2006 Jeep Liberty steering problems

August 15, 2006, I bought a brand new jeep liberty from lithia jeep in aurora, co. Oct 27th, 2006 my steering wheel fell off the column while driving. According to my invoice, "the steering wheel cracked. The screw that held it together was found and apparently it was never threaded in place. Luckily, I was stopped at a red light and was just gaining speed when it fell off. However, just 2 minutes prior, I was on the highway going 70 MPH. I feel very fortunate.

Jeep would not start -had lights, radio, horn etc. But it would not turn over at all. Towed to dealer. Tech performed diagnosis and found the problem - steering column had to be replaced. Total cost $798.00. I was told that the steering column and ignition switch were problem issues in this make and model but no recall was in place to repair. Ignition switch recall replace in 2006 jeep liberty manual transmission but not in automatic transmission