thadius65
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Ted
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2019
- Threads
- 30
- Messages
- 279
- Reaction score
- 176
- Location
- Williamsport PA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2020 JLU Rubicon, , 2019 Honda Pilot Elite, 2014 BMW 535i Xdrive
- Thread starter
- #1
Background:
I ordered my 2020 Red Rubicon the day the window opened for the 20's. She only took 4 weeks from order to my driveway, so I was very happy. I had a few weeks to break her in before our 10 hour trek to Duck, NC and the Northern 4x4 area of the Outerbanks. All seemed good except I was experiencing very sloppy steering. I had nearly 3" of dead space in the steering wheel, making back road and highway driving quite interesting to say the least. We packed up our two Golden Retrievers and all of our beach stuff and headed out for our September vacation.
Our drive takes us on several major highways, including I95 at speeds ranging from 60-75mph. I can honestly the experience was white knuckle and the focus needed to keep her on the road with back and forth on the steering wheel was extremely frustrating. Several back roads were also needed as we got into the Williamsburg VA area and this was just as bad. Bobsledding would be an accurate description of the feeling. 150% attention was needed to keep her on the road.
I contacted the dealer and had them look at it during a visit for install of an Aux Switch kit. I was told that after an inspection and drive, my Jeep was operating as designed. I asked for escalation and got nowhere. I contacted Jeep Cares and it was escalated, but other than taking another look, I sensed this was going to be a multi-visit with no outcome like many on the forum. I had been researching the PSC SK500 hydraulic system as a potential. With my wife not having any interest in driving the Jeep and me stressing, I decided to make the $2600 PSC plunge.
Results:
Upon install of the PSC SK500, i immediate noticed the play in steering was completely gone. A few initial drawbacks were that it felt really light in the steering and the return to center was almost non-existent. After research, I found that my caster (+4.x) was the issue and ordered/installed the Mopar 2" life LCAs, which were 1/4" longer, giving me a caster of +6.x. While this allowed the return to center to come back to an acceptable level, the feel was still too light. I ordered and installed a Teraflex 2.2 adjustable steering stabilizer. After a bit of testing, I landed on the Medium setting. This provided a much better experience, but that or Firm still left an odd feeling in the steering. After discussing with the owner of PSC, I was told that a setting in the +7 to +7.5 caster may provide a better feel. I ordered a set of Teraflex Alpine adjustable LCAs and increase the another 1/4" forward giving me a mid 7's positive caster. I have been driving it now for three days and I must say that I am now very impressed with the feel of the steering.
I have gone from a love of my Rubicon, but a hatred of the steering (defect) to a complete love of my Jeep today after all the effort and $$. I realize that some of you have no issues from factory while others do. Several have tested a few Jeeps at their dealership and have verified the inconsistency. Some have pushed for buybacks, others 6+ trips to dealer, others trading in, etc. I am glad I did what I did and pleased with the results, but we all have a varying degree of tolerance and expectations.
Recommendations:
If any go down this path keep all of your OEM parts. This to protect should anything else occur that requires us to go back to full OEM/factory configuration. For those looking at a new Jeep, I would recommend if you are buying off of the lot that you test drive it a bit longer than normal. Get it out on the highway to experience how the steering feels, especially on the straightaways. If there is play or wandering, try another. In a situation where you order from factory, do the same longer test drive before you sign the sales papers. Don't be like me and be like a kid at Christmas and just do a quick around the dealership, sign and go. Just my opinion and 2cents (worth every penny).....
I hope this helps those looking for some options.
I ordered my 2020 Red Rubicon the day the window opened for the 20's. She only took 4 weeks from order to my driveway, so I was very happy. I had a few weeks to break her in before our 10 hour trek to Duck, NC and the Northern 4x4 area of the Outerbanks. All seemed good except I was experiencing very sloppy steering. I had nearly 3" of dead space in the steering wheel, making back road and highway driving quite interesting to say the least. We packed up our two Golden Retrievers and all of our beach stuff and headed out for our September vacation.
Our drive takes us on several major highways, including I95 at speeds ranging from 60-75mph. I can honestly the experience was white knuckle and the focus needed to keep her on the road with back and forth on the steering wheel was extremely frustrating. Several back roads were also needed as we got into the Williamsburg VA area and this was just as bad. Bobsledding would be an accurate description of the feeling. 150% attention was needed to keep her on the road.
I contacted the dealer and had them look at it during a visit for install of an Aux Switch kit. I was told that after an inspection and drive, my Jeep was operating as designed. I asked for escalation and got nowhere. I contacted Jeep Cares and it was escalated, but other than taking another look, I sensed this was going to be a multi-visit with no outcome like many on the forum. I had been researching the PSC SK500 hydraulic system as a potential. With my wife not having any interest in driving the Jeep and me stressing, I decided to make the $2600 PSC plunge.
Results:
Upon install of the PSC SK500, i immediate noticed the play in steering was completely gone. A few initial drawbacks were that it felt really light in the steering and the return to center was almost non-existent. After research, I found that my caster (+4.x) was the issue and ordered/installed the Mopar 2" life LCAs, which were 1/4" longer, giving me a caster of +6.x. While this allowed the return to center to come back to an acceptable level, the feel was still too light. I ordered and installed a Teraflex 2.2 adjustable steering stabilizer. After a bit of testing, I landed on the Medium setting. This provided a much better experience, but that or Firm still left an odd feeling in the steering. After discussing with the owner of PSC, I was told that a setting in the +7 to +7.5 caster may provide a better feel. I ordered a set of Teraflex Alpine adjustable LCAs and increase the another 1/4" forward giving me a mid 7's positive caster. I have been driving it now for three days and I must say that I am now very impressed with the feel of the steering.
I have gone from a love of my Rubicon, but a hatred of the steering (defect) to a complete love of my Jeep today after all the effort and $$. I realize that some of you have no issues from factory while others do. Several have tested a few Jeeps at their dealership and have verified the inconsistency. Some have pushed for buybacks, others 6+ trips to dealer, others trading in, etc. I am glad I did what I did and pleased with the results, but we all have a varying degree of tolerance and expectations.
Recommendations:
If any go down this path keep all of your OEM parts. This to protect should anything else occur that requires us to go back to full OEM/factory configuration. For those looking at a new Jeep, I would recommend if you are buying off of the lot that you test drive it a bit longer than normal. Get it out on the highway to experience how the steering feels, especially on the straightaways. If there is play or wandering, try another. In a situation where you order from factory, do the same longer test drive before you sign the sales papers. Don't be like me and be like a kid at Christmas and just do a quick around the dealership, sign and go. Just my opinion and 2cents (worth every penny).....
I hope this helps those looking for some options.
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