Track bar sheared off at the weld. I feel like I’m cursed with my new JL

[That One Guy]

Nope. Same thing happened to me in February. Get rid of that cursed Jeep now.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ts-received-their-jl.4194/page-11#post-144302

The way you were treated was insane. Did you have this steering issue too?

Do you still have the original Jeep?

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[drogers]

Nope. Same thing happened to me in February. Get rid of that cursed Jeep now.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ts-received-their-jl.4194/page-11#post-144302

Err, this doesn’t sound anything at all like what you’re linking to...

 

[PavementWarrior]

Do you think this is a supplier problem or a weld done in the Jeep factory? It looks 80%+ of the weld never took, which is really poor and totally unacceptable. Thank God you didn't have a much worse outcome. Jeep needs to get to the bottom of this ASAP, this is a serious safety issue.

Hard to know, its common to try to get as much sub assembly stuff done as possible so everything bolts on easy peasy. Bad part is if mroe are like this the 2 door builds may get stopped again, lol.. sigh

 

[ZukiSam]

OP, you are not cursed... you are blessed to have survived... thanks for posting this

 

[BGJLU]

I should be taking delivery of mine in the next few weeks. Any advice from the experts on where to look (specifically) and what to look for? Do you believe a small town dealer would have the knowledge/experience to do a proper evaluation before I sign for it?

 

[rboss]

Omg you didn’t photograph yourself? Do you know we’re the track bar is located ?

Do you know the difference between “we’re” and “where” ??
Wrong thread to troll dude. It was pitch black out when the issue happened. And yes since I have free towing and payed 55k, I was happy to just send off to the dealer. Only a moron would be crawling under a vehicle on the highway and actually think they can weld the bar back on themselves on the spot. GTFO.

 

[WXman]

Hmm I just thought of something. You know how there are so many posts about vague steering, flighty steering, unstable steering, poor handling, etc. with new JLs? I've noticed the same things on all the JLs I have test driven. I wonder if those handling issues could possibly be related to deflection of this track bar bracket due to poor welds at the factory? Could the bracket be flexing just a bit? That would surely cause "squirrely" feeling to the steering.

Would be really neat to have somebody turn the wheel left and right repeatedly while watching that bracket closely from underneath the Jeep. I may have to do that this afternoon. I'm just curious.

 

[JeepCares]

Well my JL is back in the service department. This time it’s not good. Rewind to Friday night. Driving down the highway. Everything is great. I go to switch lanes, turn the wheel and to my surprise realize I’ve lost all steering control in the steering wheel. My vehicle starts to track on its own and I almost kill two other people on the road before I’m able to pull over on the shoulder. (Good thing I was in the middle lane...) I get a warning lamp of ESC (electronic stability control) malfunction.
Call Jeep assist. Tow truck comes. Dealer calls me next day to tell me my track bar has been sheared off At the weld. (Says it looks like a horrible manufacturer defect).
2018 RUBICON UNLIMITED
700 miles, brand new. WTF. Good thing I haven’t gone off-road yet.
Dealer calls me today and is still awaiting Chrysler’s opinion on the matter. @JeepCares

Hi rboss,
We sincerely regret to hear of this and are glad that you are OK. We would like to make sure that his is documented and gets escalated on to the proper teams promptly if it has not been already. We have followed up on our PM thread from an earlier date and hope to hear from you soon.
Julie
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[Hakkodapow]

I'm considering canceling my order. Serious safety risk and if this becomes a larger issue people will be avoiding used 2018 JL Wranglers like the plague.

 

[cnyjl]

I just checked mine which was rebuilt 3/28 after my original one failed inspection. All of my welds around that area look perfect and all the welds on that side have been marked with a bright color marker. It looks like the weld issues are being addressed moving forward for those thinking about canceling. Unless they’ve been marking all those welds from the beginning.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

How do you think this one got through, then? As a JL owner I'm just asking.

Jeep is likely not inspecting as frequently as they should. I know someone that worked, retired now, at the Honda Accord plant in Ohio and he said that Honda has reduced the number of rejections due to lowering the bar on inspections. Employees cant stop the line for flaws like they used to be able to do.

 

[That One Guy]

I just checked mine which was rebuilt 3/28 after my original one failed inspection. All of my welds around that area look perfect and all the welds on that side have been marked with a bright color marker. It looks like the weld issues are being addressed moving forward for those thinking about canceling. Unless they’ve been marking all those welds from the beginning.

This is encouraging, thanks for taking the photos and uploading.

 

[That One Guy]

Jeep is likely not inspecting as frequently as they should. I know someone that worked, retired now, at the Honda Accord plant in Ohio and he said that Honda has reduced the number of rejections due to lowering the bar on inspections. Employees cant stop the line for flaws like they used to be able to do.

Seems like the whole auto industry has gone downmarket in quality. My 2004 Accord still feels like it was built to the highest standard. I don't get that vibe with newer vehicles.

 

[Tfom]

I'm not one to jump to conclusions, but I've heard enough now to think there was a problem. I'm glad I haven't ordered yet, and hopefully it's now fixed. For those who already have their Jeep, especially with weird steering, I would be underneath inspecting right away. Hopefully no one gets hurt if this is indeed an issue.

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