Prelowered Liberty vs Lowered Liberty - Explained.

[Bennett]

Early KJs were built 3/4" taller but one of the auto test groups rolled the KJ during one of the tests so there was a big todo about the safety of the Liberty. Starting April 2, 2002 DC shortened the springs by 3/4" thus lowering the KJ.

"Pre-lowered" KJs are those built prior to April 2, 2002. Anything built on or after April 2, 2002 is lowered.

source, LimitedLurker from LOST

 

[BluPhant]

Followup: When was my Liberty made?

Above the door hinge on the Drivers side A-Pillar is a sticker that has info about your vehicle. One of the tidbits (indicated in red on the attached picture) of information on here is the Month, Day, and Hour of manufacture.

Mine starts with 0403, so it was produced on April 3. Dang it all to heck, missed it by one day.

-Blu

 

[BluPhant]

Re: Followup: When was my Liberty made?

Here's a quick update, thanks to a member at JU-

Just to be a little more specific, they were lowered 22mm (0.87") in the front and 19mm (0.75") in the rear. However, it seems that several different suspension combinations were used through 2002-2003.

 

[2003KJ]

here is the KJ that was rolled. The guy was doing "cone moves" (weaving in between a line of cones to test the handelings response and ability to handle quick situations). I'll have to locate the article again some time, but he was driving it at around 45mph and towards the end he felt the back end come up off the ground and settle back down again. So instead of realizing that was the KJ's limits, he pushed it harder, and sped up in the next turn, and in turn, fliped it. He walked away I believe with just a few cuts and brusies. The KJ held up very well IMO.

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[BluPhant]

Press Release

Auburn Hills, MI - May 3, 2002 - Our evaluations and those by others, including leading international motoring magazines in Germany and the United States as well as government agencies, repeatedly show that all Jeep® Liberty vehicles perform well in a wide range of government mandated and industry accepted safety and accident-avoidance tests. In fact, Consumer Reports gave the four-wheel drive Jeep Liberty the same 'good' rating for emergency handling as all other compact SUV's tested in its evaluation published in the May 2002 issue.

With a year of Liberty sales, we have been listening closely to customer feedback and preferences, as well as looking at real world use rates for both on- and off-road travel. As part of a continuous improvement process, the Jeep Liberty was lowered by 22 mm (7/8 -inch) at the front and 19 mm (3/4-inch) in the rear for a smoother highway ride, while preserving the off-road capability. The change was effective in early April, and does not affect products produced prior to April.

 

[grogiefrog]

You must be registered for see images

That is some photo. I saw a Wrangler one time that a college girl rolled. She wasn't wearing her seat belt and got rolled on by the roll bar.

 

[papercut]

here is the KJ that was rolled. The guy was doing "cone moves" (weaving in between a line of cones to test the handelings response and ability to handle quick situations). I'll have to locate the article again some time, but he was driving it at around 45mph and towards the end he felt the back end come up off the ground and settle back down again. So instead of realizing that was the KJ's limits, he pushed it harder, and sped up in the next turn, and in turn, fliped it. He walked away I believe with just a few cuts and brusies. The KJ held up very well IMO.

You must be registered for see images

The article about the rollover is on AutoWeek's website here:
http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=3331

It's worth noting that Consumer Reports says they were unable to duplicate the rollover, and they absolutely hate SUV's at CR, so you know they tried their darndest, and it had to hurt them to admit they couldn't do it.

AutoWeek has a followup on the rollover, talking about the Lowering Of The Liberty:
"DaimlerChrysler says ride, not rollover rating, led to suspension changes in Jeep Liberty"
http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=4163