2002 Jeep Liberty - 3.7 Liter - Engine has begun to die when rpm is at or near idle. Such as pulling into a parking place or stopped at traffic light. More frequent after engine has warmed. Once engine has warmed it will reoccur with regularity. Will restart, but immediately dies again (if still warm). Will run fine after cool down until warmed up again. Will run fine for about 10 minutes before acting up again. Frequency of dieing is getting worse. Oxygen sensor? Idle Control Valve? Heat related resistance build up of some electronic component?

It could be a change in software from 2002 to 2003. You might try to get. Hold of a 2003 black box as the code will most likely be different.

it's overheating, for sure,
is coolant levels dropping? cold checked at rad cap?
"pulled over and found a hose to cool the radiator and hose near the thermostat,"
i can not understand this statement"above"
if it overheat only parked, check fan for full ops.
if overheats moving too, wont stay cool moving fast
then:
bad rad cap
bad thermostat , they have 7 year life says STANT. (and why)
belts slipping (to water pump)
rad cores blocked (IR thermo gun it) ask
water pump impellers rust 1/2 gone?

all this assumes no coolant loss, if you have loss, tell where.,
where it leans
ground
passengers toes (foot well)
engine oil pan? milky oil
if A/T TRANS, check it for milky too.

it could be the air idle control vavle

there should be a dipstick under the hood similar to the engine one,usually the fluid level is checked when the transmission is at normal running temp. with the shifter in N or P but make sure the hand brake is on.....hope this helps.....cheers

it doesn't have to do with the battery. I just had this same problem. Clean the carbon out of the IAC and test to see if this solves the problem. Should it not, the next step is to replace the Throttle Position Sensor. This is a common problem with this model of jeep. The can of cleaner and the sensor only cost 45 bucks, and about an hour total to do.

normal for an engine to start at elevated rpm and then die back as it takes a few seconds for the ECM doing it's sensor checks and idle back to the correct idle speed
check the idle rpm with an external rpm counter as most in dash units are inaccurate at rpm lower than 1000
as for the temperature
If you have a climate control module, it uses a mixture of heater and ac to maintain the temperature that you have set
so check it for operation

its time to replace the idle control valve.

Check temperature sensor. I don't remember if your vehicle has two (one for the gauge, one for the computer) or a single unit that feeds both. If seperate (your parts house should know this) change the one that feeds info to the computer.
Essentially this sensor does the job of the choke on the carburetor on non-fuel injected vehicles, by allowing additional fuel into engine on cold-starts. After engine comes up to operating temp, it reverts back to normal run mode... (why you need to warm it up at excessive rpm before driving!) Good luck!

it needs service,
i guess front glass defrost fails.
and 2 things must work , AC and the defrost damper
or #3 (overloads the function)
my heater core bad and leaking.(or its 2 hoses)

Jeep Liberty 2002 woahs !
by porth21 - 2/1/09 7:35 AM In reply to: Jeep Liberty 2002 speedometer not working by Dannywon
I have a 2002 Jeep Liberty Limited with the same problem. The main problem I have found to be the routing of the speed sensor wires located on the rear difrential. They are 2 blue wires on my jeep and probably the same on yours. The problem is that they rub on the E-brake cable and once the wire is exposed they short and the speedometer and any other options running off they speed sensor quit working and that includes the tranny shift points and can cause the torque converter to not unlock and cause stalls. I am having the same problem for the third time and chrysler and jeep are both aware of the problem and unwilling to repair the problem or post a recall.