How much steering play does your JL have?

[KnG818]

I think a track bar and fox 2 steering dampener is next for me. Thanks for your detailed post. It’s very helpful.

Yes, very good idea you will love the difference.

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[Htfan]

What do you mean by steering recalibration?

If I remember correctly, with certain build dates TSB 08-092-18 instructs the dealership to do a power steering recalibration routine. This has had the greatest impact on improving my steering issues.

 

[ViperJon]

Anyone who thinks the steering in the attached video is abnormal for a Jeep needs to sell there Wrangler and buy a Honda.

What you need to understand is there is no "void" in the column. When you turn the wheel the wheels do turn. But due to design it is perceived as though there is "play", when in fact there is no play.

....enough with the steering issue already.

Hallelujah brother. People read about steering "issues" from other posters and then THEY notice they have the "issue" too. Imagine that....you're driving down the highway and you have to keep imputing some tiny steering corrections....like every other vehicle on earth. Good lord.....

 

[HoundDude]

my 2019 Sahara was delivered with 2.75" of play. I needed two hands to drive at 55 mph with white knuckles as the jeep darted side-to-side into adjacent lanes. it was actually scary and unsafe on my daily highway commute. the driver induced oscillation (aka wandering) was maddening and made it unenjoyable to drive at all. I adjusted the box 1/4 turn which reduced the play to 1" but the behavior was still not acceptable and the play continued to increase. the dealer didn't even want to look at it, he said "they're all like that and there is nothing I can do until FCA identifies a fix". he then wrote in my service record that the Jeep "performs as designed and is safe to drive". he wrote that but he never even looked at it. last time I went to that dealership.

I replaced the AD steering gear with an AE and am now happy with the way it drives. I still have a dead spot which varies between 0.25" when temps are 30F, and increases to about 0.75" when temps are 90F / after 30 minutes of driving.

subsequently had the track bar TSB and steering stabilizer recall addressed with no additional change in steering behavior.

 

[Fonzilla85]

I’ve had my rig for almost two years come March. I’ve yet to experience any issues with the steering. It so wild to hear about all the steering issues, best of luck to all suffering with this issue.

 

[Htfan]

I'll try and help clarify the loose steering issue for those not experiencing any problems themselves. I don't believe anyone is saying every JL has a steering problem. If they are, that would be inaccurate. The reality is that only a subset of the new JLs exhibit excessive steering play. There are other issues too, like wandering and wobbling. However, this thread/poll is about steering play.

In our situation, too much play seems to be a caused by a strange combination of manufacturing issues with some steering components, out of spec components and assembly issues. There are a number of TSBs and updated parts to help resolve the various steering problems.

Some of us have had the play greatly reduced to an acceptable level - others have not. We have definitely not seen the end of this problem yet.

 

[FFCars]

Imagine that....you're driving down the highway and you have to keep imputing some tiny steering corrections....like every other vehicle on earth. Good lord..

I agree, but it should not take an inch of steering wheel input BEFORE the correction begins. It should be a direct link to the steering. If you turn the wheel, it should turn the tires. There shouldn’t be any “play” or “slack”. Again, I think the steering boxes can be adjusted to tighten this up, but I’m not touching that screw and the dealer won’t either.

 

[FFCars]

I'll try and help clarify the loose steering issue for those not experiencing any problems themselves. I don't believe anyone is saying every JL has a steering problem. If they are, that would be inaccurate. The reality is that only a subset of the new JLs exhibit excessive steering play. There are other issues too, like wandering and wobbling. However, this thread/poll is about steering play.

In our situation, too much play seems to be a caused by a strange combination of manufacturing issues with some steering components, out of spec components and assembly issues. There are a number of TSBs and updated parts to help resolve the various steering problems.

Some of us have had the play greatly reduced to an acceptable level - others have not. We have definitely not seen the end of this problem yet.

I 100% agree. The Jeep JL is one of the top 10 of vehicles that get complaints filed with the NHTSA. And guess what the safety complaint is? STEERING! Yes, there is a problem for some of us and it goes back to why.

There is no doubt that my Jeep’s steering system has too much “play” or “slack” for a better word. I’ve owned 7 Jeeps and 100+ cars in my life and I know when there is an issue. I may pay an engineering company to figure out what’s going on. This is a problem that Jeep should want to solve, but they seem to be ignoring many of our complaints.

 

[FFCars]

Question for those of you with 1/4” to 1/2” play. Are you ok with that amount of play? I think I would be happy if I had under 1/2”, but I’m not sure. Maybe you can chime in. My gut feeling is that those of us with over 1/2” are the ones who are most unhappy.

My wife says she doesn’t feel safe driving it. That sucks. This is a weekend vehicle for us that is supposed to be fun.

 

[roaniecowpony]

FFC,
My Oct build 2018 was a handful to drive down the interstate 101 from the dealer the night I bought it. I didn't automatically think it was defective. I thought it was out of aligntment. After having a shop with a good mechanic check alignment, he said it was just about perfectly aligned. I had him put in slightly more toe in. No difference on the rest of the 200 miles home. My wife drove it about 100 miles and was exhausted. She hasn't driven it in a year that we've owned it since.

At first, I thought I had "play" in the steering. It seemed to match other member's descriptions of around 3" of "play" in total. It darted around from bumps in the road and was all I could muster to keep it from hitting vehicles in adjacent lanes or running off the road.

To diagnose what was going on, I forced myself to hold the wheel still regardless of what the jeep was doing at highway speed (on a wide open highway). Then, I moved the wheel a small amount and held it. After a fraction of a second, it steered in the direction I moved the wheel. So, it was not "play" afterall. It was a lag or delay. This lag caused me to think the steering wasn't responding to small inputs, so I put in bigger inputs to get the response I expected/needed, which caused over-controlling/over-shoot of the steering and the necessary correction the opposite way, back and forth.

I then knew I was not chasing "play", but rather something spongy, springy, flexing, etc.. Cut to the chase...I found the trackbar bushings were compressing when I steered the jeep, which pushed the axle to the side, then they naturally relaxed and re-cented the axle and the tierod moved the steering knuckle. I believed that was the "spring" in the steering feel. Or that was my theory, anyway.

Based on my theory of what was going on with the trackbar bushings, I replaced the trackbar with the Yeti Pro (polyurethane bushings). I was instantly satisfied. This was about 6-8 weeks ago now. Still very happy with it. Just the one change, the trackbar.

My sis-in-law had to fly out from back east due to her mother having a stroke this week. I was confident she could safely drive the jeep. Her husband drove it about a year ago, when we first bought it, for a week while they were visiting. He commented that the steering was "very squirrely". Today, Sis-in-law drove it about 80 miles in LA traffic, freeways, surface streets, etc.. She didn't think anything was wrong with the steering, and she owns a BMW X5. My wife has still been reluctant to drive it. I think it scared the shit out of her last year.

BTW, I put the tire pressure down to 30 psi long ago and it helped a little in how badly it darted around. It has been at 30 ever since. I live with the low pressure warning light.

 

[Kluk Ztopolovky]

Before I got myself a Jeep I drove few rental Wranglers and if I wouldn't read here about some "steering play" I would never realize there are so many trying to figure out the solid axle steering experience. Driving Wrangler feels different and that's all. It engages you to do more behind the wheel and in combination with standard shifting it becomes a bit of a workout . You either like it or not .

 

[higbyz]

Hallelujah brother. People read about steering "issues" from other posters and then THEY notice they have the "issue" too. Imagine that....you're driving down the highway and you have to keep imputing some tiny steering corrections....like every other vehicle on earth. Good lord.....

We have two jeeps, they both steer the same . We have become very used to it. It aint rack and pinion but it feels normal. In fact my wife drove my daughters Crosstrek recently and complained that the car responded with the slightest movement of the steering wheel and she hated that ! Go figure !

 

[aldo98229]

Before I got myself a Jeep I drove few rental Wranglers and if I wouldn't read here about some "steering play" I would never realize there are so many trying to figure out the solid axle steering experience. Driving Wrangler feels different and that's all. It engages you to do more behind the wheel and in combination with standard shifting it becomes a bit of a workout . You either like it or not .

Sorry, but I don’t buy that this is how front solid axles handle. I owned eight JKs: 2-doors, 4-doors, Rubicons and Saharas: JLs handle significantly more loosely than JKs.

I also drove several JLs before buying: no two JLs seem to handle the same. Saharas felt more loose than Rubicons. Luckily for me, I got one that handles better than most. But it seems to be the luck of the draw.

The fact that Jeep hasn’t come out with a permanent fix suggests that it hasn’t figured out what the issue is, how to fix it, or both.

 

[3TV]

Before I got myself a Jeep I drove few rental Wranglers and if I wouldn't read here about some "steering play" I would never realize there are so many trying to figure out the solid axle steering experience. Driving Wrangler feels different and that's all. It engages you to do more behind the wheel and in combination with standard shifting it becomes a bit of a workout . You either like it or not .

I'm used to the feel of a solid axle front suspension, because I have always owned 3/4 ton or 1 ton trucks with solid front axles, or Jeeps. Last month my son's wife wrecked their car, and they have been struggling to get by, bumming rides, and not being able to get to where they needed to be. My son does't have any money, and his insurance was taking forever getting him paid off for his wrecked car. So I bought him a Ram 1/2 ton pickup truck. The truck is a 2005 with 172,000 miles on it, but is otherwise in great shape, with excellent service records. On the test drive at the dealership, we were perhaps 1/2 mile down the highway, with me driving, and I said to the salesman, "this truck has IFS, doesn't it". He replied that it did. My reply was that "I could tell it did, because it didn't feel like a solid front axle vehicle". It felt better, on the highway at least. So, ... 14 years old, with 172,000 miles, and it still felt better.

Solid front axle suspension steers differently, and feels differently. Like you said, you either like it, or you don't. I have no problems with the way my JLR drives. It drives better and feels more "connected" than any of my JK's. I also had several of them.

 

[Jeep’n Jay]

After owning 6 Jeeps, they all have some "wander" to them. My '18 is pretty tight. My tires move at EXACTLY the same time I turn the steering wheel. I have put a Rubicon Express Track bar and control arms on it, so that may have helped some, but I have no complaints.

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