The Jeep Liberty is a lesser-popular brand compared to models like the Jeep Wrangler or Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Liberty model produced a couple of quality trucks before they were discontinued after some years. But, what is the Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity?
You will be surprised by the towing capacity of this SUV, considering that it’s not a popular model. So, if you’d love to use the Jeep Liberty for towing, here are the specific towing capacities for their model years.
Jeep Liberty Overview
The Jeep Liberty was introduced in 2002 where it continued with the production of the truck model, upgrades and re-designs until 2012 when production was stopped. Within the 11 years, Jeep produced two generations: one running from 2002 to 2007. The most recent generation ran from 2008-2012 and featured more improved models, both in the physical aspect and performance.
The Jeep Liberty came as a successor of the then-discontinued Jeep Cherokee in 2002. Jeep wanted to continue the legacy left by the Cherokee by introducing new safety measures and a more appealing interior.
The Jeep Liberty truck has decent towing capabilities, proven by the close difference in towing capacities over the years. The totals ranged between 2,000lbs-5,000lbs regardless of the truck’s production year. Most trucks that rated 2000 pounds were the models that didn’t have a tow package. Some came with a towing capacity of 3,500lbs which were mostly automatics and didn’t have a towing package, while the 5,000lbs capacity was for those that had.
Let’s look into the specific values, shall we?
| Year | Engine | Model | Max. Towing capacity (lbs) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | |
| 2012 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2011 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | |
| 2011 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2010 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | |
| 2010 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2009 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | |
| 2009 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2008 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 3500 | |
| 2008 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 3500 | |
| 2008 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 2000 | |
| 2008 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 2000 | |
| 2008 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 3500 | with Cooler |
| 2008 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 3500 | with Cooler |
| 2008 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | with Cooler/ Using a weight distributing hitch |
| 2008 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | with Cooler/ Using a weight distributing hitch |
| 2007 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 5000 | |
| 2007 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2006 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 3500 | |
| 2006 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 3500 | |
| 2006 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 2000 | |
| 2006 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 2000 | |
| 2006 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | with Cooler |
| 2006 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | with Cooler |
| 2006 | 2.8L I4 | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2005 | 2.4L I4 | 2WD | 2000 | |
| 2005 | 2.4L I4 | 4WD | 2000 | |
| 2005 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 2000 | |
| 2005 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 2000 | |
| 2005 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 3500 | |
| 2005 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 3500 | |
| 2005 | 3.7L Automatic | 2WD | 5000 | with Cooler |
| 2005 | 3.7L Automatic | 4WD | 5000 | with Cooler |
| 2005 | 2.8L Diesel | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2004 | 2.4L I4 | 2WD | 2000 | |
| 2004 | 2.4L I4 | 4WD | 2000 | |
| 2004 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 3500 | |
| 2004 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 3500 | |
| 2004 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 5000 | with Cooler |
| 2004 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 5000 | with Cooler |
| 2003 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 2WD | 5000 | |
| 2003 | 3.7L V6 Manual | 4WD | 5000 | |
| 2002 | 3.7L V6 Manual | N/A | 3500 | |
| 2002 | 3.7L V6 Automatic | N/A | 5000 | with trailer tow package |
2010-2012 Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity
The Jeep Liberty trucks produced between 2010 and 2012 had a towing capacity of 2,000-5,000 pounds. That depended on a couple of factors.
Also, these model years had only one engine option. It was a 3.7L Automatic. The main factor affecting the 2010-2012 Jeep Liberty’s towing capacity is towing packages.
Since all the engines were automatic, it was easier to tell between them by just looking out for the signs of towing packages. Those automatic engines that didn’t have towing packages had the lower 2,000lbs capacity, while those installed came with the higher 5,000lbs.
2009 Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity
The 2009 Jeep Liberty had the same towing capacity as those made between 2010 and 2012. It ranged between 2000-5000lbs. You can decipher from the manuals that higher towing capacity came from trucks with a cooling system. However, unlike in the succeeding years, the cooling system affected the towing capacity of the 2009 Liberty model trucks.
The standard truck had a towing capacity of 2000lbs, while that with an installed cooling system recorded a max capacity of 3,500lbs. If you had a cooling system and weight distribution hitch installed, you were getting a max tow capacity of 5,000lbs.
2008 Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity
The towing capacity of the 2008 Jeep Liberty was 2,000-5,000 pounds. The year’s towing chart was broken into the available mode of transmission and an installed cooling system.
The trucks that didn’t have a cooling system installed had a 2000-3500 lbs towing capacity range. That was dependent on whether you had an M/T or A/T Jeep Liberty. The models with a cooling system all recorded higher values than those without; (3,500 pounds). If you had a cooling system installed, your SUV could stretch up to the 5,000lb mark.
2006-2007 Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity
Again, the maximum towing capacity of the Jeep Liberty produced between 2006 and 2007 was 2,000-5,000lbs.
The towing chart of the 2006-2007 Jeep Liberty was grouped into either the Manual or Automatic Transmission, and if you had a cooling system installed. The SUVs that had manual transmission outperformed the automatics by recording a maximum capacity of 3,500 pounds. A/T variants peaked at 2,000lbs, regardless of whether they were 4×2 or 4×4.
The 2006-2007 A/T Jeep Liberty trucks with an installed cooling system came with a maximum towing capacity of 5,000lbs.
2004-2005 Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity
There was a variation in the engine types during these two years, unlike the successive years that came with one 3.7L engine. We had an additional 2.4L and 2.8L engines during this period. However, the maximum towing capacities didn’t change from what we had in the successive years. The overall 2004-2005 Liberty towing capacity is 2,000-5,000lbs.
The highest value came from the 3.7L A/T Jeep Liberty with an installed cooling system.
2002-2003 Jeep Liberty Towing Capacity
We had a single engine for both model years; the 3.7L V6. The towing capacity without a towing package was 2,000 pounds, while with a towing package was 3,500 pounds. However, the Automatic models that came with towing packages recorded a capacity of 5,000lbs.
Which Specs Affect Towing Capacity?
The towing capacity of the Jeep Liberty was affected by some features across all the years. The main ones were the type of transmission and whether you had installed a cooling system.
About the transmission mode, the M/T SUVs edged the A/T variants when no cooling system was installed. However, the automatics with an installed cooling system had the highest towing capacities, at 5,000 pounds.
Again, higher towing capacities came along with a weight-distribution hitch that enabled the SUV to handle trailer weight comfortably.
Conclusion
The overall 2002-2012 towing capacity of the Jeep Liberty SUV was around 2,000-5,000lbs. There wasn’t much to strike huge differences/variations over the years. The fact that there was only one engine made the towing capacities similar across all models.
However, the highest values come when you have installed a cooling system, which can only happen on an Automatic Transmission model. It is advisable that you install trailer brakes whenever you are sailing out on the maximum towing capacity.
Happy towing!
Bonus: What Is The Best Oil For Jeep 4.0 Engine?
Helpful resources:
- 2012 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2011 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2010 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2009 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2008 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2007 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2006 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2005 Jeep Owner’s Manual
- 2004 Jeep Owner’s Manual
