Jeep Liberty probed for air bags going

The federal government has put the first Jeep Liberty SUVs — 2002 and 2003 — under the microscope after seven complaints that the front air bags just, bang, went off without a reason. No crash, just whap.

In some cases, owners told the feds, the air bag warning light was on, or had been going on and off, before the bag bang. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it also rounded up 32 more incidents among what it calls its “early-warning field reports.”

All told, NHTSA said, there have been 15 injuries from the unexpected front bag deployments.

In the “early-warning” cases, NHTSA said, “Inspections of the vehicles did not reveal any evidence of exterior vehicle impacts or damage that could have reasonably caused the air bags to deploy.”

Liberty, a replacement for the venerable Cherokee, was developed under Chrysler, then launched under Daimler’s rule, when the company was DaimlerChrysler, and generated some controversy from its debut.

Daimler executive Dieter Zetsche was put in charge of Chrysler and the 2002 Liberty was among the first he influenced. He said at the time that Chrysler was too lavish and he had to back away from some of what he considered too-costly features. He declined to name them.

Liberty was considered radical at the time because it used independent front suspension instead of the solid-axle underpinnings of the Cherokee.

Hardcore off-roaders were skeptical (some even outraged). Many of them believe solid axles are better because they lift the entire vehicle as it goes over an obstacle and thus provides better ground clearance.

The independent suspension is a boon on paved roads, though, because it provides a smoother ride and better handling and steering.

Consumer Reports data show that the 2002-06 Liberty had troubles with engine cooling and unspecified portions of its “drive system.” The ’04 and ’05 also had fuel system problems.

The Liberty was redesigned for 2008 and those newer models have been less troublesome, according to CR data.