Is there a true fix for the Steering/Wandering issue?

[richk225]

You are right on the money with that suggestion. Every steering parts manufacture and suspension manufacture along with members like yourself have said that is what is needed
Once I get it back it`s going to a very reputable 4wd shop here in NJ to get aligned. As suggested by other members I really want to make sure the steering box is not the issue, that`s one bill I do not want to pay

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[JeepCares]

So my steering I'm always tugging to the left to keep straight like it's out of alignment. Took it to the dealer and they said the way Texas roads are designed means I'll always have to do that since they slightly decline left to right for drainage. But I'm not really noticing this in my Audi or other cars I'm able to drive. They did an alignment and said it was in spec. Adjusted slightly for me, but it didn't make much of a difference. Steering doesn't feel overly loose, but I'm not sure that's a good thing since being tighter I'm just having use more force to keep it straight. Can't tell if this is a similar issue or a different one. Thanks.

Hi Kevman,
We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing this. If you would like some additional assistance throughout this process, please send our team a private message!
Alex
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[Rdmitch]

Always watching here for new ideas to cure this issue.
I post this as I sit at the dealer waiting for them to realign the wheels.
It’s been 3 hrs and I think I drank all their coffee already. Had to jump thru plenty of
hoops to get them to set the toe to what I wanted it at instead of where they would set it.
I will be curious to see if it Helps at all. At worst it cost me a few bucks to try this.

 

[Rdmitch]

Hi Kevman,
We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing this. If you would like some additional assistance throughout this process, please send our team a private message!
Alex
Jeep Social Care Specialist

......and once again the same canned Jeep cares reply.
C’mon Jeep cares, with the amount of steering issues can’t anyone actually put some heat on FCA to figure out the solution so we can end this never ending plea for help?

 

[Rdmitch]

Always watching here for new ideas to cure this issue.
I post this as I sit at the dealer waiting for them to realign the wheels.
It’s been 3 hrs and I think I drank all their coffee already. Had to jump thru plenty of
hoops to get them to set the toe to what I wanted it at instead of where they would set it.
I will be curious to see if it Helps at all. At worst it cost me a few bucks to try this.

Now only time will tell if the $80.00 gamble was good or not.

I don’t know if it’s just my anticipated enthusiasm or real time results, but it seems to have made some further improvement. They reinflated the tire back to 38 psi so I dropped it back to 34 when I got home. The ride home seemed to be a lot more enjoyable...hopefully we’re moving in the right direction. More to come after I get another 100 miles or so logged in.

 

[richk225]

What exactly is a Jeep social Care specialist? What is a Jeep Cares representative? Does one have a magic wand they can point to the dealer service manager and make him actually care? Can the two actually agree on the same story they tell Jeep owners and possibly get the other Jeep Cares representatives to also tell the customers the same stories instead of one telling the truth and the others either lying or possibly just not know what they are talking about?
Remember Jeep,FCA,Mopar,when you point the finger and blame a manufacture of certain parts the other three fingers are pointing back at you

 

[Rdmitch]

I believe Jeep cares does as much as they are allowed to do and can only relay information. I doubt seriously they have the authority to do...or promise anything and their primary directive is most likely to pacify customers and try to mediate conversation between the customer and the dealership. To that end I applaud their efforts and do appreciate their being here watching the posts and jumping in, even with the canned reply. I think we all understand they, as a arm of FCA must protect the company that writes their checks weekly. I do admit that while I also pop in a sarcastic comment on occasion when I needed some help getting my dealer to pay attention to my problem, me insisting that they call the dealer and set up the service probably bore more weight than my calls.
Now, to take it to the next level I would love to see Jeep cares post a bit here other than the same old......PM us and we can hook you up with a advisor. How about a little update info like a note that Jeep is aware of the problem (whatever it might be) and has people looking into it. I think as reasonable people we understand that things happen and we can probably deal with most issues if we are kept informed. We’re patient and love our jeeps but maybe I only speak for myself when I say that stepping up your game would be a HUGE help and payoff big time for us and the brand.

 

[richk225]

I do agree with you to some extent, If the dealer is acting like the cost of parts and labor are coming out of their own pockets and if Jeep Cares gets involved and they also act at times like it`s about the money and not about our personal safety, maybe they should remember who puts the money in the bank to cover their paychecks. My issue with them is after talking to three representatives I received three different stories.
One and only one admitted that they knew there is a steering issue with certain Jeep models and they don`t know what the proper fix is because not all required the same parts to correct the problem. Jeep has updated the Steering Stabilizer four or five times already and I am fighting to get the original one replaced that has a bad date code as per the Star Bulletin.The Steering Box,Tie Rod assembly,Drag Link and Track Bar have also been updated. I know that I am able to do the research on this issue and see what owners have had replaced and what the manufactures are also saying.
It just gets really annoying when the service manager has little to no knowledge on the subject and goes from saying he never heard of this issue to saying he has driven 5-6 with steering issues and makes comments like a Rubicon was not designed for 35" tires. After he had seen the screen shot right from Jeep`s website he had nothing to say. Getting the same answer from one Jeep Cares rep is just plain embarrassing for them . To be told by Jeep Cares that it is up to the service manager to determine if a part (steering stabilizer) needs to be replaced is absurd especially if Jeep indicates that it is bad due to the date code. I can go on and on with the misinformation that I have been given by my service manager and Jeep Cares. But they can determine if a Track Bar weld and other welds are bad by taking a cell phone picture and sending it in to Jeep Cares.
I would gladly let one of their executives or a family member drive my Jeep and see how safe they feel in it, the reason I say that is if you put a experienced Jeep owner in the drivers seat the outcome will definitely be different from having a first timer or someone with little experience driving a Jeep. After driving and building Jeeps from mild to wild over the last 35 plus years I still get white knuckled when the dreaded death wobble starts. If you haven't experienced it it is down right scary, It is also very concerning when you have to constantly correct the steering wheel to keep it going down the road straight. I almost forgot to mention the dead spot from 11:00 to 1:00 and while turning the steering wheel to these positions and the Jeep just keeps going straight. Lifted 2015 JK Unlimited with 35"`s and it drove straight as a arrow, 2011 JK lifted with 38" Super swampers and it to drove like a dream, it was a loud dream but non the less I never had a steering issue. 2017 Grand Cherokee, 2015 Grand Cherokee, several lifted XJ`S and never a steering issue. I can go all the way back to when I was bitten by the Jeep bug with my 1975 CJ5
Like you said, just stop with the same old PM us story and do something about it before someone gets killed or seriously hurt
Again sorry for the long rant, I`m just tired of feeling like jeep is taking advantage of me, others, and more so first time owners

 

[Martindfletcher]

I do agree with you to some extent, If the dealer is acting like the cost of parts and labor are coming out of their own pockets and if Jeep Cares gets involved and they also act at times like it`s about the money and not about our personal safety, maybe they should remember who puts the money in the bank to cover their paychecks. My issue with them is after talking to three representatives I received three different stories.
One and only one admitted that they knew there is a steering issue with certain Jeep models and they don`t know what the proper fix is because not all required the same parts to correct the problem. Jeep has updated the Steering Stabilizer four or five times already and I am fighting to get the original one replaced that has a bad date code as per the Star Bulletin.The Steering Box,Tie Rod assembly,Drag Link and Track Bar have also been updated. I know that I am able to do the research on this issue and see what owners have had replaced and what the manufactures are also saying.
It just gets really annoying when the service manager has little to no knowledge on the subject and goes from saying he never heard of this issue to saying he has driven 5-6 with steering issues and makes comments like a Rubicon was not designed for 35" tires. After he had seen the screen shot right from Jeep`s website he had nothing to say. Getting the same answer from one Jeep Cares rep is just plain embarrassing for them . To be told by Jeep Cares that it is up to the service manager to determine if a part (steering stabilizer) needs to be replaced is absurd especially if Jeep indicates that it is bad due to the date code. I can go on and on with the misinformation that I have been given by my service manager and Jeep Cares. But they can determine if a Track Bar weld and other welds are bad by taking a cell phone picture and sending it in to Jeep Cares.
I would gladly let one of their executives or a family member drive my Jeep and see how safe they feel in it, the reason I say that is if you put a experienced Jeep owner in the drivers seat the outcome will definitely be different from having a first timer or someone with little experience driving a Jeep. After driving and building Jeeps from mild to wild over the last 35 plus years I still get white knuckled when the dreaded death wobble starts. If you haven't experienced it it is down right scary, It is also very concerning when you have to constantly correct the steering wheel to keep it going down the road straight. I almost forgot to mention the dead spot from 11:00 to 1:00 and while turning the steering wheel to these positions and the Jeep just keeps going straight. Lifted 2015 JK Unlimited with 35"`s and it drove straight as a arrow, 2011 JK lifted with 38" Super swampers and it to drove like a dream, it was a loud dream but non the less I never had a steering issue. 2017 Grand Cherokee, 2015 Grand Cherokee, several lifted XJ`S and never a steering issue. I can go all the way back to when I was bitten by the Jeep bug with my 1975 CJ5
Like you said, just stop with the same old PM us story and do something about it before someone gets killed or seriously hurt
Again sorry for the long rant, I`m just tired of feeling like jeep is taking advantage of me, others, and more so first time owners

I am not a real expert, but sounds like it could multiple issues, if you have dead spot from play it could be steering box. Assuming you or the dealer already retorqued everthing, Have someone do slight movements of the wheel while looking for what’s not moving.

 

[HoundDude]

...Once I get it back it`s going to a very reputable 4wd shop here in NJ to get aligned.

where is the reputable 4wd shop in NJ? I've been looking around and not sure who to trust, thanks

 

[richk225]

To answer both questions. Due to the electric assist steering they rules have changed on what amount of play is available at standstill. It is not uncommon to move the steering wheel at idle slightly and not see any movement. I don`t think my dealer has a torque wrench, that would explain the loose ball joint nuts on the jeep after I told them to look at the star bulletin that state all fasteners on the front suspension are to be set to the correct torque

As far as reputable 4wd shops in NJ I have used OK4WD in Stewartsville NJ. They have done mild to complete wild Jeeps and other 4wd vehicles.
I would use them in a heartbeat again. They work on everything from doing a gear change in a Ferrari to a Jeep. They don`t rio your lungs out on marking up the parts either.
They will be at the Jeep Invasion in Wildwood in June. The owners name is Jim and he has been doing this for 25 years give or take a few, but he really cares about customer service. PM me if you have any questions, there are a few others I would trust but it might be a haul depending on your location

 

[Jeepsterfreak]

The question is : What is the root cause? I have the same problem (UJL 2/19). I looked at the problem from an input and output approach. Input = steering wheel, output wheel.
My issue is play in the steering system and I found that steering input is not transmitted to the wheels. By slightly turning the steering wheel the steering box does not transmit this input into a movement of the pitman arm coming out of the steering box. Therefore the steering issue must be in the steering box. The FCA rocket scientists at my dealership dismissing this since FCA only provides two solutions to the steering issue at the moment.
1. Replacement of track bar and steering damper
2. another updated version of a steering damper. That the steering damper has no effect in my case in of no interest since these steering box is not mentioned as an issue in any service bulletin.

In my case, assuming all ball joints are tight the solution would be low tolerance steering box. Today I went on ebay and found one with 124 mls on it. I will check it for play. If the play is acceptable I will replace my steering box myself . If there is play as well I will dismantle it and figure out what is causing the play and how it can be adjusted correctly. Wish me luck!

I thought there is a TSB for the steering box. It goes into detail on how to check it and advises the techs to NOT adjust the gear lash screw, but to replace the box if it fails inspection. It’s called over center rotating torque.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...has-play-and-drifts.3691/page-142#post-426243

 

[richk225]

It Is a Star Bulletin and good luck getting your dealer to follow everything that is suggested to be done. Fight tooth and nail to have them do everything on the bulletin
I could not even get my service manager to check the alignment or check the torque specifications on the front suspension

 

[PavementWarrior]

......and once again the same canned Jeep cares reply.
C’mon Jeep cares, with the amount of steering issues can’t anyone actually put some heat on FCA to figure out the solution so we can end this never ending plea for help?

I am sure Jeep cares is communicating back, I gotta hand it to them its gotta be rough coming in here knowing you are gonna be facing pitchforks and torches.

The company is run by Fiat, legendary in bad quality it takes a strong commitment to stay on the bottom of quality. As the issue is only effecting a % of people it looks like they are happy to let us fight it out with an absurd service origination and lose customers.

Right now I consider the Warranty to of very little value, I resolved my issue short term with a better steering stabilizer, but thats just helping the soft bushings. The current policy of the steering stabilizer replacement simply allows the warranty to run out and we are replacing tracks bars and draglinks in a a year or 2.

I think the after market for trackbars for JL is gonna be hot. I noticed terraflex has a new trackbar, I may go for that and hope I dont have any part of the issue in the gear box that I am sure they will not cover once I try to self service.

 

[oceanblue2019]

New tactic to try with the dealers:

1) Print out the star cases applicable to the steering issues. There are 3 or 4 currently. Including the steering box ones.

2) Request that the service manager performs these checks as it’s safety related. Specifically request the star cases you want performed.

3) Inform the service manager that you are requesting him to provide a service work order specifying that the star cases you requested have been performed with his and the techs names on it who performed the work. If he asks why inform him you are concerned over the safety of the steering system and the copy is to prove you have taken all reasonable efforts to comply and limit your liability if an accident occurs related to loss of control.

You will get one of two responses.... The work will get done properly and hopefully your issues is solved. Or you will get pushback in which case ask to talk to the dealer manager and ask him “Why would it be unreasonable to ask an employee to sign off on work performed that is requested by the vehicle manufacturer?”

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