Steering/Wobble/Wandering/Buyback

[KnG818]

Maybe. But

I went from a 2018 JL and traded for a 2020. The one I drove off the lot scared the crap out of me. I didn’t get “un-used” to driving a JL within an hour. But after a break in time, I drive it without even really gripping the wheel. Drives on rails.

Wait, your telling me it wandered brand new but then it began driving straighter after some break-in mileage??

You folks are really getting comical.

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[KnG818]

I looked into that. Since I leased it I would be taking a bigger loss than I can handle.

In other threads people have replaced more components, some with success, some without.

Working with FCA and Jeep Cares this time, hopefully they take care of the issue.

The issue is in your head

 

[GreyFox]

This

 

[KnG818]

So tired of folks being critical of others problems.
I have owned 2 JLURs and can tell you the wandering is real and NOT a f'ing Jeep thing.

When I test drove my 2018 the first thing I noticed was how much steering input was required to keep it in the lane on a highway. I love sports cars and didn't expect it to handle like a 350z but it was tiring to drive it for long periods.

The 2018 was bought back for electrical issues and I traded up to a 2019 that tracked straight and true from day one and has been a pleasure for 17k+ miles.

The point is, stop telling others to suck it up and buy a Prius. Just because your Jeep doesn't have an issue, or you've gotten used to the wobble is irrelevant. If it was designed to wobble then my 2019 is failing! There are still bad ones out there, test drive thoroughly before delivery.

If I may...my wife met me at work one day and asked if she could drive my Rubicon back home. She was always nervous to drive it because of all the work that was done to it.

But today, she was dying to drive it. Top down, beautiful day, "bad ass" looking Jeep, whatever.

Long story short...I took her car and trailed behind her on the highway. Calm day - no wind. I could IMMEDIATLEY notice her drifting left/right/left/right struggling to stay straight in lane. Mind you, my Rubicon has front/rear adj track bars, Fox ATS stabilizer, adjusted caster, etc...it steers very well. For a Jeep it's dead on.

So, she pulls off a few exits early and pulls into a lot freaking out that there is something wrong with the Jeep and how scary the short drive was. What was happening was she wasn't used to the Jeep steering and was over-correcting herself and was all over the road.

To me, the Jeep steers perfectly straight however.

Point is, its perception vs. expectation along with skill. The biggest improvement the JL has over past models is that the "wander" feels much smoother and tighter than let's say a JK Rubicon. But the characteristic is still there....by design.

Again, it's a Jeep. Get used of it or get rid of it.

 

[jl73660]

For some reason there is a theme of denial that exists across the this forum that FCA is having legitimate quality issues across the board that go way above and beyond the norm in the industry and certainly way above the norm for a premium priced $55K vehicle. All you have to do is spend 5 to 10 minutes reading in the forum section below to see the litany of issues and problems and how significant they are and the disappointment for many people having to deal with this when they spent their hard earned money on what they thought was a premium vehicle that they are not able - to trust and rely upon. For those that have a perfect vehicle, great - happy for you you and god bless, but don't sit here and be in denial and judge the validity of all the real and significant problems that many of us have had to deal with. Its real, its significant, its many many Jeep owners not a few.


https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/forums/issues-repairs-warranty-tsb-recalls.49/

 

[Strommen95]

Jeeps aren't for some people. There's nothing wrong with that. Just don't go on here and blame the Jeep for your inability to get used to or research what you're buying. This is an offroading solid axle vehicle. It's not going to steer the same as a normal car. There's a small amount of Jeeps with steering issues. The majority of complaints are from people who have no clue how a solid axle vehicle will drive and bought a Jeep based off image. (Plenty of people especially former owners have no issues, but OP gets TWO in a row? C'mon.) The high prices have made for an influx of image buyers too. Again there's nothing wrong with that, but it is wrong to complain about a vehicle that's had loose steering already for decades now. A quick google search with JK forums show similar complaints across the years aswell. Majority of the time an issue like this is posted it's the driver and not the Jeep.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jk+...m-AKHT2gA2cQrQIoBDAAegQIARAM&biw=1777&bih=876

https://www.google.com/search?q=jk+...KEwjjws-ww5TmAhUqm-AKHT2gA2cQrQIoBDACegQIBxAM

 

[jl73660]

Like I said, denial. Go spend 10 minutes in the problems section of this forum which I'll bet you never have. And its way more than just steering issues. By the way my 2016 JKU Rubicon did not have these issues and I didn't have to run around every week justifying its a jeep thing because it was bullet proof. If you like spending $55K on subpar and flawed quality and then another $15K on aftermarket parts to fix it, and then make yourself feel better by justifying the poor quality as a jeep thing, I don't begrudge anyone, to each his own. I happen to expect way better at this price point. If you are happy with what you have that is all that is important. I was not happy with my experience so I changed it.

 

[Rudolph Hart]

I don’t think folk are in ‘denial’ it’s just that the vast majority of owners are very happy with what they’ve got.

 

[Dkretden]

Like I said, denial. Go spend 10 minutes in the problems section of this forum which I'll bet you never have. And its way more than just steering issues. By the way my 2016 JKU Rubicon did not have these issues and I didn't have to run around every week justifying its a jeep thing because it was bullet proof. If you like spending $55K on subpar and flawed quality and then another $15K on aftermarket parts to fix it, and then make yourself feel better by justifying the poor quality as a jeep thing, I don't begrudge anyone, to each his own. I happen to expect way better at this price point. If you are happy with what you have that is all that is important. I was not happy with my experience so I changed it.

I can say three things definitively from my perspective:
1) I spent months reading through the “wander” threads on this forum. I bet you that I have read every post. I used those threads as information and trying to understand the problems that folks were reporting. I held off buying a Jeep until I thought that I had read all that I could and learned what I could.
2) I just purchased my 2020 JLUR from dealer inventory a couple of weeks ago. I made sure to test drive it at highway speeds for about 10 miles. No wander, tracked straight, two finder steering. So, I bought it.
3) I believe that there are folks on this board and elsewhere (I have met two in person from two different places around the country) that have legitimate issues with the steering on their JL. But I also believe that these folks represent a small number of the total JLs sold. Is there a problem with some JLs? IMO, yes. But there isn’t (yet) with mine and there maybe isn’t with the vast majority of JLs on the road. Time will tell.

 

[Punkindave]

If I may...my wife met me at work one day and asked if she could drive my Rubicon back home. She was always nervous to drive it because of all the work that was done to it.

But today, she was dying to drive it. Top down, beautiful day, "bad ass" looking Jeep, whatever.

Long story short...I took her car and trailed behind her on the highway. Calm day - no wind. I could IMMEDIATLEY notice her drifting left/right/left/right struggling to stay straight in lane. Mind you, my Rubicon has front/rear adj track bars, Fox ATS stabilizer, adjusted caster, etc...it steers very well. For a Jeep it's dead on.

So, she pulls off a few exits early and pulls into a lot freaking out that there is something wrong with the Jeep and how scary the short drive was. What was happening was she wasn't used to the Jeep steering and was over-correcting herself and was all over the road.

To me, the Jeep steers perfectly straight however.

Point is, its perception vs. expectation along with skill. The biggest improvement the JL has over past models is that the "wander" feels much smoother and tighter than let's say a JK Rubicon. But the characteristic is still there....by design.

Again, it's a Jeep. Get used of it or get rid of it.

Perception is NOT sitting in a parking lot and seeing 5+ inches of wheel play in one, and none in another, identical vehicle. It's not a Jeep thing, and while you could get used to it, it's still not right if only a handful are affected.

 

[KnG818]

Perception is NOT sitting in a parking lot and seeing 5+ inches of wheel play in one, and none in another, identical vehicle. It's not a Jeep thing, and while you could get used to it, it's still not right if only a handful are affected.

Just took video of my steering while going to get some breakfast.

Question: do you see this as "death wander" or normal? (Yes, I understand this is showing you deadspot but it's one in the same, I'll do a highway vid later of "wander")

 

[Punkindave]

Just took video of my steering while going to get some breakfast.

Question: do you see this as "death wander" or normal? (Yes, I understand this is showing you deadspot but it's one in the same, I'll do a highway vid later of "wander")

The "death wobble" is a SEVERE and VIOLENT osolation at speed normally brought on by a bump. It does not stop until you slow and is very dangerous. Anyone who has experienced this on a motorcycle can relate to the terror.

"Bump steer" is a wobble caused by a bump that initiates a wobble that corrects and settles itself.

"Wander" is when there is excessive play causing the driver to constantly make steering corrections on a perfectly straight road. You can normally see this while stopped by turning th he wheel and seeing when the wheels actually move.

I would suspect that most don't have any issues or have accepted it as "a Jeep thing" but fact remains that there are some out there with real issues and there is apparently no difinative solutions from FCA. Like I said in prior posts, I've had two identical JLURs and they were completely different. Not a Jeep thing...

 

[KnG818]

The "death wobble" is a SEVERE and VIOLENT osolation at speed normally brought on by a bump. It does not stop until you slow and is very dangerous. Anyone who has experienced this on a motorcycle can relate to the terror.

"Bump steer" is a wobble caused by a bump that initiates a wobble that corrects and settles itself.

"Wander" is when there is excessive play causing the driver to constantly make steering corrections on a perfectly straight road. You can normally see this while stopped by turning th he wheel and seeing when the wheels actually move.

I would suspect that most don't have any issues or have accepted it as "a Jeep thing" but fact remains that there are some out there with real issues and there is apparently no difinative solutions from FCA. Like I said in prior posts, I've had two identical JLURs and they were completely different. Not a Jeep thing...

Who the heck is talking about death wobble?

 

[KnG818]

The "death wobble" is a SEVERE and VIOLENT osolation at speed normally brought on by a bump. It does not stop until you slow and is very dangerous. Anyone who has experienced this on a motorcycle can relate to the terror.

"Bump steer" is a wobble caused by a bump that initiates a wobble that corrects and settles itself.

"Wander" is when there is excessive play causing the driver to constantly make steering corrections on a perfectly straight road. You can normally see this while stopped by turning th he wheel and seeing when the wheels actually move.

I would suspect that most don't have any issues or have accepted it as "a Jeep thing" but fact remains that there are some out there with real issues and there is apparently no difinative solutions from FCA. Like I said in prior posts, I've had two identical JLURs and they were completely different. Not a Jeep thing...

NO, you cannot gauge play in the wheel while parked/stopped by turning the wheel. Your tires flex to much for any accurate evaluation.

You ever consider body roll in a Jeep could be adding to the "wandering" feel/effect your perceiving?

 

[KnG818]

It doesn't take any "skill". You're just used to it.

Yes, you know what I mean

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