should I buy a Liberty?

[DavidC]

I'm helping my daughter buy her first car. We found a 2003 Liberty with about 160,000 for $3500. It appears to be in really well maintained. I started driving it in snowy parking lot. It felt very rough. Then went on pavement and highway and it ran well. I pulled over on local road and then put it into 4 wheel drive. It felt very rough again. While driving I took it out of 4 wheel drive. It still ran rough for a while and then ran well.

I've never driven a jeep. Is it normal to feel rough. Does 4 wheel kick in automatically in snowy parking lot? Did it feel rough when I put it in 4wheel because at that point road not snowy? Does it take a while for it to come out of 4 wheel after taking it out of 4w while driving?

Thank you for any advice.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

It shouldn't 'feel' any different between 2wd on a dry surface and 4wd on a snow-packed surface.

Can you be any more descriptive about this 'roughness'?

 

[DavidC]

It shouldn't 'feel' any different between 2wd on a dry surface and 4wd on a snow-packed surface.

Can you be any more descriptive about this 'roughness'?

Not roughness with the engine idle, roughness like a feeling of dragging. It kind felt like the wheels were dragging. When I pulled over and put it into 4 wheel it was dry pavement. Maybe that was the problem.?? I took it out while driving. It eventually felt normal again, but took a while. Does it take a while to come back out of 4 wheel? If the problem was that it should not have been put in 4 wheel on dry pavement, then I'm still left wondering why it felt rough in the very beginning when on snow in parking lot. I guess it could be just that I'm not used to the feel of a jeep or does it sound like a big problem? My daughter loves it so I don't want to just dismiss the jeep if it's possibly me not being used to the feel.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Even though you're not supposed to engage 4wd on a dry surface, it shouldn't have felt rough. The transfer case is an often neglected item of routine maintenance and it's possible it has been run dry or with contaminated fluid. I'd be very suspect of this vehicle.

 

[DavidC]

Even though you're not supposed to engage 4wd on a dry surface, it shouldn't have felt rough. The transfer case is an often neglected item of routine maintenance and it's possible it has been run dry or with contaminated fluid. I'd be very suspect of this vehicle.

OK Thank you very much. I'm going to have it checked out by a mechanic and I'll check to make sure he's up to speed on the transfer case.

 

[Mrsig]

But for now

and enjoy the forum!

 

[LaBarca]

Having owned a 2003 Liberty, I will agree that this is not normal behavior for a properly maintained drive train. It will feel a bit less responsive, and if you turn on dry pavement, you will get front end bucking, but it sounds as if you are describing more "drag".