Would your return your 2019 Rubi if you could?

[SeaJay]

Oh 100%, would have went with a 2019 Tacoma and carted around a built TJ. Buying a new Wrangler was a mistake.

Unless you end up with a lemon Tacoma like I did lol. The infamous Lemoma! What a joke that truck was... along with Toyota-Cares (oxymoron).
Check out a Tacoma forum and you'll see plenty of posters complaining over there... just as some complain here. Traded in the dreaded and massively unreliable Lemoma for an F150 5.0... over 75k miles and ZERO problems. Same with our Wranglers. My 17 JK had a leaking shock within the first year of ownership... that's it. My wife's '19 JL?... perfect.
As far as your tracking or drifting issues go... that is not normal. Do yourself a favor and test drive a few other JLs... see how they feel to you and proceed from there. Better yet, do you have a friend with a JL? Do you belong to a Jeep Club or know of one? You definitely need some unbiased help with how your Wrangler is driving and what feels "normal"... unfortunately a dealership (any brand) is not where you will usually find that.
Good luck.

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[conmax]

I recently bought a 2019 Rubicon Unlimited from an online shop. After taking delivery and getting it checked out at the dealership, all appeared to be ok until I started noticing the steering and drifting issues. I had told the dealership about the Jeep veering right when I took it in. The told me they had rotated the wheels and that it was now tracking straight. It is not....
Continues to veer to the right and I do feel some play with the steering. I lowered the tire pressure to 32psi and that help a bit with the steering but not the veering.
I can send the car back. Would you send it back or can I expect that the dealership will find a solution?

I would vote for returning it. my 19 rubi wanders all the time. It has also experienced death wobble twice in the past, once while towing behind my motorhome. controlling this while towing is especially difficult. has been to dealer twice. they said no problems found. the last time, they wanted me to go with the tech to reproduce wobble. I said no way. it has taken 13k miles to occur once while driving and once being towed. if we did have the luck of reproducing with tech, we could both risk losing our lives. since jeep has no solution, I hope they will buy it back. so far, dealers have refused to replace anything unless they can reproduce it. I even showed them all of the STAR and TSBs on steering issues. they still refused to implement any of these w/o being able to reproduce. it would not be a good idea to buy another unless there was a solid design solution.

 

[HeavyUser]

Unless you end up with a lemon Tacoma like I did lol. The infamous Lemoma! What a joke that truck was... along with Toyota-Cares (oxymoron).

Toyota's reliability track record will shat all over Chrysler. That isn't even a discussion, lol.

 

[SeaJay]

Toyota's reliability track record will shat all over Chrysler. That isn't even a discussion, lol.

Whooooosh... Correct, that wasn't the discussion.
My point is that some people are delusional enough (no offense) to think that just because they buy a Toyota they are in for nothing but trouble free miles... and nothing could be further from the truth. One of my family members bought a Rav4 recently. It is now at the local dealership having its leaking sunroof fixed... for the second time.
Buy what you like. Buy what you will enjoy and have fun in. The rest is a roll of the dice. No manufacturer is devoid of problems. Does Toyota have a better track record than FCA? Of course. Do Toyotas have their share of problems? Definitely. Like I said... just visit a Tacoma forum lol.

 

[thadius65]

I’ve been following this thread and have found a reoccurring thought that has been expressed and continues to be expressed regarding experience and realistic expectations. I find these comments to be self defeating. Not that I’m anti realistic expectations. What I find questionable is comparisons to outdated technology to establish what is reasonable now. My expectations are based on my experience with the 2014 JK that I drove for about 90,000 miles. My expectations of my 2018 JL were that it would at least be as good as. I think that is reasonable. I do not compare my JL to the twin I beam systems that I drove, just as I did not compare my JK to those and I’m glad to say that the JK was much better. Both of my Jeeps were bone stock. By the way, In my earlier years I was the manager of a HD alignment and frame shop that worked on those earlier vehicles including tri steer HD systems, RV’s, pick ups and cars, So I know what is possible and still I do not let that knowledge influence my expectations.

Respecting your comments of the importance of sufficient caster and a tight steering box... you are correct. The problem is that the JL steering system is an electric system that is far more involved than systems of yesteryear. Tightening the steering box is not enough, if it could be tightened at all. My expectation is that it should be at least as good as my JK was, after all it was supposed to be an improvement. Well it wasn’t and I’m not about to change my expectations as other manufacturers do get it right with similar systems.

Next, how do you adjust caster on a system that does not have at least adjustable lower control arms? Is it reasonable to expect to have adjustable control arms if an adjustment would fix most of the issues? The alignment specs for a JL state that cross caster adjustment of .5 degrees is ok. That is one adjustment that could alleviate a pull as a result of the crown of a road, not that I’m going to do it as the crown of roads around here vary so much. How does one adjust caster with a non adjustable system? If those are the printed specs would it not be reasonable to expect to be able to make such an adjustment especially being that this is a solid axle steering system?

I have just finished installing adjustable lower control arms and set the caster to 7+ degrees. It’s going to a reputable alignment shop tomorrow to check those settings and adjust to 7+ degrees as required. I’ve tested it and the difference it has made is significant and on turns I would say a huge difference as an in crease in + caster also increases -camber of the outside tire in a turn causing an increase of the size of the contact patch of the tire.

I’ve done a lot of work to my JL’s linkage based on my experience and the input of true Jeep mechanics with outstanding results. I love it now. Do I expect that the JL’s coming of the showroom should perform like mine? NO! As that would not be reasonable. What I do feel is reasonable is that the JL should have performed as well as my JK did and that the the dealer and FCA should have been able to fix it in the FIVE MONTHS that it went in and out of the shop.

I paid large for my JL much more than my JK and all I expected was for it to be as good as my JK, I don’t think that is unreasonable. Comments of the type that are being made about reasonable/unreasonable expectations imply otherwise and do no good for anyone.

Great write up. And also chalk me up to another JLU running caster in the +7.x. Between that, the PSC Hydraulic system,Teraflex 2.2 adjustable stablizer and Teraflex adjustable control arms, I am solid with steering!

 

[Punkindave]

Agree with your take. I am not expecting it to drive like a BMW and therefore understand there might be some steering play. I however have heard that some folks dont even have that on their jeeps. However, the veering/drifting/straight tracking is an issue that i dont think i can overlook.

I had a bad one and now two good ones.. A JL should ride and steer as well as any SUV on the road. There is no way that it should feel like a 66 Econoline van with a bad steering box. People with the problem units either get used to them or exhaust all the dealer resolutions and trade. There is no universal "ahhhaa" fixes for it and perceptions of what's "normal" vary widely.
If you have a chance to turn it in without cost I'd do it..

 

[No IFS]

No, love my 19

 

[Adam 4248]

I have a 2018 Sahara Unlimited with 15,000 miles. The steering has been fine, but the auto trans destroyed itself; I have been told it was fixed, but never got it back because now the ESS isn’t working. I’m about to make my 3rd payment on it since it has been in the shop...almost 2 1/2 months now. So not only would I trade it in, I don’t think I want it back because I can’t trust it.

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