really such a huge fan of the CRD that I’d be willing to drive down south to get a rust-free example.
Another major reason is simply due to reliability. Diesels are supposed to excel in this category, but in my research, it seems the Jeep Liberty CRD may not age as well as other diesels. Go to a forum like Lost Jeeps and you’ll find lists of problems so long they’ll make a Ford Power Stroke 6.0 blush. I’ve found instances of people complaining about EGR failures, crankcase ventilation oil leaks, head gasket failures, glow plugs breaking, oil pressure sender failures, turbo failures, intercooler leaks, fuel leaks, and rod bearing failures.
It would appear that the most serious failures of these engines would be EGR failures and the occasional rod bearing failure. Some others complain that the torque converters in the 2005 CRDs had their own failures. Of course, forum anecdotes aren’t data, but the breadth of issues does seem shocking.
These issues sometimes seem to apply to the ones for sale locally. I’ve seen Liberty CRDs claimed to have zero compression on a cylinder, dead fuel pumps, blown turbos, dead injectors, or just rusted out beyond safe operation. Yet, running and driving examples can be had for $3,000 or sometimes cheaper. My garbage car-loving heart just wants to give it a try, not as a dream car or anything, but as a sort of weird Gambler 500 trail vehicle.
Yet, I haven’t. I’ve been burned by enough bad diesel Volkswagens that I’m afraid to roll the dice on one of these bad boys. Maybe owning and getting disappointed by four Volkswagen Passat TDIs has taught me that not every diesel is worth owning. It’s a shame because it seems like the Liberty CRD is almost a grail-worthy rig.
Have you owned one of these? If so, is my brain in the right place? Should I continue running as far as I can for at least the four years or so that I have?
(Images: Manufacturers)
I haven’t owned a CRD, but I have, unfortunately, owned a KJ Liberty. Somehow, the idea of putting a potentially unreliable and obscure engine in an already reliability-challenged KJ doesn’t seem like a terribly good idea.
The Liberty rides and drives with the sort of character like it was engineered for government fleet service — dull, with a side of cheapness and crude NVH. But with an added bonus of enough extra parts wear and breakage to pile on additional misery.
Adding a small, clattery econo-diesel sounds like tossing in yet one more way to up the misery factor while shaking things apart a little faster.
I have never known a single person to actually like this diesel engine. So naturally, you should get one haha
Opposite neighbour had one in London – it was about 10 years only by then. I know three things about it 1) he referred to it as the CRuD 2) the AA (U.K. version of the AAA) was a frequent visitor and 3) idle was loud enough to wake my baby son. One day it disappeared to be replaced by one of the first XC90 T8s. I didn’t ask where the money came from for that.
Obviously it was from all the fuel saved by the Liberty… Lol
The funny thing here is that you probably see these engines far more often than you realise – it was also used (in 2.5 litre form) as the only available engine for the 2007-2017 TX4 London black cab.
Some of my friends had CRD Liberties in college as hand-me-downs from their parents and one had the engine blow up, and the others had ongoing issues with them constantly. I just assumed everyone knew the CRD was a bad engine.
My dad had one of these when I was growing up. He got rid of it after 9 months. It was cool but It leaked oil, always had some sort of electrical issue, and the seatbelt buckles would not work properly. Half the time they wouldn’t latch, sometimes they wouldn’t unlatch, or the seatbelt would pop out of the buckle. It was the weirdest problem.
My mother-in-law had a Liberty, but went for the gasser instead of the diesel (I think my father-in-law was opposed, but I can’t remember why). She still talks about how much she misses the Liberty.
I’ve got the descendent of that diesel in my ZR2. Great little engine so far. Won’t break any speed records, but the torque is nice.
I don’t know how VM Motori has/had such a stellar reputation. It seems like every VM engine …well at least every VM engine Chrysler has used in the US has been a huge piece of unreliable junk.I had always been under the impression that the VM 2.8 was a fairly reliable engine, but a quick perusing on the internet seems to back up the claims in this article that Liberty CRD owners are masochists.
The predecessor to this engine was used in the XJ, the 2.5L diesel that was available in Europe. I’d love to mix and match parts to get the 2.8 CRD engine into an XJ.
I had the same thought. It seems like every time a VM Motori diesel is exported to the US, it becomes a nightmare. Also, why the heck didn’t they use a Daimler diesel. Daimler Chrysler was still a thing then…
I just realized that I meant to reply to American Locomotive below Option XIII’s comment. Oops
This is where my head went – should just import a European XJ with the 2.5L turbo diesel!
XJ body and suspension setup and diesel grunt and economy ????????
And if @Mercedes were to win the lottery… JL Wranglers came with a diesel engine until recently (not the most reliable unless you get rid of a good chunk of the emissions equipment unfortunately). And David even helped design some part of the JL, IIRC!
My friend Joe has had one since new, and had very few problems. He loves it!
My mother still drives around in a Liberty approaching 200k. With the 3.7L…it was previously owned by a priest, so maybe some divine providence. It does leak oil like a sieve, so there’s that…
My mother’s neighbor still drives a 1st model year Liberty with the gas engine. Her son was a friend from college and we would carpool in that Liberty as well as the car I owned back then.
If I recall it had less than 100K miles back then, but that was over 15 years ago.
It’s lost most of it’s clearcoat but it’s still (miraculously) running after all these years.
Some other acquaintances were not as lucky including an ex- coworker that purchased a 2nd gen and had its engine blow at 110K
Exactly. It’s such a crap shoot on these vehicle, and they are VERY dependent on NOT deferring maintenance, it’s hard to buy a used one unless it has a very clean and detailed Carfax or CV.
Probably the biggest issue with the liberty and even the Cherokee after the XJ was the IFS. if they wanted a boxed in wrangler alternative like the XJ, the people running Jeep needed to know what offroad jeep owners expected a bit more.
I considered the Diesel liberty and the V10 Toureg Diesel pretty hard back when they were new, but after a few years and the reliability issues popped up hard, I was glad I resisted.
I still kind of want a Ram half ton diesel and I hear the 3.0 was available in Grand Cherokees at one time, so maybe that would be a better option as I am sure that one was rare too.
When I owned a 4th gen Ram I was a regular in the forums and I recalled one of the members put 400K miles on a 1st MY Laramie Ecodiesel before it spun a rod bearing.
There are horror stories from some owners but overall it looks like happy Ecodiesel owners outweigh them
I worked on one when I worked for a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram dealership. It was the only one I’ve ever seen.
Had a co-worker who bought one new. He loved the power and fuel economy of the engine. He hated how infrequently he had to fill up. Turns out they use no fuel while sitting out back at the dealer while they try to figure out the problem and then if they did think the had, waiting for the parts. So yeah he dumped it about the time the warranty expired.
I see what you did there.
Glow plugs I’m assuming?
I bought one of these new in 2005 and loved it for the 2 years i owned it. 4 years ago I tried to reginite my love for the CRD and bought a lowish mile one to covert into a beater offroader.
Any 15 year old vehicle will need work, and the problem with the CRD is some engine parts are IMPOSSIBLE to find in the states. That alone was why I dumped it. If a part breaks I don’t want to scour europe and wait a month [and/or pay stupid high shipping costs] to get back on the road or trail.
I owned one of these for four years, and have to say it was the worst car I’ve ever had. I like diesels and thought this would be a good option but it definitely was not. I bought it as a new car and tried to take good care of it but ended up paying so much money in repairs, often for the same thing breaking over and over, that I must really warn you off one of these. It will let you down just as often as any of your German cars and you’ll have an even worse time trying to find anyone who actually knows how to fix it.
I was questioning my memory of these being massive shitpiles, but the comments confirmed.
If you want another diesel with some off roady chops, good towing, and good MPG, and new enough that you won’t have to deal with rust, look for a Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon with the 2.8 DMAX. I owned one and its one of my favorite vehicles I ever had (should have kept it when the lease was up). The engine is loosely related to this one due to some GM/Fiat shenanigans. Would get 30mpg on the highway, towed my friends 944 race car like it was nothing, and pretty comfy for a truck. More power than the Liberty and responds well to tunes without deleting emissions stuff. I’ve been keeping my eye open for a good deal on another one.
I was about to pull the trigger on a 2017 Canyon SLT 4×4 with the Duramax last year. It was reasonably priced, good looking and clean. But it also had 145K miles and the carfax didn’t mention any timing belt replacement and I didn’t feel competent enough to do it myself nor do I trust the one or two local diesel shops due to horror stories from a place I used to work with a diesel fleet.
Anyway, I may have overthought about it too much but it sure looked like the ticket for many midsize truck prospects.
I believe the Colorado DMAX is actually the exact same engine as the Liberty, just lightly updated.
The same updated version is what export markets had available in the KK Liberty/Cherokee, and also the JK Wrangler.
I had one as my daily for 5 years of 100+ mile per day commuting. ’06 Liberty CRD Limited. I loved it except that one time when the egr valve failed and warped the head so it was out of commission for two months while I found a repacement. Turns out the motors are absolutely everywhere in europe so I took advantage of my father-in-law’s job designing systems for the f-16 for the Belgians and had him ship me a brand new head from there for installation. It was way cheaper to get a new one shipped over from continental europe than to pull a used, and potentially destroyed, one from a junkyard here in the states. There was one other little niggle though. If you don’t have knobby tires it will absolutely suck in any slippery conditions i.e. mud, snow etc.
On the plus side, I got 47mpg average, and they sound like an old tractor so that’s always fun.
I had a friend who inherited a Liberty CRD from her grandmother when her grandfather passed. It was only a year or two old, but it was both simultaneously a neat vehicle and a steaming pile of crap. When it ran, it was great, or at least as great as the Liberty could be. But boy did it have issues. The glow plugs didn’t always work properly, so it would hard start constantly. The automatic transmission was made of glass, and had been replaced twice under warranty before my friend inherited it. The general lack of quality on the interior meant things just randomly broke on the inside, not to mention the nearly monthly replacement of tail light bulbs for reasons we could never figure out. My friend eventually bought a different vehicle and offered to sell me the Liberty for cheap, but instead I just helped clean it up so she could get more money by selling it to CarMax – simply because I wanted nothing to do with it. Sadly, I have few fond memories for the Liberty or the VM Motori diesel that came in it.
My advice? You need to stay away from these. I knew a few who owned the diesel version of these when new and even then they were JUNK. As in the engine was a piece of shit. So I wouldn’t be so quick to sign up for one of these at all.
One of my work mates had a diesel Liberty back in the day. IIRC the automatic trans had a plastic stator in the converter (quite an engineering leap of faith) which had serious durability problems. I believe he had at least three converters replaced. The aftermarket fixed this with a more conventional aluminum part, but the cost of the converter assembly plus the r&r is pretty expensive.
Two Decades Ago, Jeep Made A Small SUV
With A Beefy Diesel EngineEveryone Forgot About….FIFYCan’t respond to the diesel part, but I can comment if Liberty longevity, and it kinda meh. I have an ‘08 (KK) Liberty that I bought with a bad alternator for $850. After replacing the alternator, it’s been on the farm for the last 5 years. For a farm Jeep, running around to our various farms, it’s fine. But as an actual car, not so much.
The dash info center often doesn’t work. Occasionally, it will also throw a traction control system warning. Interior panels everywhere are ill-fitting and the driver side door panel moves in and out a half inch anytime I put the window down. A/C has never worked since o had it. The sunroof leaks, despite me clearing out the sunroof drain hoses (a common KK issue). The rear hatch leaks as well. Suspension is noisy and the ride is stiff, despite having replaced the worn out struts 2 years ago. Seating-to-mirror position is odd, which makes backing up my small cattle trailer difficult, but the short wheelbase of the KK means it’s more maneuverable than my bigger trucks. Rust? Yup. Open the rear passenger door and its there. I’ve put 2 front driveshafts in it, the CV fails at a concerning rate. I’ve also had the trans cooler, radiator, and electric fan all fail at various times. Over the past year, I battled a cyl #5 miss whenever the thing warmed up, which wound up being a bad injector (which also fouled the plug).
All in all, not great. Wouldn’t recommend, though I confess that I too have been curious about a CRD KJ.