Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Jeep Liberty owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the horn was pressed; however, the horn failed to function as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 169,000.
I was driving 45 in a 45 MPH zone in the suburbs of mesa, az suddenly my Jeep Liberty pulled severely to right causing me to hit a 3 ft diameter poll. Air bag deployed as expected but the force of air bag blew a 8 inch hole in airbag and severely broke my chest cavity and abdomen causing spleen rupture and blood and toxins in my spinal fluid. My impression of airbags is to prevent injury not cause injury. Please investigate to prevent this from happening to other Jeep Liberty owners. Was in trauma medical center for 6 days and still home painfully healing. Steering and airbag May be defective. My Jeep was totaled. Have not received police or insurance report yet. Still waiting but needed to report hopefully to prevent others from possible injury
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Jeep Liberty. While driving 35 MPH, the contact became distracted and drove through a red light and crashed into another vehicle crossing an intersection. The air bags only deployed once the vehicle was fully stopped, not upon impact. The contact' son was admitted to the hospital for observation, but did not sustain any major injuries. The contact had a cut on her leg that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard. The vehicle was not totaled and was not diagnosed or repaired. Police report number: 192113977 was filed. There were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.
Low speed head on collision with Jeep Liberty 2011 no airbag deployment, all forces came thru steering column resulting in partial internal amputation of right hand, breking of left hand...no recall repairs ever done, am 3rd owner of vehicle,,,recalls specified in 2011,2013,and after crash in 2016
Sudden unintended acceleration, seatbelts failed on second impact, airbag deployed after my head broke wind shield. Car accelerated in another moving vehicle and accelerated faster into a concrete wall. All on closed circuit video I am left with a traumatic brain injury, disabled
I have a Jeep Liberty with 40,000 miles on it that has safety issues. We bought the car new as a small SUV for our family and it has been a complete piece of junk. The anniversary package that we bought is a joke. The fake leather seat have completely deteriorated which we overlooked but now the car is having safety issues. The air bag system is a joke and the failed module is no longer covered under the manufacturers warranty nor the extended warranty that the stealership sold to us. I will never ever purchase another Dodge , Chrysler or Jeep product as they are very unreliable vehicles as well as my experiences with 4 different dealerships has been beyond horrible. They even lied to us about changing our oil in the car and offered a free oil change to compensate for the lie. What a joke they did not even change our oil and said they did. …
My airbag light came on a few weeks ago and hasn't stopped going on and off it makes that annoying sound the whole trip every time I drive, the heat won't cut on it blows cold air I've had it looked at and repaired allegedly but it still won't blow hot air, the car keeps stalling and it has completely shut off on me 3 times while I have been driving once on a busy freeway I was luckily by grace of god able to turn the wheel off to the side of the road before it locked I have a 2 year old daughter and I'm currently pregnant this is insane and nobody can tell me what's wrong with it or how to fix any of these problems I got a loan for this car so now I'm stuck with this death trap, and now I'm seeing all these complaints about the same thing I'm baffled by the neglect and lack of concern or care for customers and there families who ride in their vehicles safety, I would think it would be …
So yesterday after work I get in my car and start it, and I noticed my airbag light came on. I figured maybe the sensor was triggered by the hot weather but that still didn't make sense. So I look up what I should do in the manual and it says take it to the dealer (they were closed). The next day, I thought surely the code would clear and all would be well. To my surprise my light was still on. I take my car to the dealership to get checked out (mind you, I have 2 warranties on this car) and I just know it will be covered. Wrong! I was shocked and dismayed to find out that my airbag has 2 problems, the seat belt sensor has blown out and the the airbag module is blown out (meaning it will not deploy if I get in an accident). On top of all this, neither of these problems are covered by my $4,000 warranty and will cost me $910 before taxes. Seriously??? …
Airbag light goes on intermittently on and off continually. It came on all of a sudden and has been doing this for quite some time now. I do not know how to get it to stop without going into the dealership and pay a $100 service fee to find out if there is a problem with the airbag or not. It continues as soon as the vehicle is turned on and while driving down the road. Every day all day until I return and park. I have tried to reset it by disconnecting the battery and letting it sit for an hour and reconnecting it but it will come right back on when we reconnect it and begin to drive again.
I was driving about 40 MPH. There was a red light and some preceding cars were stopped and others were slowing down. The brakes failed to respond even after stomping on it a of couple times. The brakes only depressed down a little bit but not fully (seemed like depressing brake pedal when ignition is turned off). The vehicle slowed down to about 30 MPH, but did not come to a complete stop and crashed into the rear end of vehicle in front. Airbag deployed and caused minor cuts and bruises to the face.
Related recalls
Air bags
Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Sebring and 200 vehicles manufactured June 28, 2011, through December 13, 2012; model year 2011-2013 Dodge Avenger vehicles manufactured June 25, 2011, through January 14, 2013; model year 2011-2012 Dodge Nitro vehicles manufactured June 17, 2011, through December 15, 2011; and…
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will flash the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) or replace the occupant restraint control module, as needed, free of charge. The recall began on November 19, 2013.
NHTSA investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Electrical overstress
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events.
Airbag complaints in other Liberty years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2011 Jeep Liberty?
NHTSA has 35 complaints about the air bags of the 2011 Jeep Liberty, 19% of the model year's 181 complaints. The component named most often is frontal › driver clockspring/spiral cassette (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Jeep Liberty airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 13V-282 (air bags, Jul 2, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2011 Jeep Liberty airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 83,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 8 crashes, 0 fires and 8 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.