Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

[JeepCares]

I have a ~3 week old 2019 Sahara that I just picked up. I was not a forum guy and was really not aware of these issues when I bought so I was not on the lookout on my test drives. Test drives were not really on pin straight roads. Anyway, after driving my new car in the situations where I wanted to stay straight at higher speeds I started to have the wander and constantly chasing the steering on center from the "play" feel perspective.

I found these forums and wanted to post because it's pretty clear to me that my issue is in the steering gearbox. With the engine on OR off I can rotate the steering wheel (or simply the steering column in the engine bay) and get no output from the steering box to the pitman arm output. For me this results in about 1-1.5" of play in the steering wheel itself. This is enough that I am chasing it on the highway and a cross wind or road shape moves the car before I can correct or hold it before taking up the play.

My build date is 7/19 and I have checked all the parts noted here. My Jeep has all the latest parts and the AE steering box. All that think an AE gearbox is the magic bullet, please be warry and make sure it is checked before being installed.

Funny enough I myself was starting to wonder if this was "normal". I had a loaner from the dealer last week for a few days (for a factory paint defect fix) that was a 2018 JK Sahara, and it was perfect on center. This really cemented it for me and I started looking for where the issue was coming from at this point.

@JeepCares I have not started a case with my dealer yet, but plan to in the next week or so. Please add me to the list of unhappy customers. I am not OK with this and the issue seems very clear. This is not acceptable safe performance. I will direct my dealer to check the steering box and hope they agree to do so.

I have videos, etc. of my issue, but I'm sure you all have seen them all by now from others with the same issue.

Mine was built 7/19 and i'm pretty unhappy with the way it steers as well. Start by making sure your tires aren't over inflated as this amplifies the problem. Mine were 40 psi from the dealer and WAY WAY WAY out of balance. When I took it to a real tire shop they said that they took almost a pound of added weight off of one tire. Anyway getting the pressures to 35psi and balancing it made the ride manageable meaning if I pay attention I won't die but since the TSBs and campaigns don't cover a 7/19 jeep and my dealer says that it's "Normal" i'll just live with the dodgy steering until a new recall comes out.

Hi df007 and BrandonB00,
We regret to hear about both of your experiences. If you would like to have this information documented, as well as be connected with a Case Specialist if you decide to visit your dealer, please send our team a private message.

Just picked up my JLUS today and drove it home about 250 miles. During my test drive it was rush hour so couldn’t really get up past 50 Mph so didn’t notice anything. Sure enough once I hit the highway on my way home, my Jeep was all over the place. I had to wrestle with the steering wheel the whole time and felt very unsafe - others must’ve thought I was drunk. Now I’m screwed as my dealer is over 4 hours away. So pissed I just dropped $45k on a brand new Jeep and already have issues. There are 280 pages on this thread regarding this issue, I really hope FCA addresses this issue soon. If not, perhaps a class action lawsuit will motivate them.

Hi Aceman,
We certainly understand your frustration. I understand that you cannot return to your selling dealer due to distance, however, should you decide to visit another dealer to have this looked into, we would be happy to connect you with a Case Specialist to assist. I have included a dealer locator below to assist you in finding another dealer in your area.
https://www.jeep.com/find-dealer.html

Alex
Jeep Social Care Specialist

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[hiddenmickey]

Does it wander AND have play in the steering wheel, or just wander. If it only wanders checking all the steering component torque (drag link, track bar, tie rod ends, ball joints) and having an alignment done (toe) will probably help quite a bit.

I haven’t had any problem with play in the steering, just wandering. Thanks for the suggestions on checking the torque specs and getting an alignment. However, why on earth do I have to do this to a brand new car?! I’m a former Toyota owner and my expectations may be too high for Jeep.

 

[jeepfan30]

I haven’t had any problem with play in the steering, just wandering. Thanks for the suggestions on checking the torque specs and getting an alignment. However, why on earth do I have to do this to a brand new car?! I’m a former Toyota owner and my expectations may be too high for Jeep.

You shouldn't have to. Your service center is supposed to check all of that stuff when you bring it in for steering complaints. If they don't, then unfortunately you may have to do it on your own. Good luck.

 

[Cypher]

I had a 2019 repurchased due to many things, steering one of them. Cutting out some additional issues my wife and I have been driving multiple 2019s and 2020 rubicons on the lots over the last week so I can get back into a Jeep. Even on the 2020, the play seems excessive. We even bring tire gauge to correct the tire pressure before a test drive to ensure tire pressure is not an issue. After more than once being told this is how a Jeep drives we decided to jump into a used JKUR to take a few drives back to back with the salesman, (When My 2019 was in the shop out of state I received a 2018 JK as a loaner that drove way better,) Now with the same salesman we both drove them and it was night and day difference. we even had the salesman drive and he noticed and agreed with us that as far as steering alone, the JK was better to drive. much less wheel input request required. One was a 2016 with 45k miles vs 2020 with 17 miles. He said he had never driven both back to back, but he does see what others have said now about the JL steering, he still tried to sell the JL as he said the service department could "fix it", but I am not interested in that.

We decided to drive a few more JKs and they were all better with the lack of dead spot and wandering.

I will admit, the JLU is way better in a lot of ways, I feel it is a better vehicle in terms of almost every area except one, the steering.

For anyone having these issues and being told it is normal, do what we did, take your JL to a dealership with a JK. Drive the JL with a tech or salesman, then drive a used JK(may even find a new one). It is very hard to say this is how all jeeps are after doing both back.

we have found a few JLs that did drive much better than the others, so there are plenty of them out there. I am not sure why it is all over the board, but it did vary quite a bit from acceptable to scary from Jeep to Jeep. with the JK they all had pretty much the same steering.

also to give more background, I ordered a 2020 that was delivered a week ago. when I went to pick it up it was way worse than my 2019' and the steering wheel was at about a 30* angle. I lowered the tire pressure and still was dog tracking and all over the road. I was told the the steering wheel was so far off center due to an alignment the dealership did after it was delivered, but I could not see the printout as the shop was closed until Tuesday. (this was a Saturday and Monday was labor day). come Tuesday I asked again for the printout and after being told by my salesman and the GM that the wheel was off due to alignment, it was finally admitted that it was not aligned and the wheel came like that from the factory. I asked them to align it and when I got the printout it was off all over the place and I areas that were non adjustable. the rear really that had the camber way out of spec the setback on the rear was almost a 1/2 in off, and the thrust angle of the rear axle was off by a significant amount and out of spec. all indications from the alignment looked like a vehicle that was wrecked or rode hard off-road with a bent rear axle.

the dealership wanted me to take delivery with a "we owe" to fix, but since I was buying out of state no way I was doing that. I contacted Jeep cares to try and get the factory alignment information for my specific Jeep when it was built so I could see if it was damaged in shipping or the 28 miles that were out on it before I test drove it! but per Jeep cares they are unable to assist until I formally accept delivery. so my two options were to accept it with the Jeep dog tracking and having way out of spec alignments and trying to get a dealership back home to fix with the help of Jeep cares, or refuse delivery and buy another that does not have these issues,

I chose the latter as I would rather buy one that is not messed up from day one (with documentation.) I do give a lot of credit to Jeep cares as they got back with me ASAP and explained that I can't open a case for assistance on a vehicle I don't own yet. I have no doubt that if I accepted delivery they would have tried to help get it fixed, but who knows what all caused all of the rear alignment specs to be so far off on a straight axle with non adjustable control arms.

I still plan to either find a good JL off the lot that has the least amount of wander, Order s new one and hope it is better, or just go with a JKUR. I am starting to lean towards a JKUR and build it as a dedicated trail vehicle instead of as a daily driver / dual purpose vehicle.

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

I haven’t had any problem with play in the steering, just wandering. Thanks for the suggestions on checking the torque specs and getting an alignment. However, why on earth do I have to do this to a brand new car?! I’m a former Toyota owner and my expectations may be too high for Jeep.

The toe on my JLR was way off when the dealer checked my alignment (a couple weeks after buying it). Fixing that helped the wandering.

Getting an alignment reading will also tell you your caster, which should be around 6 and some have had success with more. I put the LCAs from the Mopar lift and got 1.3 more degrees.

Another thing that helped the looseness was to check the bolts on the sway links. Mine were pretty loose. My husband torqued them to spec and that was a big difference.

The play is still a big problem, however.

 

[brett s]

I've got a 2018 JLU with about 8k, just had the V41 recall done - that did help a bit with it's steering behavior on bumpy roads. But it's still not right, my 1993 Land Cruiser with 220+k on it tracks far better even with tons of steering box slop.

My local dealer hasn't been super helpful so far, when I took it in & mentioned the wandering/loose steering they said the new steering damper would fix everything, weren't interesting in checking anything else yet even though I asked. It also took them 4 days to complete an oil change, V41, and a couple of other TSB's (reflashing the IPC, radio, and HVAC module) when I was initially told 1 day.

Personally I think mine is a combination of steering box play & alignment, either by themselves wouldn't be so annoying. Given the train wreck my last service visit was I'll probably try a different dealer in the future.

 

[tk2fast]

Here’s the new and old track bars side by side. The one with the large sticker is the new one. To me they are identical except for the bushings.

That's unfortunate that Mopar didn't go with a solid bar this time around.

 

[powelld353]

Here’s the new and old track bars side by side. The one with the large sticker is the new one. To me they are identical except for the bushings.

I thought the trackbar ending in AA was the newest one since the TSB that was sent out earlier this year affecting car built in 2018 thru 1/22/2019? What the part number of this new one?

 

[californiajeeping]

Just picked up my JLUS today and drove it home about 250 miles. During my test drive it was rush hour so couldn’t really get up past 50 Mph so didn’t notice anything. Sure enough once I hit the highway on my way home, my Jeep was all over the place. I had to wrestle with the steering wheel the whole time and felt very unsafe - others must’ve thought I was drunk. Now I’m screwed as my dealer is over 4 hours away. So pissed I just dropped $45k on a brand new Jeep and already have issues. There are 280 pages on this thread regarding this issue, I really hope FCA addresses this issue soon. If not, perhaps a class action lawsuit will motivate them.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...n-against-fca-over-the-steering-issues.29012/

 

[californiajeeping]

I have all kinds of after market parts and I had the electronic sway bar disconnect go out and with he tazer installed (NOT a tazer issue). The dealership didn't ask a single aftermarket question or why did I have a tazer. If the Jeep didn't have to be towed I would have removed the tazer but with all that no issues with them fixing things. They have also fixed my fan noise and seat popping.

Now the steering I have given up because literally nothing the dealership can do but replace shat parts with shat parts so why waste time.

Some dealers are cool about it, some aren't. A roll of the dice. Plenty of examples earlier in this thread where dealers won't touch the steering problem if it was lifted. Some reported even if it was a Mopar lift.

 

[californiajeeping]

I thought the trackbar ending in AA was the newest one since the TSB that was sent out earlier this year affecting car built in 2018 thru 1/22/2019? What the part number of this new one?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...has-play-and-drifts.3691/page-249#post-764824

 

[chadc880]

Well I am writing to share my final experience and my AE installed Steering Box. I was one of the first few that had the loose steering saga from the beginning. I vowed to stay in the run till the end. I had a awesome service manager at my purchase dealership. Well he was fired for some unknown reason. All the work he helped get fixed on my JL. Then the AE box came out. But then I started having the drivers door creaking noise. Y'll just wait. This is where the sub frame inside the door has come unglued from the inner door panel. The only fix is to replace the door and have it painted. Or attempted.

So I took my JL to a different local dealer. I printed everything up. Showed them pictures and videos. Even had corporate contact them from the prior repairs and steering box promise. 7 days later they did the V41 and a door check. I was pissed. plus I had a shitty smelly rental car. They said they would get the regional tech involved but possibly another 7 days. I asked for a better rental. They gave my a 2019 Ram. Oh my goodness. Y'll have no idea what perfect steering is like. The new Rams drive like a Cadillac. No lie. Unbelievable. It drove better than our Tahoe.

Regional Guy drives my Jeep and says there is nothing wrong with it. And apparently notes were missing from the FCA engineers who came and tested my JL last year and the prior dealership promises even corporate. Luckily I kept that info. After a huge pissing contest corporate agreed to put the AE box in. But the dealer called stating that was all they were going to do, They would not do the door replacement and the steering box was the last repair they were going to do to my JL and any future repairs that I needed to take my Jeep to a different dealer. Yup, Not Shit!!!

So that was it. That was my final straw.

I found a gorgeous 2019 Ram Laramie in Kernersville, NC even talked to the trade in manager explaining my door issue. My new truck will be delivered on Monday. I had to come out of pocket $4900 but I walk away with a brand new Ram with a MSRP a few hundred more than my JL cost.

Corporate did assist some with the trade.

So that is it folks. I am done. When someone decides to do a class action, look me up. I'll join you.

PS. How is the AE ? I had complete zero resistance about 1 inch in my steering. Even with the Jeep turned off. That is now gone. But there is still some slop on the highway. Nothing like it was before. The AE did make a difference, But until FCA truly redesigns the JL steering box, it will never be like it should be.

 

[18BlackJLRU]

I thought the trackbar ending in AA was the newest one since the TSB that was sent out earlier this year affecting car built in 2018 thru 1/22/2019? What the part number of this new one?

Here’s the part number:

versus the old part number:

 

[Stickerhead]

Well I am writing to share my final experience and my AE installed Steering Box. I was one of the first few that had the loose steering saga from the beginning. I vowed to stay in the run till the end. I had a awesome service manager at my purchase dealership. Well he was fired for some unknown reason. All the work he helped get fixed on my JL. Then the AE box came out. But then I started having the drivers door creaking noise. Y'll just wait. This is where the sub frame inside the door has come unglued from the inner door panel. The only fix is to replace the door and have it painted. Or attempted.

So I took my JL to a different local dealer. I printed everything up. Showed them pictures and videos. Even had corporate contact them from the prior repairs and steering box promise. 7 days later they did the V41 and a door check. I was pissed. plus I had a shitty smelly rental car. They said they would get the regional tech involved but possibly another 7 days. I asked for a better rental. They gave my a 2019 Ram. Oh my goodness. Y'll have no idea what perfect steering is like. The new Rams drive like a Cadillac. No lie. Unbelievable. It drove better than our Tahoe.

Regional Guy drives my Jeep and says there is nothing wrong with it. And apparently notes were missing from the FCA engineers who came and tested my JL last year and the prior dealership promises even corporate. Luckily I kept that info. After a huge pissing contest corporate agreed to put the AE box in. But the dealer called stating that was all they were going to do, They would not do the door replacement and the steering box was the last repair they were going to do to my JL and any future repairs that I needed to take my Jeep to a different dealer. Yup, Not Shit!!!

So that was it. That was my final straw.

I found a gorgeous 2019 Ram Laramie in Kernersville, NC even talked to the trade in manager explaining my door issue. My new truck will be delivered on Monday. I had to come out of pocket $4900 but I walk away with a brand new Ram with a MSRP a few hundred more than my JL cost.

Corporate did assist some with the trade.

So that is it folks. I am done. When someone decides to do a class action, look me up. I'll join you.

PS. How is the AE ? I had complete zero resistance about 1 inch in my steering. Even with the Jeep turned off. That is now gone. But there is still some slop on the highway. Nothing like it was before. The AE did make a difference, But until FCA truly redesigns the JL steering box, it will never be like it should be.

I think there is an AF out now which I am going to see if I can have another dealership install since I have a Star case open.
I bought a 2019 Ram Limited last week to go with my 18JLUR. I can from two F250 Powerstokes. The Ram has air ride. Rides like a 86 Crown Vic. Rides like a fine automobile. Not use to it coming from straight axle vehicles.

 

[TheEddie]

Well I am writing to share my final experience and my AE installed Steering Box. I was one of the first few that had the loose steering saga from the beginning. I vowed to stay in the run till the end. I had a awesome service manager at my purchase dealership. Well he was fired for some unknown reason. All the work he helped get fixed on my JL. Then the AE box came out. But then I started having the drivers door creaking noise. Y'll just wait. This is where the sub frame inside the door has come unglued from the inner door panel. The only fix is to replace the door and have it painted. Or attempted.

So I took my JL to a different local dealer. I printed everything up. Showed them pictures and videos. Even had corporate contact them from the prior repairs and steering box promise. 7 days later they did the V41 and a door check. I was pissed. plus I had a shitty smelly rental car. They said they would get the regional tech involved but possibly another 7 days. I asked for a better rental. They gave my a 2019 Ram. Oh my goodness. Y'll have no idea what perfect steering is like. The new Rams drive like a Cadillac. No lie. Unbelievable. It drove better than our Tahoe.

Regional Guy drives my Jeep and says there is nothing wrong with it. And apparently notes were missing from the FCA engineers who came and tested my JL last year and the prior dealership promises even corporate. Luckily I kept that info. After a huge pissing contest corporate agreed to put the AE box in. But the dealer called stating that was all they were going to do, They would not do the door replacement and the steering box was the last repair they were going to do to my JL and any future repairs that I needed to take my Jeep to a different dealer. Yup, Not Shit!!!

So that was it. That was my final straw.

I found a gorgeous 2019 Ram Laramie in Kernersville, NC even talked to the trade in manager explaining my door issue. My new truck will be delivered on Monday. I had to come out of pocket $4900 but I walk away with a brand new Ram with a MSRP a few hundred more than my JL cost.

Corporate did assist some with the trade.

So that is it folks. I am done. When someone decides to do a class action, look me up. I'll join you.

PS. How is the AE ? I had complete zero resistance about 1 inch in my steering. Even with the Jeep turned off. That is now gone. But there is still some slop on the highway. Nothing like it was before. The AE did make a difference, But until FCA truly redesigns the JL steering box, it will never be like it should be.

What was your door creaking issue? I have a weird click/creak sound when opening and closing doors.

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