Steering/Wobble/Wandering/Buyback

[MrSahara19]

In the same boat and now have a FCA case Manager which is a big deal because they are the only ones that you can talk about your situation with apparently - just got her back tonight after another 3 days stent - they replaced the track bar after finding the wandering for themselves on a road test and did some kind of 5 wheel turn lockout for the dampener to bleed the thing which they never did on the last two replacements , however could not replicate any highway vibration and shaking like I complained about - Said the same things before and it keeps happening and they keep trying to replace parts - 19 Sahara .. If it goes in again it will be the smoking gun at that point for a buyback until than I have to play the waiting game and hope to be possibly reimbursed for the time in service (total time) somehow - will find out Thursday .. I’m on 4th visit for steering and wandering and 1 episode of death wobble at 70 mph ... have a list of other things fixed too aside From the steering and suspension issues

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[znakos]

This was my exact same issue. I took it to the dealer a total of 3 times. They first replaced the track bar, which helped quite a bit in reducing the deadplay I also had in my steering. 2nd time, the toe was out of spec. This also helped, but the car was still tracking left and right on me on the highway. I was constantly drifting onto the right lane and coming inches from swiping cars, I'd then overcorrect and drift far left into my lane. It never seemed easy to "feel" the steering wheel. 3rd time taking it in the dealer had 4 people test drive it all saying that it drove fine for a new Wrangler, typical dealer BS. I said enough is enough, installed the Fox 2.0 ATS stabilizer myself last night right after I got it back from the dealer and left the factory adjustable setting as is at 5 out of 25. After two drives on the highway, back to my home and to work, I believe it's safe to say there is actually feel in the steering and I have yet to wander to the right lane on the highway. I will update again in a few weeks. Hope this helps if anyone is having the same issue.

I also will be sending my invoice of the Fox stabilizer to Jeep customer care and wait on a reimbursement. I will update if they reimburse or not.

I also am coming from a 97 TJ that never gave me any death wobble or steering issues whatsoever. Man I miss that car.

UPDATE: I have put about 600 miles on my car since I installed the Fox 2.0. The steering wander I can tell is still there, but not nearly as bad. I noticed my PSI was around 40 so I decreased it to about 32. This helped, but again it is still noticeable there. After some more research I purchased the Mopar long lower control arms and am installing those soon and going to have my mechanic see where my caster is at and realign it.

I started this thread. So if you were me, wouldn't you do a "Buy Back"?

I put 25K on a 2018 JL Sahara loaded. Had it in the show for the steering issues more that 4 times/25 days which is lemon in MI.

So I take the "buy-back" because I feel the Jeep is worth more than my down payment, right? And I'd only be getting that back, not any monthly payments.

So now here I am AGAIN. Have the 2019 JL Sahara loaded and it's been in the shop for the same issues. Only have 5000 miles on it. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be in there for 4times/25 days.

I think I need to do a push for the 2020 Sahara, right?! Bet I only owe about 12,000 left on my loan. So it's either 25,000 back or a NEW JL 2020 Sahara.

Wouldn't you take the Sahara?!

Is it just wandering that's your issue?

After having my own wandering issues, I started by replacing the steering stabilizer with the Fox 2.0 ATS, having the track bar replaced by the dealer, and lowering my psi to 32. It is much better, but I still can tell the wander is there. I ordered mopar long lower control arms, and am having them installed tomorrow and then having my caster adjusted after that. After lots of people's input I'm under the impression that the main cause of the steering wander is poor design of the lower control arms. It sounds as though these "long" control arms (only 1/4 Inch longer than stock) change the overall feel of the drive completely. If I had to guess, a poor design on a component such as the control arms could very well be the main cause of all these steering issues, it's usually the smallest/unthinkable that causes the most annoying hard to diagnose issues. My guess is everyone has a bit of a wander, but it only seems to annoy a handful of us (also the reason the dealer says it drives similar to other Wranglers). I think you need to do your own pinpointing and research and attempt to fix your issue before you do another buy back. That would be my advice.

I'll update once the long control arms are installed and the caster is adjusted.

 

[jl73660]

I chose to give up on Jeep, how many different model years do you have to buy hoping you get a one that is not flawed or has issues addressed. And my sense is that 2020 is no different than 2019 or 2018. In my opinion the entire steering geometry and design is flawed in the JLU, so it will take a major redesign to fix that

 

[iki4life]

I have a 2018 lease but I dont remember getting any mail regarding the fix....anyone know what I can do? I dont want to pay out of pocket for something that should be a factory fix.

 

[Shawn19]

I have a 2018 lease but I dont remember getting any mail regarding the fix....anyone know what I can do? I dont want to pay out of pocket for something that should be a factory fix.

I’d just take it to the dealer, explain the symptoms and they will start throwing TSBs at it.

I can tell you there is no complete fix, but if you don’t wanna pay (like me) you are kind of at the mercy of FCA and the dealer.

I’ve been in 7 times for steering issues. One piece at a time. I have had all of the issues in the title add steering lock up to that, for now I’m down to wondering. I’m fresh out of the shop so haven’t really tested the shuttering/wobble on the highway, but steering feels better. Got about 18+ days in the shop on this thing. I’m not dropping the cash for parts, especially since I’m in a lease like you are.

My shop fixes have been Flash, then “driving as designed”, then Steering Dampener, then a can’t reproduce and another dampener, then a steering rack, and just got an alignment.

I’m a bit worried still because the problems usually return after fixes, but at least you start getting documentation.

Good Luck!

 

[Shawn19]

Steering is tighter, no play, no dead spot....but I now wonders worse than ever. Trip 7 for steering issues coming up.

Well I after an alignment, she’s still wondering, both ways but left more than right. Let FCA know this is going on still, and they are going to have an Area Tech Manager (not real sure on title) schedule a ride with me.

Anyone been to this part of this process before. I’m glad they are going to see it happen, but are they setting the stage to say it “drives as designed” I’ve heard tell of buyback for less issues than I have had with this thing. I’m going to have days and time in repairs. Ready to get out of it at this point.

Let me know what I’m walking into if you’ve dealt with this before.

And Merry Christmas everybody!

 

[znakos]

UPDATE: I have put about 600 miles on my car since I installed the Fox 2.0. The steering wander I can tell is still there, but not nearly as bad. I noticed my PSI was around 40 so I decreased it to about 32. This helped, but again it is still noticeable there. After some more research I purchased the Mopar long lower control arms and am installing those soon and going to have my mechanic see where my caster is at and realign it.


Is it just wandering that's your issue?

After having my own wandering issues, I started by replacing the steering stabilizer with the Fox 2.0 ATS, having the track bar replaced by the dealer, and lowering my psi to 32. It is much better, but I still can tell the wander is there. I ordered mopar long lower control arms, and am having them installed tomorrow and then having my caster adjusted after that. After lots of people's input I'm under the impression that the main cause of the steering wander is poor design of the lower control arms. It sounds as though these "long" control arms (only 1/4 Inch longer than stock) change the overall feel of the drive completely. If I had to guess, a poor design on a component such as the control arms could very well be the main cause of all these steering issues, it's usually the smallest/unthinkable that causes the most annoying hard to diagnose issues. My guess is everyone has a bit of a wander, but it only seems to annoy a handful of us (also the reason the dealer says it drives similar to other Wranglers). I think you need to do your own pinpointing and research and attempt to fix your issue before you do another buy back. That would be my advice.

I'll update once the long control arms are installed and the caster is adjusted.

Ok so I finally went to my mechanic today. I am going to go ahead and say that my personal steering wandering, not tracking straight issue is officially solved. I am going to list a step by step of what I did to solve this problem (in specific order):

1.) Replace stock track bar with new stock track bar that has tighter bushings. For me, this was the only thing the dealer cooperated with and agreed was an issue for my specific JL.
2.) Adjust alignment toe specs. Dealer adjusted after two complaints about alignment.
3.) Install Fox 2.0 ATS Steering Stabilizer
4.) Install Mopar long lower control arms, part # 68322798AA.
5.) Make sure caster is in specification.
6.) Push in all your fuses on the fuse box. Mine had about 80% of the fuses not fully pushed in. I am convinced this cleared up all my other intermittent issues with the steering. The JL steering wheel is now way more consistent and responsive. This was the final piece of the puzzle for me.

Long story short, what I truly believe solved my problem is a combination of the Fox 2.0 ATS stabilizer and the longer lower control arms, and making sure the fuses were pushed in fully. While I was at my mechanic's I noticed that I stupidly installed the Fox 2.0 ATS stabilizer slightly incorrectly by having the the thicker spacer that attaches to the tie rod on the top of the eyelet, when it should be on the bottom. This had the stabilizer on a slight decline, rather than being perfectly inline once we flipped it. That's what happens when you rush an install at night and aren't thinking straight! Glad I caught that because it is without a doubt in my opinion the main reason the Jeep continued to not track straight and give me issues returning to center. I will go as far as saying that the stock Mopar steering stabilizer is complete trash and is probably 90% of what my issue was. I have read numerous posts about people having the dealer replace the stock stabilizer, but it didn't solve anything. I wonder why?... because it is trash. Remove it, replace it with the Fox 2.0 ATS and toss it.

My mechanic said that the installation of the Mopar longer lower control arms naturally placed my caster at a 6.85. He said it is fine to leave it there as long as my toe is in spec as it won't wear the tires down. I am assuming the higher the caster the better for the JL's.

Pairing the Fox 2.0 ATS stabilizer with the Mopar longer lower control arms has my JL feeling like a brand new car. I can't believe how smooth the Fox 2.0 ATS stabilizer really is. Tracking down the highway and along curves it is now extremely responsive. These two relatively small modifications have made my JL steering go from complete nightmare from the day I bought it (with only 2 miles) to today (3,500 miles), a complete joy to drive. I can't tell you how many times I kept regretting buying this thing, and now I can say that that has gone full circle. I will even say that it now reminds me of my TJ!

I cannot wait to start enjoying the new JL! To anyone that has the steering wandering issue, it would be foolish not to self diagnose it and try and pinpoint this issue yourself. Although I realize everyone's situation is different, I highly recommend the modifications that I have done.

Also to note, Jeep customer care was unable to reimburse me for any parts but they did extend my warranty from standard to Jeep Maximum Care 8 year/125,000 miles, so I guess that is worth something.

Good luck to everyone having any issues with the new JL!!!

 

[cosmokenney]

3.) Install Fox 2.0 ATS Steering Stabilizer

You are talking about the $400 +/- part right? This: https://jksmfg.com/i-24048418-fox-2-0-ats-steering-stabilizer.html

 

[znakos]

You are talking about the $400 +/- part right? This: https://jksmfg.com/i-24048418-fox-2-0-ats-steering-stabilizer.html

Yes. I got mine on Morris 4x4 for 373 plus a 30 off coupon. They also have excellent customer service if you want to try and ask them questions to narrow down the issue you're having before you purchase anything.

You could also get the Fox 2.0 TS stabilizer (assuming the A stands for adjustable) but you won't be able to adjust the firmness. I would assume the TS version has a similar firmness to stock. I believe there are two versions of this. One that uses the bracket to bolt down (like the ATS), and one that clamps to aftermarket track bars. I believe the TS goes for around 280 +/-.

I won't guarantee this will work for everyone though. But it will be an improvement and a starting point, if not the solution to your wander.

 

[Weeb]

Not sure if this will help, but RCO hooked me up with a synergy sector shaft brace and it helped my steering immensely. So much so I backed out of a track bar and drag link purchase. I literally yelped when backing it out of the parking space the first time.

 

[znakos]

Not sure if this will help, but RCO hooked me up with a synergy sector shaft brace and it helped my steering immensely. So much so I backed out of a track bar and drag link purchase. I literally yelped when backing it out of the parking space the first time.

I've heard great things about that brace as well. I'll likely give it a shot along with the synergy track bar next summer.

 

[Cbrac19]

I had the steering stabilizer replaced 5 times in 16 months, on my 2018 JLU. Got fed up, and contacted FCA. I told them that this vehicle was not safe, and that I did not want it. They offered me a buyback. I had my new 2020 within a month

 

[znakos]

I had the steering stabilizer replaced 5 times in 16 months, on my 2018 JLU. Got fed up, and contacted FCA. I told them that this vehicle was not safe, and that I did not want it. They offered me a buyback. I had my new 2020 within a month

Is the 2020 any better? Mine is a 2020 and still had these issues.

 

[MrSahara19]

I had the steering stabilizer replaced 5 times in 16 months, on my 2018 JLU. Got fed up, and contacted FCA. I told them that this vehicle was not safe, and that I did not want it. They offered me a buyback. I had my new 2020 within a month

Dealing with this currently with other things, how did the buyback process work? MSRP to MSRP and only Jeep vehicles or can you choose another vehicle in the lineup of FCA, and how about payment wise do you have to get re-approved etc like your buying a new vehicle again ?

 

[Rdmitch]

Also wonder if they required any sort of agreement to not discuss this with anyone or post
about the transaction

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