Any reports of issues with steering in the 2019s?

[kre62]

I picked up my 2019 JLUR on Friday, it wandered the entire 55 mile ride home. Keeping it between the lines was exhausting. I’ve had my wife drive it with out warning her and she reported “the steering is funny”.

I called for an appointment on Monday and the first they could get me in was tomorrow. I’lol have about 130 miles on it by the time I get it to the dealer.

I feel like I had this until I hit about 1500 miles. I think a lot of these steering issues are the K02 tires breaking in.

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[bumpit]

My steering was pretty good. I'd like it a little tighter as Ive been use to a sports car the last 3 years so thats just personal preference but for the most part its good. Most of the ones I test drove the tire pressure was way too high including the one I bought so check that if you drive one.

 

[RubiZ]

My steering was pretty good. I'd like it a little tighter as Ive been use to a sports car the last 3 years so thats just personal preference but for the most part its good. Most of the ones I test drove the tire pressure was way too high including the one I bought so check that if you drive one.

Yeah they bump up the tire pressure high for shipping purposes. Just in case your Jeep is sitting a long time in JB!

 

[HoundDude]

Yeah they bump up the tire pressure high for shipping purposes. Just in case your Jeep is sitting a long time in JB!

or I. or JS. or KZ.

 

[RubiZ]

or I. or JS. or KZ.

Please Noooooooo........

 

[Tex117]

Seems pretty tight to me coming from my JK.

I kinda love how it feels

 

[DeVoTee]

Two jK's and now 3 JL's. 18 JLU Rubicon tight feels good.... 18 JLU Moab September build Loose steering. 19 JL Rubicon loose same as Moab... feels like my old 2012 Rubicon need to overcorrect after changing lanes at moderate or higher speeds.
Very noticeable on curvy roads. No shimmy or any instability on bumps/ bridge expansion joints. All three are very low miles... 19 JL brand new today.

 

[robaw]

Feels normal on my '19 Moab. Just a little bit of free play, turns and corners well, stays pretty straight if I let go (drifts a little to the right on crowned roads but I expect that). No complaints from me yet, but I only have 700 miles on it.

 

[k.daddy]

I posted the below on another thread and someone suggested I post it here also.

I just picked up my 19 Moab 2 days ago and am super excited. I was hoping to get some thoughts around my steering issues. Ive been reading some different opinions on "play" in the steering wheel and since this is my first Wrangler I don't have any experience to leverage. I already checked the tire pressure and it was set to 43. I lowered down to 37. If I hold the wheel straight the car will start going a little right.I feel like I am always turning the wheel to the left to go straight. If I let go of the wheel, the wheel naturally turns to the right a little. The area in that turn is the "play" Im feeling. When i hold the wheel straight and turn to the left there's immediate resistance. When I hold the wheel straight and turn to the right, I get some play before being met with resistance. I would appreciate feedback on whether there should be any "play" and why my wheel wont stay straight. Thanks!

 

[Demonic]

I went most part numbers related to the steering components and compared 2018 vs 2019, such as the track bar, upper and lower control arms, stabilizer bar, link rod, power steering pump, pitman arm, stabilizer bar bushing, left knuckle, right knuckle, ball joints, stabilizer link, etc. This is what I found:

All steering related part numbers that I checked (I didn't check any steering related circuit boards or wiring) are the same comparing 2018 vs 2019, except:

1. Steering Box: The 2019 JL has the -AD version, and people who had their steering boxes replaced on their 2018 JL now have the -AD version. I don't know if/when any of the late production 2018s have the -AD version or not.

2. Steering Damper / Stabilizer: The 2019 JL has the -AD version, and people who had the bad date codes replaced now have the -AD versions. I don't know if/when any of the late production 2018s have the -AD version or not.

3. All of the above steering related parts are also showing good for 2018 - 2020, except the following parts are n/a for 2020, which means there will probably be different part numbers for these 3 steering related components in 2020:
a. Left knuckle
b. Right knuckle
c. Ball Joints

Just to add to this, my 2018 JLUR was one of the last 2018's off the line (November date on door sill, delivered last week), and I checked to see that it does have the 2019 AD steering box. If I recall the TSB for the steering stabilizer though said the newest revision was indicated not by the "A_" as it was for the steering box, but by the number prior to the A. Stabilizers with date numbers higher than 257 supposedly have the revised stabilizer. Mine is 508. The steering felt a bit loose when I first got it, but adjusting the tire pressures to 36 and getting 200 miles on the K02's helped considerably. In the 11 to 1 o'clock steering wheel range the steering does feel a bit loose at highway speeds, but I believe this may be more attributed to the decreased caster of the 4 door Rubicons. Even though it feels a bit loose, if I do move the wheel 1" from center the jeep does drift to that side, so it's not a true 'dead' zone in the steering. I've toyed with the idea of swapping in the slightly longer lower control arms from the Mopar lift kit to increase the caster slightly and see if that helps the return to center so I don't have to unwind as much coming out of turns.

 

[HoundDude]

...

aside from the play, one thing to keep in mind as you evaluate your steering response... the crown of the road will influence the direction the car turns or pulls while attempting to drive straight on the road. the larger the crown, the greater the resultant pull towards the lower side of the road. middle Lane of a 3 lane highway might be the best place to evaluate if there is any bias in the steering.

 

[BlackRook]

I feel like I had this until I hit about 1500 miles. I think a lot of these steering issues are the K02 tires breaking in.

I think this is what's getting a lot of people confused. There's a real issue with the steering on some Jeeps, there's the issue of over inflated tires, and then there's the fact that the K02's like a few miles on em.

My actual steering is meticulous--zero dead spot, immediate and smooth responsiveness. At highway speed, though, I get a fair amount of wandering. I was at 42psi when I brought the little fella home, and going down to 36psi helped. But it has been slowly improving even after the pressure change.

Unless you have a sizeable dead spot (say +/- 5 deg or more) or need to turn the wheel to get the rig to go straight, I suggest holding off on dealer visits until you've given the tires a little time...

 

[jeremyjeep]

I think this is what's getting a lot of people confused. There's a real issue with the steering on some Jeeps, there's the issue of over inflated tires, and then there's the fact that the K02's like a few miles on em.

My actual steering is meticulous--zero dead spot, immediate and smooth responsiveness. At highway speed, though, I get a fair amount of wandering. I was at 42psi when I brought the little fella home, and going down to 36psi helped. But it has been slowly improving even after the pressure change.

Unless you have a sizeable dead spot (say +/- 5 deg or more) or need to turn the wheel to get the rig to go straight, I suggest holding off on dealer visits until you've given the tires a little time...

Yes, most of the time it is the tire pressure. But for some, that's exactly what the dealerships told us 2018 JL owners to kick the can down the road (break-in period for the tires and components). Then they said "It's a Jeep thing". Then after that, they said "FCA said it is operating as designed". A few months later, FCA admits the steering problem but never came up with a fix 1 year later. Some have fixed it with aftermarket components, including drilling holes into the steering box (click here to watch the video). 99% of the steering components are the same exact part numbers between 2018 and 2019 and the new components for 2019 put into the 2018 didn't fix it either, so welcome to the club. I'm sure there will be exceptions and some steering problems will disappear on their own. A few in the other steering threads said it went away, but actually they got used to it. They confirmed the problem still existed because they said their family members are still scared to drive it. Also, the dead spot in the steering wheel isn't causing the wandering issue.

 

[SpringsJL]

Oddly enough when I lowered my tire pressure from 34 to 26psi within days my stabilizer malfunctioned/wore out. Seriously it went from stock feeling to violent shakes when hitting bumps had to slow down to get steering wheel to calm down. Also have large wide wheels that may have made SS go out faster?

 

[jeremyjeep]

Oddly enough when I lowered my tire pressure from 34 to 26psi within days my stabilizer malfunctioned/wore out. Seriously it went from stock feeling to violent shakes when hitting bumps had to slow down to get steering wheel to calm down. Also have large wide wheels that may have made SS go out faster?

There is a known date range of bad OE steering stabilizers (they weren't filled properly leaving an air pocket in them) that eventually started causing similar symptoms. What is the date code on your steering stabilizer? You can find the info at https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...r-jl-wrangler-check-your-jl-for-recalls.9784/ then click on the that mentions steering stabilizer failure for the date code info.

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