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Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

BrandonB00

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I don’t think anyone to date has corrected the deficiencies in the problem JL’s
It’s not every one of these so that makes it pretty hard to solve. There are numerous band aids and parts that have been suggested and like people trying to help a ill friend we grasp at any possible cure.

I don’t think jeep has a clue on the problem and dealers are frustrated, customers are pissed and other posters here are just tired of hearing us whine. I apologize to other posters here about this ongoing wandering rant from the group of us with the problem but please understand we’re reaching out to each other for suggestions and help since we’re all each other has. If you could experience what we go thru daily you might better understand. I have driven other JL’s recently and most drive very reasonable with minor steering issues....certainly far better than what we live with. So please don’t think while you’re driving your jeep with its little steering issue that this is what we are complaining about. It’s a totally different battle we face every time we hit the start button.
Like the other great posters here we love our jeeps ....just not the steering issue. To date our only options are band aids, bugging the dealers, jeepcares, FCA tech. services, lawyers or hoping the National highway safety people force a repair. I sure don’t want to spend another 6-10K trying a aftermarket steering system or buying front end parts that will void my warranty and provide an easy way out to FCA to walk from this issue.
Very well put. The JL is so damn cool and such an improvement over past jeeps that I just do not want to give mine up. I want a solution and the group of us here that have issues really do need to stay on top of this. I know that a lot of people are happy with their steering and I Implore them to completely stop reading this thread because the info here obviously doesn't apply. But if it DOES apply then you know damn well it applies because you feel like you're sitting in a wagon holding that handle trying to steer it down a steep hill. If you feel like you're in control of your jeep then you don't have the problem.
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VegasJeepJL

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Hi all -
So I have the flashed PCM, v41 recall, track bar weld recall, and now the new track bar with toe in checked- I think this last one actually helped on the tracking a bit but my 2018 (but only 7 months old) JLU still has the steering play that gets magnified with speed. The play is what's creating constant corrections but feels a bit safer now.

Any word if there will be doing a TSB or recall on the steering box next?
Without a TSB or recall, the dealers say they are handcuffed on what they can do and get covered under warranty is the story I am getting.
I think there is a mix response to that "AE" box - is it worth chasing?.
or just suck it up until they have "AF" ?

JeepCares has gone dormant so not feeling any love there.

Note - I did my own tire balancing check and some minor tweaks there. Tires at 32 psi now in case it might help,
 

Rdmitch

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The AE was no help to me.
I stopped last week at a local shop that specializes in 4 wheelers and particularly jeeps. I talked to the guys there about possible options and they felt increasing the caster would be beneficial. Others with rubicons seemed to feel this helped. Us sahara owners don’t have this adjustment as standard. They talked about a inexpensive kit made for JLs that can add caster adjustment to a wrangler. I think they said it made by Chamberlain. Under 200.00 installed, takes about an hour.
In my situation I can not do any modifications, but it may be something worth looking into.
Don’t plan on a recall, JeepCares is not dormant, they just have no answer and FCA would rather buy advertising time on NFL games than pay to engineer a fix.
 

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powelld353

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4th trip for a fix, 2nd dealership and still no change. This dealer actually lied to me stating that the steering damper that was replaced by previous dealer was some aftermarket POS. Well after the 1st dealer had told me they did the V41 recall I climbed underneath to verify, they not only had replaced the damper they actually put it on correctly! So this 2nd dealer is complete crap. When I dropped it off the Service Advisor argued that he did not see in the paperwork that the AE steering box was installed and that the V41 recall was not done, it was done and I visually verified both. But I decided to let the dealer work the issue and see what they come up with. So they came up with some BS and lied to me just to get me out of there. They did do some RRT software update but that did nothing. Makes me wonder what FCA is doing here, that was a terrible experience and then to be lied to is just ridiculous. On to the 3rd dealer to see if they have a clue. One thing I have noticed is now that the weather here has gotten much colder the steering seems tighter until it warms up then the "play" starts up again. Anyone else notice that?? This is the first time I've driven in weather this cold since the first week I had purchased it.
 

JeepCares

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Hi all -
So I have the flashed PCM, v41 recall, track bar weld recall, and now the new track bar with toe in checked- I think this last one actually helped on the tracking a bit but my 2018 (but only 7 months old) JLU still has the steering play that gets magnified with speed. The play is what's creating constant corrections but feels a bit safer now.

Any word if there will be doing a TSB or recall on the steering box next?
Without a TSB or recall, the dealers say they are handcuffed on what they can do and get covered under warranty is the story I am getting.
I think there is a mix response to that "AE" box - is it worth chasing?.
or just suck it up until they have "AF" ?

JeepCares has gone dormant so not feeling any love there.

Note - I did my own tire balancing check and some minor tweaks there. Tires at 32 psi now in case it might help,
Hi Raul,
Are you having troubles getting in contact with your case manager? If so, please send us your case number so that we can look into this further for you.
Alex
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Marker56

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4th trip for a fix, 2nd dealership and still no change. This dealer actually lied to me stating that the steering damper that was replaced by previous dealer was some aftermarket POS. Well after the 1st dealer had told me they did the V41 recall I climbed underneath to verify, they not only had replaced the damper they actually put it on correctly! So this 2nd dealer is complete crap. When I dropped it off the Service Advisor argued that he did not see in the paperwork that the AE steering box was installed and that the V41 recall was not done, it was done and I visually verified both. But I decided to let the dealer work the issue and see what they come up with. So they came up with some BS and lied to me just to get me out of there. They did do some RRT software update but that did nothing. Makes me wonder what FCA is doing here, that was a terrible experience and then to be lied to is just ridiculous. On to the 3rd dealer to see if they have a clue. One thing I have noticed is now that the weather here has gotten much colder the steering seems tighter until it warms up then the "play" starts up again. Anyone else notice that?? This is the first time I've driven in weather this cold since the first week I had purchased it.
Just had visit number three. visit 1 dealer said all is normal but stated it's a jeep thing and said they aligned it and centered the steering wheel. The only change I noticed was they dropped the tire pressure. Visit # 2 Different dealer They actually drove the vehicle with me. They did actually center the steering wheel and check the alignment. The Jeep did have improvement in that the steering wheel was not constantly cocked to go straight so there is less exaggeration caused by the free play in the wheel.
Visit #3 Jeep CARES suggested I bring it back in to address the free play in the steering. The conclusion was at they did not know what to do and the tire does move at the limits of the free play, did not address how far the wheel needed to be turned before moving the tire. Told me that all the customers that use the wranglers in their rental fleet complain about the steering. It is normal.
And yes I notice a difference when it is cooler but by the afternoon it is back to the dance, especially at freeway speeds
 

powelld353

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Just had visit number three. visit 1 dealer said all is normal but stated it's a jeep thing and said they aligned it and centered the steering wheel. The only change I noticed was they dropped the tire pressure. Visit # 2 Different dealer They actually drove the vehicle with me. They did actually center the steering wheel and check the alignment. The Jeep did have improvement in that the steering wheel was not constantly cocked to go straight so there is less exaggeration caused by the free play in the wheel.
Visit #3 Jeep CARES suggested I bring it back in to address the free play in the steering. The conclusion was at they did not know what to do and the tire does move at the limits of the free play, did not address how far the wheel needed to be turned before moving the tire. Told me that all the customers that use the wranglers in their rental fleet complain about the steering. It is normal.
And yes I notice a difference when it is cooler but by the afternoon it is back to the dance, especially at freeway speeds
Very similar to my experiences. The 1st dealership for me gave me the "drives as designed" the 1st time I brought it in. The 2nd time they had a tech drive with me and say "there is something there, could be the steering box" only to have it returned to me later that day as "drives like a similar one on the lot". That tells me they have more than 1 defective vehicle then!! The difference with the temperature I just noticed last week when our temps dropped a lot in a short period and my car got left out on the driveway one cold morning.
And BTW, the loaner they gave more for this was a 19 4-door Sport and drove better than mine.
 
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VegasJeepJL

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Hi Raul,
Are you having troubles getting in contact with your case manager? If so, please send us your case number so that we can look into this further for you.
Alex
Jeep Cares
Here you go Case: 5978186 - nudge them would you please.
 

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VegasJeepJL

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Very similar to my experiences. The 1st dealership for me gave me the "drives as designed" the 1st time I brought it in. The 2nd time they had a tech drive with me and say "there is something there, could be the steering box" only to have it returned to me later that day as "drives like a similar one on the lot". That tells me they have more than 1 defective vehicle then!! The difference with the temperature I just noticed last week when our temps dropped a lot in a short period and my car got left out on the driveway one cold morning.
And BTW, the loaner they gave more for this was a 19 4-door Sport and drove better than mine.
There might be something to the temperature - I know the speed of highway magnifies the play. Wife won't drive the jeep.

Funny story (not really) - my 2nd dealer claimed there was no issues and it drove normal...........of course when I checked mileage on them they had Only driven ONE mile - yes, ONE mile. Thorough testing there Jeep!
I think I am starting to see the pattern that dealers don't know how to diagnose or they know the steering box is probably a big piece of the blame and are being told to avoid until they come up with a new part solution and then recall. (wish)

Also my last rental was a brand new Gladiator and that drove like a dream. Bad quality control on parts?

Has anyone tried the JK steering box as a solution? will that part work?
I have driven one of those and that felt tighter.
 

dsgrey

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I think I am starting to see the pattern that dealers don't know how to diagnose or they know the steering box is probably a big piece of the blame and are being told to avoid until they come up with a new part solution and then recall. (wish)
Not just Jeep dealers but all dealers. I've see way too many "certified mechanics" that are just parts replacers. They "fix" things by only changing the parts based on a code or the vendor bulletin. Long lost are the debugging skills and critical thinking required to find and resolve an issue.
 

cbrenthus

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Not just Jeep dealers but all dealers. I've see way too many "certified mechanics" that are just parts replacers. They "fix" things by only changing the parts based on a code or the vendor bulletin. Long lost are the debugging skills and critical thinking required to find and resolve an issue.
I've had the same issues trying to hire people in other fields including electricians and HVAC - and I usually end up fixing it myself!
 

Rdmitch

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There might be something to the temperature - I know the speed of highway magnifies the play. Wife won't drive the jeep.

Funny story (not really) - my 2nd dealer claimed there was no issues and it drove normal...........of course when I checked mileage on them they had Only driven ONE mile - yes, ONE mile. Thorough testing there Jeep!
I think I am starting to see the pattern that dealers don't know how to diagnose or they know the steering box is probably a big piece of the blame and are being told to avoid until they come up with a new part solution and then recall. (wish)

Also my last rental was a brand new Gladiator and that drove like a dream. Bad quality control on parts?

Has anyone tried the JK steering box as a solution? will that part work?
I have driven one of those and that felt tighter.
JK steering box is hydraulic, JL is electro mechanical.
Would have to do a total retrofit to make it work. There are kits available if you want to drop a few grand to fix jeeps problem.
 

Rdmitch

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There might be something to the temperature - I know the speed of highway magnifies the play. Wife won't drive the jeep.

Funny story (not really) - my 2nd dealer claimed there was no issues and it drove normal...........of course when I checked mileage on them they had Only driven ONE mile - yes, ONE mile. Thorough testing there Jeep!
I think I am starting to see the pattern that dealers don't know how to diagnose or they know the steering box is probably a big piece of the blame and are being told to avoid until they come up with a new part solution and then recall. (wish)

Also my last rental was a brand new Gladiator and that drove like a dream. Bad quality control on parts?

Has anyone tried the JK steering box as a solution? will that part work?
I have driven one of those and that felt tighter.
The
There might be something to the temperature - I know the speed of highway magnifies the play. Wife won't drive the jeep.

Funny story (not really) - my 2nd dealer claimed there was no issues and it drove normal...........of course when I checked mileage on them they had Only driven ONE mile - yes, ONE mile. Thorough testing there Jeep!
I think I am starting to see the pattern that dealers don't know how to diagnose or they know the steering box is probably a big piece of the blame and are being told to avoid until they come up with a new part solution and then recall. (wish)

Also my last rental was a brand new Gladiator and that drove like a dream. Bad quality control on parts?

Has anyone tried the JK steering box as a solution? will that part work?
I have driven one of those and that felt tighter.

The funny part is it’s true and commonplace. FCA sent the “regional expert” in to look at mine.
I verified odometer prior to and after the expert evaluated the drivability. Total test was 4 miles. Could not get to any freeway or anywhere more than a 30 mph zone in that distance.

I offered to drive up to the JEEP factory for a real evaluation. Toledo is a two hour drive for me. They preferred to bring someone in instead from another state.

This whole issue is the most insane process ever, a total lack of customer support and no resolution in sight. Same story line at every dealer.

C’mon Jeep put on your big boy pants and get this resolved or be prepared to start defending yourself in court when someone gets killed due to this problem.

JeepCares, we know your reading here so instead of referring us to case managers send your case managers the message that they need to let corporate know this is a real issue and the pressure is on. All the helpful trips to the dealers are NOT resulting in any improvement so it’s wasting our time as well as your money paying dealers for warranty
work that doesn’t help.
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