Confirmed: 2021 Jeep Wranglers have new improved steering gear box (from TSB 08-074-20)

[Rdmitch]

still get the update, it will make you a happy camper.
my Sahara was so bad i had them buy it back

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[roathd]

Did you have the TsB done and the dealer? I can almost promise you it has the old steering gear in it.

Greeting I have 2020 Jeep JL 4 Door, I bought in May. It has an aluminum colored steering gear box with part number P682505AE. I have the steering wandering issue in hot weather, and before I take it in I want be sure this is the defective part number. Darcars Jeep in Silver Spring, Maryland charges $220.00 dollars to do the service diagnosis. If they come back and accept the customer complaint and do a warranty repair they will refund my money back.

 

[nostatic]

Greeting I have 2020 Jeep JL 4 Door, I bought in May. It has an aluminum colored steering gear box with part number P682505AE. I have the steering wandering issue in hot weather, and before I take it in I want be sure this is the defective part number. Darcars Jeep in Silver Spring, Maryland charges $220.00 dollars to do the service diagnosis. If they come back and accept the customer complaint and do a warranty repair they will refund my money back.

Sounds like an easy way for the dealer to make $220. Quick test drive, tell the customer, "they all do that" and pocket the money.

Not that I'm cynical or anything...

 

[Rdmitch]

Greeting I have 2020 Jeep JL 4 Door, I bought in May. It has an aluminum colored steering gear box with part number P682505AE. I have the steering wandering issue in hot weather, and before I take it in I want be sure this is the defective part number. Darcars Jeep in Silver Spring, Maryland charges $220.00 dollars to do the service diagnosis. If they come back and accept the customer complaint and do a warranty repair they will refund my money back.

tell the dealer that no service inspection is required per Jeep. They just need to do it otherwise you will file a formal complaint with FCA.
Who the f**@ gives them the right to do that its a definite scam.

 

[roathd]

tell the dealer that no service inspection is required per Jeep. They just need to do it otherwise you will file a formal complaint with FCA.
Who the f**@ gives them the right to do that its a definite scam.

Thanks I will call Jeep Cares on Tuesday and see what help they can provide.

 

[aro]

Mine is a March 2020 build and it has the silver box. I have about 2400 miles on it and absolutely no issues with the steering. No need for constant input and on a truly flat road it tracks straight. I just drove it on a 105 F hot day and it was fine.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

Mine feels a little dead on center and follows road crown a lot. That said it generally tracks well and does not wander. Feb 2020 build. Not sure if a new box would help. I have the synergy track bar/steering brace. Jeep dealers are such a pathetic pain in the a**...not sure if it worth the effort to address.

 

[Rdmitch]

Mine feels a little dead on center and follows road crown a lot. That said it generally tracks well and does not wander. Feb 2020 build. Not sure if a new box would help. I have the synergy track bar/steering brace. Jeep dealers are such a pathetic pain in the a**...not sure if it worth the effort to address.

Here comes my Sunday morning rant.......

you are fortunate that you are one of the many owners that have no issue. For years. the biggest dilemma for FCA and us was....why is this problem not on 100% of all JLs ?
If the aluminum box expands, why doesn’t everyone have the same issue?
There has never been a defined answer. People logged daily weather , road condition, etc trying to find the common denominator for those with problems.
6000 posts on this forum alone of people discussing the issue.

anyway if you don’t have an issue, let it go as is and if you have the problem down the road you know how the resolve it.

not all dealers are bad, my local dealer has been pretty decent....no i take that back, they have been excellent.
They called me about the TSB, told me they had parts on order for me, scheduled service, gave me a nice loaner, reinstalled my Synergy sector brace, retorqued everything, checked alignment and never once argued or gave any indication of a “inspection fee”. So bottom line is it’s the Dealer that is making life rough for a few people with issues. FCA has been clear on the subject that it’s not up to the dealer to determine...it’s up to the customer if they need this done. The dealer however takes a financial hit on this TSB since the Jeep payment to them is slightly less than the cost of the repair. I would bet if a customer offered to pay for the work it would be happily done! I went in for my appointment knowing this (thanks to this forum) and offered to pick up the difference. They were happy to hear this and still did not ask me to pay, except for the extra 10 minutes it took to do my sector brace a whopping $20.00
I believe it was that I was understanding of the problem and willing to make it mutually fair that they appreciated.

So if you need it done, (and don’t confuse following the crown of the road with poor steering) than by all means fight for the repair, involve FCA if needed but be firm, yet fair with the dealer. But if you’re 100% pleased with your current set up and steering be thankful and enjoy the ride.
Save a copy of the TSB in the event you have future problems. But don’t wait until you’re out of warranty.

 

[DanW]

Here comes my Sunday morning rant.......

you are fortunate that you are one of the many owners that have no issue. For years. the biggest dilemma for FCA and us was....why is this problem not on 100% of all JLs ?
If the aluminum box expands, why doesn’t everyone have the same issue?
There has never been a defined answer. People logged daily weather , road condition, etc trying to find the common denominator for those with problems.
6000 posts on this forum alone of people discussing the issue.

anyway if you don’t have an issue, let it go as is and if you have the problem down the road you know how the resolve it.

not all dealers are bad, my local dealer has been pretty decent....no i take that back, they have been excellent.
They called me about the TSB, told me they had parts on order for me, scheduled service, gave me a nice loaner, reinstalled my Synergy sector brace, retorqued everything, checked alignment and never once argued or gave any indication of a “inspection fee”. So bottom line is it’s the Dealer that is making life rough for a few people with issues. FCA has been clear on the subject that it’s not up to the dealer to determine...it’s up to the customer if they need this done. The dealer however takes a financial hit on this TSB since the Jeep payment to them is slightly less than the cost of the repair. I would bet if a customer offered to pay for the work it would be happily done! I went in for my appointment knowing this (thanks to this forum) and offered to pick up the difference. They were happy to hear this and still did not ask me to pay, except for the extra 10 minutes it took to do my sector brace a whopping $20.00
I believe it was that I was understanding of the problem and willing to make it mutually fair that they appreciated.

So if you need it done, (and don’t confuse following the crown of the road with poor steering) than by all means fight for the repair, involve FCA if needed but be firm, yet fair with the dealer. But if you’re 100% pleased with your current set up and steering be thankful and enjoy the ride.
Save a copy of the TSB in the event you have future problems. But don’t wait until you’re out of warranty.

My steering is ok and certainly liveable. But it does not track as well as my JK at highway speeds. I'm at 35,400 miles and while I have the lifetime warranty, I'd rather not drop the $200 deductible for it. If the TSB had not come out, though, I'd be fine with the steering.

 

[cram501]

Greeting I have 2020 Jeep JL 4 Door, I bought in May. It has an aluminum colored steering gear box with part number P682505AE. I have the steering wandering issue in hot weather, and before I take it in I want be sure this is the defective part number. Darcars Jeep in Silver Spring, Maryland charges $220.00 dollars to do the service diagnosis. If they come back and accept the customer complaint and do a warranty repair they will refund my money back.

There are a ton of dealers in the DMV. There is no reason you should pay money for a warranty diagnosis. That sounds sketchy to me and indicates they don't want to do the work. Take it to another dealer.

 

[DanW]

There are a ton of dealers in the DMV. There is no reason you should pay money for a warranty diagnosis. That sounds sketchy to me and indicates they don't want to do the work. Take it to another dealer.

Yep, and they get PAID to do it. It isn't like they are doing anyone a favor. They have no downside to warranty work.

 

[Rdmitch]

Yep, and they get PAID to do it. It isn't like they are doing anyone a favor. They have no downside to warranty work.

Except since it’s still a repair they haven’t got down to a science it’s taking most dealers longer that the 1.9 hours FCA pays them for. It’s not that easy of a task with replacing fluids and reprogramming.
Dealers claim they are losing an hour of labor each time they do it, so needless to say it’s not something they want to promote.

 

[DanW]

Except since it’s still a repair they haven’t got down to a science it’s taking most dealers longer that the 1.9 hours FCA pays them for. It’s not that easy of a task with replacing fluids and reprogramming.
Dealers claim they are losing an hour of labor each time they do it, so needless to say it’s not something they want to promote.

Well, losing an hour of labor at what they charge evens it out with independent shops. I don't feel sorry for them. They could survive and even do well on warranty work alone. Owning a Jeep franchise is a ticket to rich. My dealer just sold to another for quite a handsome sum. Not sure the exact price, but it was described as "substantial." They are a very lucrative business with the exception of very few cases.

 

[cram501]

There are 10+ Jeep dealers in the DC metro area alone. There are other options where you wouldn't have to pay for a warranty diagnosis. My guess is some won't do a diagnosis and just order the parts.

If a dealer doesn't want my business when its inconvenient, the work will probably go elsewhere when it is.

 

[Rdmitch]

Well, losing an hour of labor at what they charge evens it out with independent shops. I don't feel sorry for them. They could survive and even do well on warranty work alone. Owning a Jeep franchise is a ticket to rich. My dealer just sold to another for quite a handsome sum. Not sure the exact price, but it was described as "substantial." They are a very lucrative business with the exception of very few cases.

sure don’t disagree with you on that.
Since most dealers will probably never have to do more than 50 of these it’s a total of about $5,000 they would be out. Keeping customers satisfied is worth more than that !
They sure don’t pay the tech 100 an hour but they are looking at loss of fully billable hours.

If it was me I’d train a apprentice tech or like a B tech that get paid less than a full mechanic to be my dealership expert. Have a master tech review at the end. That would help level out the cost.

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