2020 JLUR steering issue

[Jennalee]

Yeah but this thread has no part of that, just a bunch of complaining, I’ve offered suggestions, answered questions and asked several questions in relation to factors that could contribute. Absolute crickets, no dialogue just complaining!! I agree with you, if this was one of those ask questions and try different things type of thread it would be great, but it’s not. And I hear this a lot, “I shouldn’t have to”, or “we shouldn’t have to”. And to some extent you’re right, you shouldn’t have to!! But in this situation you gotta do what you gotta do. This is my seventh wrangler, CJ5, CJ7,CJ7,TJ,TJ,JK and now the JLUR. So basically every generation except the TJ and they have all driven like absolute crap except the JL. I took the family out in my wife’s grand Cherokee last weekend and her steering is wheel is looser and requires more correction then my JL, our brains make us think problems are worse than they are and even create problems that aren’t really there. My point is this is a problem that jeep dealers cannot address because they don’t think it’s an issue, what’s the resolution?? Complain about it and get nowhere, find a resolution outside of Jeep or deal with it In a nut shell those are the only real options. I installed my first lift that I ended up swapping out for the Mopar lift and I had Jeep install my lift and tires because I didn’t want any hassle for future warranty issues that they could try and blame my lift on. When I got the Jeep back it drove OK but it had issues with axles shifting and Castor not where I thought it should be. I could’ve brought it back to Jeep but I know they wouldn’t be able to figure it out so I took it upon myself and fixed it, now I’m very happy and love my Jeep. I don’t mean to sound harsh because I really am sympathetic with everyone’s issues. But at the end of the day it’s time to put on the big boy pants and take action upon ourselves. There was enough information out there on this steering issue and buyers should have been well aware of these issues before hand. I also think a lot of it is first time jeep ownership and to much is expected from a vehicle that’s nothing more than a civilized Rock crawler.

There are a lot of people who have serious steering issues. Besides the engine, steering a car is the MAIN thing about a car. You steer where you want it to go. Bad steering is dangerous and I don’t think they should be called complainers because they dropped 50k on a car they don’t want to drive their families in because they might swerve into the car next to them. They can’t even enjoy their brand new car!

Not everybody is mechanically inclined and telling people to “fix it or live with it because you knew what you got yourselves into” is so rude and incorrect. A lot of people bought Jeeps unaware of any steering issues and some people can’t afford to fix it themselves or take it outside the dealership.

You don’t know what other people are dealing with in their Jeeps or how bad their problems are and you’re complaining that they’re complaining. They are here because they are looking for others with similar issues, looking for advice and needing help. Nobody should be dealing with bad quality control or whatever is going on with these new Jeeps.

And why should they take action upon themselves? So they can void their warranty? They’re relying on their dealership to help, that’s what they’re supposed to do when they have problems with a new car they just bought from them. I had a Jeep Wrangler and never had an issue with steering before.

And if your wife’s Jeep Cherokee has bad steering I wouldn’t sit on it I’d try to get them to fix that too because nobody should receive a new car like that.

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[NPE102414]

There are a lot of people who have serious steering issues. Besides the engine, steering a car is the MAIN thing about a car. You steer where you want it to go. Bad steering is dangerous and I don’t think they should be called complainers because they dropped 50k on a car they don’t want to drive their families in because they might swerve into the car next to them. They can’t even enjoy their brand new car!

Not everybody is mechanically inclined and telling people to “fix it or live with it because you knew what you got yourselves into” is so rude and incorrect. A lot of people bought Jeeps unaware of any steering issues and some people can’t afford to fix it themselves or take it outside the dealership.

You don’t know what other people are dealing with in their Jeeps or how bad their problems are and you’re complaining that they’re complaining. They are here because they are looking for others with similar issues, looking for advice and needing help. Nobody should be dealing with bad quality control or whatever is going on with these new Jeeps.

And why should they take action upon themselves? So they can void their warranty? They’re relying on their dealership to help, that’s what they’re supposed to do when they have problems with a new car they just bought from them. I had a Jeep Wrangler and never had an issue with steering before.

And if your wife’s Jeep Cherokee has bad steering I wouldn’t sit on it I’d try to get them to fix that too because nobody should receive a new car like that.

I didn’t say hers was bad, I said it’s loose and still requires correction like every other SUV tends to be, it’s two years old with 36k trouble free miles, these are not BMW sedans you know!!

Secondly if you can afford to buy a 50k vehicle you can afford to get a second opinion from a Jeep specialist.

Thirdly, if I felt my my wife and children’s safety was in jeopardy there would be no cost high enough to prevent me from taking action into my own hands to fix the issue with my vehicle!! But I have not seen one person describing their issues and asking for advice on a fix. I’ve seen not one back-and-forth dialogue discussing issues and trying to resolve the problem, that’s why I call it complaining. Not because people are talking about a problem that I do believe is real. And please don’t come at me with the safety concern argument because if you really felt your safety was in jeopardy you should do whatever it takes, regardless of the cost or warranty implications, I would!!

 

[Jennalee]

I didn’t say hers was bad, I said it’s loose and still requires correction like every other SUV tends to be, it’s two years old with 36k trouble free miles, these are not BMW sedans you know!!

Secondly if you can afford to buy a 50k vehicle you can afford to get a second opinion from a Jeep specialist.

Thirdly, if I felt my my wife and children’s safety was in jeopardy there would be no cost high enough to prevent me from taking action into my own hands to fix the issue with my vehicle!! But I have not seen one person describing their issues and asking for advice on a fix. I’ve seen not one back-and-forth dialogue discussing issues and trying to resolve the problem, that’s why I call it complaining. Not because people are talking about a problem that I do believe is real. And please don’t come at me with the safety concern argument because if you really felt your safety was in jeopardy you should do whatever it takes, regardless of the cost or warranty implications, I would!!

Again, not true. Just because someone can afford a 50k vehicle doesn’t mean they can afford all these repairs with other mechanics. You buy a new car you expect the warranty to cover any issues with it. You don’t expect to be paying out of pocket for a badly built brand new car.

I’m not saying the cars are badly built, I’m not pretending to know what the issue is with the steering.

 

[Keycub]

Have you ever owned a Jeep? Have you ever worked on a Jeep? This is how Jeeps are, period!! Some might drive better, but better is a relative term!! Every single last one of my seven Jeeps have had the same diving characteristics, from my first 1979 CJ5 to my latest 2020 JLUR. You hear this from people that have owned Jeep’s for decades such as myself. And it’s not “technical Jargon” it’s real world facts!! Every time you turn your steering wheel there are 5 separate mechanical linkages that move to turn the wheels, unlike your “Camry” that has two electronically controlled ones. If you’ve never owned or driven a jeep you will not understand. It is as basic a vehicle as you can get, regardless of how much electronics and leather they cover it up with. It’s a steel tub mounted to a boxed frame with two SOLID axels and four wheels, that’s it!!! To make matters worse they have the biggest off-road tires Jeep has ever put on a wrangler. The reason I called you ignorant is because you put down people that know about these things, you sound entitled. A Wrangler will never be what you want it to be, so deal with it or trade it in for a Camry, it’s a free country!! And they are not built wrong, they’re actually built very right, they are purpose built off-road machines. With that said, they are the most capable off road machine on the planet!!

Sorry. This is my 3rd Jeep. I’ve never driven anything like this. I’m glad yours drives like a Jeep. But some of us have problems. I’m giving the dealer one shot at it. Then I’ll address the front end my self

 

[Bearded_Dragon]

Yeah but this thread has no part of that, just a bunch of complaining, I’ve offered suggestions, answered questions and asked several questions in relation to factors that could contribute. Absolute crickets, no dialogue just complaining!! I agree with you, if this was one of those ask questions and try different things type of thread it would be great, but it’s not. And I hear this a lot, “I shouldn’t have to”, or “we shouldn’t have to”. And to some extent you’re right, you shouldn’t have to!! But in this situation you gotta do what you gotta do. This is my seventh wrangler, CJ5, CJ7,CJ7,TJ,TJ,JK and now the JLUR. So basically every generation except the TJ and they have all driven like absolute crap except the JL. I took the family out in my wife’s grand Cherokee last weekend and her steering is wheel is looser and requires more correction then my JL, our brains make us think problems are worse than they are and even create problems that aren’t really there. My point is this is a problem that jeep dealers cannot address because they don’t think it’s an issue, what’s the resolution?? Complain about it and get nowhere, find a resolution outside of Jeep or deal with it In a nut shell those are the only real options. I installed my first lift that I ended up swapping out for the Mopar lift and I had Jeep install my lift and tires because I didn’t want any hassle for future warranty issues that they could try and blame my lift on. When I got the Jeep back it drove OK but it had issues with axles shifting and Castor not where I thought it should be. I could’ve brought it back to Jeep but I know they wouldn’t be able to figure it out so I took it upon myself and fixed it, now I’m very happy and love my Jeep. I don’t mean to sound harsh because I really am sympathetic with everyone’s issues. But at the end of the day it’s time to put on the big boy pants and take action upon ourselves. There was enough information out there on this steering issue and buyers should have been well aware of these issues before hand. I also think a lot of it is first time jeep ownership and to much is expected from a vehicle that’s nothing more than a civilized Rock crawler.

My JL steers worse than any other Wrangler I've owned and I've owned three different generations all with 100k+ miles. I've driven everything from riding lawnmowers to semis pulling 80,000 lbs and guess what has the worst steering? Still my JL. I've driven multiple JLs with good steering, others are ok, some are absolute shit.

Plenty of us in the 300+ thread have tried to solve the issue and help each other out, some have been fixed.

Bleeping Jeep just spent over $3k on parts to fix his JL. I'm sure that price would double with labor, so after we purchase a vehicle we have to spend at least 10% to fix an issue straight from the factory? The kit replaces the electric steering box for a belt driven one.



Funny you should mention the Cherokee, I had a 2019 for a rental last year. In that vehicle the steering was very twitchy vs your loose one. Maybe the same company makes both Cherokee and Wrangler steering systems and their quality control sucks?

As for safety plenty of people have ditched their JLs for other vehicles, including for a different JL with good steering. Bottom line there is a problem with JL steering.

 

[Upnarms]

I get annoyed at a post like yours with comments like “they are built wrong” and “we are tired of it!!” Have you spent even one minute dialing in your tire pressure or are you waiting for FCA to tell you what it’s supposed to be? Have you checked your alignment, or are you waiting for the dealer to tell you what it’s supposed to be? Have you made an appointment to have every nut, bolt, ball joints and linkages in your front end torque checked?? Or have you just come here and whine about how your Jeep is built wrong and doesn’t drive like a Camry??

So I was doing a lot of thinking last night and decided to take your advice. I went to the Toyota dealership up the road and traded my Rubicon in for a brand new Camry. I was disappointed it didnt come in Sting Gray, but I thought it was well worth the trade off to have good steering. They even let me keep my wheels and tires.

Boy, was I disappointed! The Camry pulls to the left now. There is 2.5 inches of steering wheel play when I take it on dirt. Im afraid I have developed a death wobble too. I took it in to the dealership and they cannot figure out what is going on with it. It is now in the hands of their tech support. This wasnt supposed to happen. What a nightmare. I'm starting to think I made a HUGE mistake!

 

[Upnarms]

My JL steers worse than any other Wrangler I've owned and I've owned three different generations all with 100k+ miles. I've driven everything from riding lawnmowers to semis pulling 80,000 lbs and guess what has the worst steering? Still my JL. I've driven multiple JLs with good steering, others are ok, some are absolute shit.

Plenty of us in the 300+ thread have tried to solve the issue and help each other out, some have been fixed.

Bleeping Jeep just spent over $3k on parts to fix his JL. I'm sure that price would double with labor, so after we purchase a vehicle we have to spend at least 10% to fix an issue straight from the factory? The kit replaces the electric steering box for a belt driven one.



Funny you should mention the Cherokee, I had a 2019 for a rental last year. In that vehicle the steering was very twitchy vs your loose one. Maybe the same company makes both Cherokee and Wrangler steering systems and their quality control sucks?

As for safety plenty of people have ditched their JLs for other vehicles, including for a different JL with good steering. Bottom line there is a problem with JL steering.

Thanks for posting that video. I hadnt seen that yet, but that is exactly the issue we are all dealing with and culprit we all suspect. Definitely something I will be putting on after the warranty runs up and maybe pricing will come down slightly. Or maybe Chrysler will get held accountable like VW and have to compensate owners to cover/ offset the expense of fixing this.

How many of you all hear that loud high pitched whining electric motor sound from your factory steering unit? Ive noticed some are worse than others. Mine is pretty loud (I can mostly hear it when in a parking lot going slow). Ive heard from several forum members this is the norm with this system. Just curious though if they all do it.

I guess the real winner out of this whole thing will be PSC. $$$$

 

[Rdmitch]

Wow great video, but no way would I ever tackle a project like that.

It still does not answer the question as to why the problem is on 30% or so of the jeeps.
If it’s a bad system it should be bad on all.

 

[Upnarms]

Wow great video, but no way would I ever tackle a project like that.

It still does not answer the question as to why the problem is on 30% or so of the jeeps.
If it’s a bad system it should be bad on all.

Or why some do things like pull, others lots of play, very inconsistent. Bad quality control? Programming? Somebody else mentioned gremlins

 

[MntsRcalln]

Like I said earlier, I’m still in shopping mode. Have I owned a jeep? Nope. I have driven jeeps? Plenty. Are some people expecting too much? Maybe.

I’m an old guy with a beard half way to my belt. I let the window down and it flies out in the wind like something in mad max. I’ve driven and owned just about everything including a CJ with a V8. It was a fire dept brush truck. No top, custom welded steel all over it, white spoke rims with 32’s and glass packs. (that’s loud azz mufflers for you young fellers). It had a steering wheel the size of a trash can lid and the diameter of my pinky. Did it wonder and have play in the steering? In the words of Sarah Palin, “you darn tootin”. It also had an 80 gallon tank of water in the back of it and when it got down to 40 gallons, things got fun. Combine, the already loose as a greased pig, along with 40 gallons of water sloshing back and forth……I spun it in a curve one day on a wet road going to a call. It broke loose on me and I just nailed the gas to spin it and prayed. I ended up stopped in the middle of the road, facing the correct direction, lights and sires still going. Once I “un-pukered “ I had this sh*t eating grin on my face. Tossed it back in 1st and off I went.

Am I expecting these to drive like a vette? No, I’ve owned those as well. Like I said in my previous post, I have driven several JLUR’s off the lot with no issue. So, I know how they are supposed to feel. The frustration some of you are having is ridiculous. For some reason, some of these things don’t drive right. Its as simple s that. I hope an answer is found. However, I order and/or find the one I want on a lot, drive it and experience what I read here and in other threads, I’m going to look the kid salesman/rep/manager in the eye with his man bun and skinny pants and tell him/her “ It does not drive as expected, try again”.

I’m not paying 50k for something brand new I have to drop thousands in so I won’t run over the prius beside me. That’s insane. Yes, you start lifting, tires ect. It could affect it. But bone stock and it handles like a hay wagon? No.

There is a designer/engineer up there somewhere that knows what it is. Jeep #1234 off the line is fine. Jeep #1235 is borked. That’s telling in itself.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I guess I haven't gotten to the conclusion that the steering pump and gearbox have a problem. I was just under my Jeep and had it running with my wife turning the steering wheel back and forth half a turn. My Jeep has all stock original parts as built in Oct 2018. When I looked at the track bar I could see the bushing on the axle end allowing the bar to move almost an 1/8" relative to the axle bracket. The other end was about 1/16" of movement. I didn't have a way to measure the flex in the track bar. I'm putting the SteerSmarts Yeti Pro-Series in today. We'll see...

 

[NPE102414]

Again, not true. Just because someone can afford a 50k vehicle doesn’t mean they can afford all these repairs with other mechanics. You buy a new car you expect the warranty to cover any issues with it. You don’t expect to be paying out of pocket for a badly built brand new car.

I’m not saying the cars are badly built, I’m not pretending to know what the issue is with the steering.

And I wasn’t saying that you should go pay another mechanic and throw parts at it. I was merely suggesting that you get a second opinion from someone who lives and breathes Wranglers. If your doctor said you needed heart surgery for a sore ankle you would probably get a second opinion regardless of the cost correct?

 

[NPE102414]

So I was doing a lot of thinking last night and decided to take your advice. I went to the Toyota dealership up the road and traded my Rubicon in for a brand new Camry. I was disappointed it didnt come in Sting Gray, but I thought it was well worth the trade off to have good steering. They even let me keep my wheels and tires.

Boy, was I disappointed! The Camry pulls to the left now. There is 2.5 inches of steering wheel play when I take it on dirt. Im afraid I have developed a death wobble too. I took it in to the dealership and they cannot figure out what is going on with it. It is now in the hands of their tech support. This wasnt supposed to happen. What a nightmare. I'm starting to think I made a HUGE mistake!

You know that wasn’t directed to you right?

 

[NPE102414]

My JL steers worse than any other Wrangler I've owned and I've owned three different generations all with 100k+ miles. I've driven everything from riding lawnmowers to semis pulling 80,000 lbs and guess what has the worst steering? Still my JL. I've driven multiple JLs with good steering, others are ok, some are absolute shit.

Plenty of us in the 300+ thread have tried to solve the issue and help each other out, some have been fixed.

Bleeping Jeep just spent over $3k on parts to fix his JL. I'm sure that price would double with labor, so after we purchase a vehicle we have to spend at least 10% to fix an issue straight from the factory? The kit replaces the electric steering box for a belt driven one.



Funny you should mention the Cherokee, I had a 2019 for a rental last year. In that vehicle the steering was very twitchy vs your loose one. Maybe the same company makes both Cherokee and Wrangler steering systems and their quality control sucks?

As for safety plenty of people have ditched their JLs for other vehicles, including for a different JL with good steering. Bottom line there is a problem with JL steering.

Again, I’m not disputing there are real steering issues with some JL’s l, and I am by no means a fan of the new electro hydraulic system Jeep chose to use. I do however notice lots of people that don’t really understand what they purchased.

This is a brick on wheels with solid axles. There are so many variables that contribute to steering on a jeep wrangler that don’t apply to a regular vehicle and a lot of people are confusing it with a real issue because they read it on the forums.

There’s a guy on here that added a Rubicon Express 2.5” lift with lug centric wheels and 35’s and he’s blaming the Jeep for wandering, cmon, really?? Modified Jeep owners have no business talking about steering issues and blaming Jeep for them. I’ll also add that out of the 30% of people that claim issues probably 15% of those are real and the other 15% is new wrangler owners who don’t understand the vehicle they purchased.

My Jl was all over the road after my first lift and 35’s but that was my fault for choosing the wrong lift/shock combo. Real fixes for wandering are not that difficult, it’s either a toe issue, a caster issue or a tire issue, or maybe combination of all those issues combined. I don’t see people talking about that, Instead I see questions like “I noticed my jeep leaning to the right”, you think that has something to do with my wandering issues?? No, that has something to do with your fuel tank on the right hand side.

Again, I really sympathize with people that have real issues, but a lot of these issues aren’t real. My JL drives great now, but I was over the road this morning because I’m lifted on 35’s and it was windy as hell. My grand Cherokee doesn’t have issues, I was just using the analogy that other vehicles have “loose steering” as well. My 2018 Silverado 2500HD is worse then my JL in almost every steering aspect, loose, lots of play, dead spot, just like my JL. It’s almost like the people that go on the Internet to diagnose a medical condition can make themselves believe they have a disease they don’t really have. I think some of that is at play with the JL. First time Jeep owners can confuse weather, road crown and the fact they never drove a vehicle like this on steering issue. And I disagree with you on your multiple generations driving better because none of my Jeeps ever drove as good as my JL does.

 

[NPE102414]

I guess I haven't gotten to the conclusion that the steering pump and gearbox have a problem. I was just under my Jeep and had it running with my wife turning the steering wheel back and forth half a turn. My Jeep has all stock original parts as built in Oct 2018. When I looked at the track bar I could see the bushing on the axle end allowing the bar to move almost an 1/8" relative to the axle bracket. The other end was about 1/16" of movement. I didn't have a way to measure the flex in the track bar. I'm putting the SteerSmarts Yeti Pro-Series in today. We'll see...

Best move you will ever make, I’m jealous!! No doubt bad bushings in the stock stick! What was your steering issue? If you can’t get the new one on there are plenty of videos showing the ratchet strap trick to pull the axel beck to line up the bolt hole.

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