Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

[Chubrocker]

Hello to all JL owners with the "loose steering / dead spot" problem:

Just wanted to post this copy of a private message I just sent to @JeepCares for all to see --
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Hello,

Can you provide to us many JL owners any kind of status report regarding Jeep corporate investigation of the loose steering / dead spot issue that has now garnered well over 500 posts & complaints on this forum alone? As I am sure you know, many new owners, including myself, are concerned about the safety of driving their vehicles with this problem -- which is endangering us drivers, our families as well as other motorists on a daily basis. We would be very appreciative of any information about the status of investigations, future steps, immediate recommendations from Jeep, and a timeline for a resolution.

I have already provided my VIN to you for purposes of the investigation.

Thank you.
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Thanks for doing this. I'm not typically a high maintenance customer, but this steering isn't right and nothing like what I test drove. My JK steers like a Miata in comparison. I realize things happen and if this is addressed well (engineering takes time) it will be all water under the bridge.

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[RDT300]

I took the Jeep to the dealer on Monday. I showed the service manager video of me driving and several posts from this forum.They checked and rechecked all the specs finding nothing out of ordinary. Service Manager called me and indicated that he wanted to take it to an Auto Repair Place about 15 miles from dealer that specializes in 4wd vehicles and off road to have another realignment check done there. So I picked it up Monday night and dropped it off again on Tuesday morning. Went back Tuesday night to pick it up. Spoke with Service Manager who drove the Jeep there and drove it back. He too stated that it was pretty scary driving it there. He stated that it was much better driving it back. As soon as I got into Jeep and moved the steering wheel, it felt a bit tighter. Driving it home, no highways or high speeds it felt better. The next morning I was headed for the shore, so that would be the real test. I drove for an hour at speeds of 60+. The steering was much better. I was not seesawing the steering back and forth as much. but there still was some play and correcting. I could see that the Jeep was still wanting to drift a little right when I would hit some minor bumps. Still believe there is something wrong with steering input. I have the 2" molar lift and 35" KO2's installed by the dealer at time of purchase. I never drove the Jeep when it was stock so I can't say if the steering was like this prior to the lift being installed. I'm trying to be patient with FCA as I know there are many variables involved with steering components and it may take a while for FCA to narrow down the problem(s) and or solution(s). I have to take Jeep back to dealer next Wednesday to have them install the new Spring isolator seat pad and will once again say something about steering. Again, I have owned 5 other wranglers with lifts and larger tires, as well as trucks and cars, none of which had this steering issue.......I also lodged complaint with NHSTA...My dealer has actually been working really well with me and I understand they have protocols to follow and at this time there isn't much they can do until FCA figures out the issue or issues...

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Hello to all JL owners with the "loose steering / dead spot" problem:

Just wanted to post this copy of a private message I just sent to @JeepCares for all to see --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,

Can you provide to us many JL owners any kind of status report regarding Jeep corporate investigation of the loose steering / dead spot issue that has now garnered well over 500 posts & complaints on this forum alone? As I am sure you know, many new owners, including myself, are concerned about the safety of driving their vehicles with this problem -- which is endangering us drivers, our families as well as other motorists on a daily basis. We would be very appreciative of any information about the status of investigations, future steps, immediate recommendations from Jeep, and a timeline for a resolution.

I have already provided my VIN to you for purposes of the investigation.

Thank you.
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Nope. Corporate lawyers will absolutely not let any FCA employee comment. Your status update will be a TSB/Recall. They’ll be happy to help get an appointment with your dealer, though! :-/

 

[mischman]

Nope. Corporate lawyers will absolutely not let any FCA employee comment. Your status update will be a TSB/Recall. They’ll be happy to help get an appointment with your dealer, though! :-/

Agreed, at least not a CS rep on an online message board. Now my question is if it make a huge difference to have JeepCares make my appointment as opposed to just driving into the dealer? Do you think the dealer treats it differently knowing that a FCA rep is already involved.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Agreed, at least not a CS rep on an online message board. Now my question is if it make a huge difference to have JeepCares make my appointment as opposed to just driving into the dealer? Do you think the dealer treats it differently knowing that a FCA rep is already involved.

I think it’s worth having a case created. That way, you have a record with Chrysler. Dealerships are independently franchised, but they have to adhere to the rules. They don’t want FCA looking over their shoulder any more than they want a bad survey. So, yeah, I’d get a case number opened. I’d share that case number with the NHTSA, too. Personally, I’d do it via a telephone call with Jeep Wave and not by PM’ing the folks monitoring this forum.

 

[Larsf]

I went to test drive a JLUR and noticed the drifting and constant corrections needed on the highway immediately. Being a newbie, I chalked this up to how a JLUR drives and hit the pause on buying one. Then, I found this thread... My question is whether this problem is true on all JLs or is this a subset that has a bad steering box or something. Has anyone test driven a few JLs to see that some are affected and others are not?

 

[Saejin]

Quick update. I got my JLUR back in March. Thought it drove much better than my JKU Freedom Edition both prior to and after lift and 33” tires. Then I came across this thread and my OCD has me checking and rechecking my steering.

I’ll agree there is a so called dead spot where you can move the wheel and the tires won’t seem to move. They actually do, but it’s hard to see. And I also agree there are owners with true issues with their steering as posted by some who have gotten the dealer to replace/correct certain things with good results. However I think this is the exception and not the norm.

Bottom line is you will be adjusting the steering wheel slighting while driving down the road especially if you’re going down a straightaway. This is a Jeep thing especially if you have the rubicon tires or have upgraded to 35 or larger.

Now, some will say the JKU drove better or had better steering. Unless someone can post back to back videos I want to say this is just an assumption based off of how we may have thought the JK drove. The JL steering is much different, but both the JK and JL require the slight adjustments when driving down the road.

To verify since my memory of driving my JKU is over three years old I looked up multiple videos and reviews of the JKU especially the ones where I could see the input to the steering wheel. And guess what every one of the JK videos the driver was adjusting the wheel every few seconds even more frequent in some videos. I chalk that up to a first time wrangler driver. But still the adjusting was there.

Then I compared them to JL test drive videos. In the JL videos the driver was adjusting but it didn’t seem as often. Also many drivers of both JK and JL commented that they needed to adjust steering often to keep the vehicle straight and that was attributed to how Jeeps drive.

Compared to the adjustments I make driving my JLUR, I don’t make as many as I thought I did. Also if I’m not focused on the wheel and just drive I hardly notice myself doing it anyway. This thread caused me to over think the steering when in fact it’s fine and possibly better than the JKU I had.

Now for those who’s Jeeps suddenly move left or right into other lanes you probably have a genuine steering issue. For others who feel they need to slightly move the wheel to keep the Jeep tracking straight this is perfectly normal.

This is not a sedan or car based SUV with independent suspension, etc. Those vehicles will track straight with zero play in the steering wheel.

Just wanted to make sure there’s no assumption that the steering on the JL is jacked across the board. There are issues, but it impacts a small number of owners especially when you compare overall sales to the number of users on this forum.

If anyone disagrees and says their Jeep tracks straight with no adjustment to the wheel please post a video. I think that will help us all understand things in a much better way. What you think as perfect another may think as unacceptable.

 

[Bearded_Dragon]

What's unacceptable is my riding lawn mower steering wheel has less dead space than my JL.

 

[Saejin]

Also just read up on how a steering gear box works and what adjusting that screw does which may explain why some JLs are looser steering that other or larger dead spots.

Since we have a steering box and not rack and pinion there will be some play in the steering wheel, but not much. The adjustment screw is meant to take as much play out of the steering as possible but before the gears start to bind. So, it’s a human adjust made when the steering box is built. If you get a good tech who does it right then you’ve got great steering...if you get a lazy tech who doesn’t care or rushes the adjustment you could end up with a larger dead spot/play than others.

So this is why adjusting that screw seems to fix some problems, however there is a catch. If you adjust it too much, your steering will tighten up, but you run the risk of binding the gears in the box or too tight of steering which some have reported plus a result of the wheel no longer returning to center like it did prior.

The screw moves the gears up and down to remove as much play without any binding.

I think it’s worht playing around with as you can always set it back to factory setting s if you run into issues.

 

[Young04]

I went to test drive a JLUR and noticed the drifting and constant corrections needed on the highway immediately. Being a newbie, I chalked this up to how a JLUR drives and hit the pause on buying one. Then, I found this thread... My question is whether this problem is true on all JLs or is this a subset that has a bad steering box or something. Has anyone test driven a few JLs to see that some are affected and others are not?

I have a JLUR (early June build) that does not suffer from this steering issue. I posted a little while back on this thread. Based on this thread, it may seem like most are afflicted with this, but I wonder what percentage of JLs are truly affected.

As for me, a Sahara I drove had this issue and the two Rubicons I have driven (including the one I own) did not.

 

[JLsJL]

My stock Sahara handled fine for 1500 miles. Put a RC 2.5 lift (spacers) still drove fine. Put 285/75r18 (roughly a 35x11) cooper discover at3 xlt handles terribly. I’m running 36lbs in them, it wonders so bad I won’t drive it over 60mph. Around town at lower speed it’s not to bad. But anything above 50 and it’s to hands on the wheel.

 

[Saejin]

I have a JLUR (early June build) that does not suffer from this steering issue. I posted a little while back on this thread. Based on this thread, it may seem like most are afflicted with this, but I wonder what percentage of JLs are truly affected.

As for me, a Sahara I drove had this issue and the two Rubicons I have driven (including the one I own) did not.

Can you post a short video so we can see what right looks like. I feel that what some think is bad steering may indeed seem to be normal.

And just to get info prior to the video post when you drive on the highway at +60mph do you have to adjust, even so slightly, the steering wheel or does it track perfectly straight without any movement. And lastly, when parked with the Jeep still running do you have any back and forth movement in the wheel before feeling any feedback.

Thanks!

 

[3uPh0riK]

There are some guys here saying its normal, some are saying its not. I dont know, this is my first. I dont mind it not driving like a normal car, in fact the drive around town is really cool, but one thing I know for sure is that on my first drive home doing 70 I got into a wobbly situation that was down-right dangerous. Didnt drive 70 all the 250 remaining miles back home.

So lets assume the drive is normal, or a Jeep thing or whatever you want to call it, then why is there no warning from Jeep saying dont drive this vehicle at 70 and above since you're probably going to die. So either its not normal, or there needs to be a section in the manual explaining that you cant drive this at normal highway speeds. Since there is not, im assuming its okay to drive at highway speeds, and since i almost lost control of the vehicle at highway speeds, im assuming its not normal.

 

[Jeepsforkeeps]

Once again, if this is your first Jeep or your 14th, like myself, this is not normal, safe or acceptable. If some of you have a JL that drives "normal" that's great. I wish I had one that does. For the skeptics on this and other forums, if you ever drive one with this problem you will be a believer. I have a case number and I'm calling in the morning to talk to a case manager. There's no excuse for this to still be going on six months after this problem was first discovered.

 

[WutRoad]

Compared to the adjustments I make driving my JLUR, I don’t make as many as I thought I did. Also if I’m not focused on the wheel and just drive I hardly notice myself doing it anyway. This thread caused me to over think the steering when in fact it’s fine and possibly better than the JKU I had.

I have a 2005 Xterra with 190k hard miles on it. It drifts, of course, and like you say I hardly notice that I am correcting for it when I'm not focused on the wheel. In the X though, when you move the wheel the vehicle changes direction. The problem with the JL when you have this issue is that you have to be focused on the wheel and your lane all the time. Any lapse at all and you are out of your lane. In mine the drifts aren't sudden but they are significant enough that you have to correct them, and they are significant enought that in traffic you don't dare crowd one side of a lane. I would be thrilled with a drifter I could keep on the road without having to think about it at this point. If you are able to drop focus and keep it in the lane on reflex then you definately don't have the problem.

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