Glad to see this.

[jnaut]

I fully admit to having reached a point in my life where at most I distrust, or at least am mildly wary of American cars because over my lifetime, my previous experiences with American cars has been dodgy, and my experiences with foreign cars have been fairly flawless. So when I bought my Jeep, I feared I was doing the wrong thing, or would regret it, and even feared that the Liberty was too new for any real problems to have surfaced. Thus far, I'm very impressed with my own Liberty.

I was talking to my sister about the transmission woes she's having with her Honda Odyssey, and I was quite pleased to see this on the liberty compared with this on the honda:

Liberty: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2004&make=Jeep&model=Liberty

Odyssey: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2002&make=Honda&model=Odyssey

Makes a man feel good about his American Jeep.

 

[LibertyOrDeath]

The only issue reported was the 2002 Cooling Fan Relay. Odyssey has well "issues."

 

[jnaut]

The only issue reported was the 2002 Cooling Fan Relay. Odyssey has well "issues."

Yeah, after helping my sister research her odyssey, apparently there's a "known" issue where the PCM fails, causing inordinate shifting at slow speeds, which further causes the transmission to physically break. Basically one design flaw causing secondary issues in MAJOR components.

Of course the infuriating part for my sis is that Honda is casually admitting that the PCM caused her transmission failure, but is claiming that the PCM failed after the warranty period. My sister is fighting them right now, trying to gather the evidence that the PCM failed long before the warranty, but the transmission damage was discovered after the warranty was expired.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I'm glad about a Jeep being more reliable than an import. I had a Nissan Maxima as a company car, and the service was horrible. I ordered a part once and it never came in. I feel a sense of supiority when I pull up next to an import.(flagusa)

 

[jnaut]

I'm glad about a Jeep being more reliable than an import. I had a Nissan Maxima as a company car, and the service was horrible. I ordered a part once and it never came in. I feel a sense of supiority when I pull up next to an import.(flagusa)

Actually, I'm glad you brought that up. I did own a Maxima for a short time and when it reached around the 100k miles point, everything fell apart at once. A lot of electrical problems.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Actually, I'm glad you brought that up. I did own a Maxima for a short time and when it reached around the 100k miles point, everything fell apart at once. A lot of electrical problems.

I had about 38k on mine when I had to turn it in. The part that never came in was a trim piece for the rear door. I fixed with some black electrical tape. Mine had issue with the heated seats, I couldn't turn them off!! I had to go into work with a wet back!!! To fix it, I just pulled the fuse. What year was yours?? Mine was an 04.

 

[jnaut]

I had about 38k on mine when I had to turn it in. The part that never came in was a trim piece for the rear door. I fixed with some black electrical tape. Mine had issue with the heated seats, I couldn't turn them off!! I had to go into work with a wet back!!! To fix it, I just pulled the fuse. What year was yours?? Mine was an 04.

It had to have been a 97 or some such thing. We didn't actually buy it, it was one of those family things. Bunch of family moving around the country and with all the musical chairs, there was an extra car sitting in someones driveway. As a gesture we were given the car because we were newlyweds and only had one car and needed a second. We owned it for a couple of years and during that time one thing after another just started breaking or needing replacing. When a repair estimate for almost $4000 was being waved in our faces, we donated it to charity and went back to one car.

 

[J-Thompson]

That is all fine and good but you are not comparing apples to apples
compare the KJ to either of the honda SUV's ,and I use that term loosely
the Honda is going to simply be better at every thing but off roading
even the bigger Pilot gets better MPG

just for the record we almost bought a Pilot or a Ridgeline at the end of the '08 model year but the timing was off
I did drive both and can tell you that they are both by far better than any thing Jeep has ever produced and I have driven them all or the ones that would be close in the running
if you were to compare the Chrysler minivan to the Honda which do you think would be better?
oh and the sales rep. at the Honda dealer told my wife
"Honda makes good vehicles and their worse on is the minivan I would not recommend one but if you must have a minivan then the honda is probably better than the rest"
The fact that she said "probably better" tells me that even they have little faith in them

 

[JeepJeepster]

Personally our toyota is the most unreliable thing weve had.. Not sure where people get their facts but forgien cars are not the most reliable thing around.. Ignorance is bliss though.. Right?

 

[jnaut]

That is all fine and good but you are not comparing apples to apples

I understand. And I'm not trying to say anthing definitive about American VS. Imports. I was just really relieved that the Jeep had green checkmarks all the way across.

if you were to compare the Chrysler minivan to the Honda which do you think would be better?

I honestly don't know. Despite my sis' transmission problems-- which, when you're talking transmission problems, that's a pretty big problem-- the Honda minivan is pretty awesome. It's just a really well designed van.

oh and the sales rep. at the Honda dealer told my wife
"Honda makes good vehicles and their worse on is the minivan

Interesting. I don't know much about the minivan market. As SUV's go, even they're going to be difficult to compare. 4wd is sometimes semantically interchanged with All Wheel Drive... anyhoo. INteresting stuff.

 

[jnaut]

Personally our toyota is the most unreliable thing weve had.. Not sure where people get their facts but forgien cars are not the most reliable thing around.. Ignorance is bliss though.. Right?

It's hard in an anecdotal thread to prove anything. My toyota was the most reliable care I've ever owned. Ever.

I don't know how many times that odometer rolled over. Only thing ever done was regular maintenance and at 2xx,*** miles, it finally needed a new clutch.

I think that overall, the consumer reports, and I don't mean "Consumer Reports(tm)" but the general sphere of consumer media, Toyota and Lexus is one of the most reliable brands made.

 

[hyde]

It is sad that one may find satisfaction that Honda has a crappy minivan that has more problems than our jeep. American cars are still living in the 90s with their design, quality of components used, features and on the service department. They just have a really good engine, and the rest relies on that, while you are having issues with small things here and there that are the major annoyances. Otherwise, everyone defines reliability in comparison to their own experience.