ALL Steering gear orders (NOT) cancelled !!!

[1JeepFamily]

I'm 10th(ish) in line at my dealership (central NC) for steel steering gear. Just called for an update. Found out the first person in line's order got canceled

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[jbehrn]

I'm 10th(ish) in line at my dealership (central NC) for steel steering gear. Just called for an update. Found out the first person in line's order got canceled

I’m fourth on the list with my dealer... I was told all orders were cancelled until December (maybe). At this rate my gladiator won’t be repaired until the spring of next year!

 

[obrianmcc]

Where are the new steering boxes being manufactured? US?... China? ... Mexico? ... I wouldn't blame the dealers in this at all ... I'm sure their vendor producing the boxes is at capacity and they are bringing them in as fast as they can. Yes, it sucks to have to wait, but persistent bitching on here isn't going to shorten the lead times. We ALL knew as soon as this TSB was released that this would be an issue as the many flocked to their dealers to have their boxes replaced over burdening the supply chain. We all need to take a breath ... and get on the list. First it was the great TP shortage of 2020, now this ....

 

[db305]

Where are the new steering boxes being manufactured? US?... China? ... Mexico? ... I wouldn't blame the dealers in this at all ... I'm sure their vendor producing the boxes is at capacity and they are bringing them in as fast as they can. Yes, it sucks to have to wait, but persistent bitching on here isn't going to shorten the lead times. We ALL knew as soon as this TSB was released that this would be an issue as the many flocked to their dealers to have their boxes replaced over burdening the supply chain. We all need to take a breath ... and get on the list. First it was the great TP shortage of 2020, now this ....

it's less about the supply and more about the massive clusterf*ck in how it's being handled. most reasonable people understand limited supply. most reasonable people also have a right to be pissed that orders placed weeks ago were canceled from the top and now the process is essentially starting over. it's even more frustrating that jeep's mouthpiece on this board has acknowledged that preexisting order cancelations were for the purpose of "streamlining" the process moving forward, not due to low supply. not to mention that there are people in this thread that have had to follow-up with their service department in order to get it moving again.

mine is getting the service done today so i don't personally have a gripe, but i feel for anyone that has to reset their wait.

 

[1JeepFamily]

Where are the new steering boxes being manufactured? US?... China? ... Mexico? ... I wouldn't blame the dealers in this at all ... I'm sure their vendor producing the boxes is at capacity and they are bringing them in as fast as they can. Yes, it sucks to have to wait, but persistent bitching on here isn't going to shorten the lead times. We ALL knew as soon as this TSB was released that this would be an issue as the many flocked to their dealers to have their boxes replaced over burdening the supply chain. We all need to take a breath ... and get on the list. First it was the great TP shortage of 2020, now this ....

Not bitching—just adding evidence to a central location. Also didn't flock to the dealer; my steering issue isn't that bad, so I wanted to give y'all with a worse steering issue time to get on the list ahead of me. Assuming y'all with the dangerously worse steering issues are among the 10 spots ahead of me, I'd say the issue is indeed that FCA royally miscalculated how prevalent this issue actually is—and how important it is to those folks to fix it.

EDIT: You know what I am actually bitching about? That Maximus-3 overland rack that's been "almost ready" for more than a year.

 

[DirtGadgets]

I bought my 2020 Gladiator Mojave at the beginning of September. Noticed the sloppy steering right away... my previous truck was a leased 2019 Tacoma TRD Off-Road and slop in the steering was completely a non-issue. The steering in this Gladiator was more than loose, it was drifting so badly I feared I might wreck. Keeping this truck centered in its lane simply required way too much attention. I was deeply concerned.

Before I'd even heard of the TSB or joined this forum I went into the dealership to discuss the loose steering with them. A manager at the dealership attempted to dismiss my concern by arguing that Jeeps have looser steering due to their off-road manner. I countered that my previous Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road had no steering play. The manager countered that the Mojave had special suspension that was softer, so that was the key contributing factor. Neither excuse made sense to me, but I didn't press it any further. I decide to do more research and left the dealership determined to ready myself to make a better offensive move.

Thankfully I'd just purchased this Jeep. The new owner survey hit my inbox a couple days later. I pounce on the opportunity to articulate my experience regarding the steering. I related the manager at the dealership giving me the run around, and expressed I would be a very happy customer if the steering issue was fixed. At this point online research had equipped me with an arsenal of information. My best weapon, the TSB!

Needless to say I confirmed in the new owner survey I wanted to be contacted. I was. Someone at Jeep reached out to me, then conference called the dealership with me to coordinate service.. I was quite pleased about this. I took my Gladiator to the dealership for inspection and confirmation of the issue.

A mechanic from dealership took my Gladiator for a drive. He confirmed without hesitation I had noticeable steering drift and it needed corrected. The dealership ordered the part and said they'd let me know when it came in, but that if I didn't hear back from them in 2-3 weeks I should call them for an update.

Three weeks passed. I had heard nothing, so I called. I bypassed service and called the parts department. The parts department informed me that FCA was limiting the number of steering gear orders per dealership to just one per month. He commented I was in a customer queue for this part and that it appeared I had got in the queue early... my part would arrive the following week. He said others would be waiting much longer due to the dealer ordering limit of one per month. He asked me not to call back and said the service department would call me after the part was received.

I waited a week, called the service department, left a voicemail, and received a call back the next day—yesterday. My steering gear was in stock! Given what I was reading in forums I was delighted. I confirmed a service appointment for this morning and dropped off my Gladiator. The new steering gear is being installed as I type this post.

I'll provide an update when I get my Gladiator back.

I became aware of one potential cause for the steering drift after watching this YouTube video. This lead me to purchase Synergy Mfg.'s front track bar and sector shaft brace, which seem to have resolved the steering drift issue for many others. Once I get my Gladiator back I'm going to install it.

 

[Ravenron]

I bought my 2020 Gladiator Mojave at the beginning of September. Noticed the sloppy steering right away... my previous truck was a leased 2019 Tacoma TRD Off-Road and slop in the steering was completely a non-issue. The steering in this Gladiator was more than loose, it was drifting so badly I feared I might wreck. Keeping this truck centered in its lane simply required way too much attention. I was deeply concerned.

Before I'd even heard of the TSB or joined this forum I went into the dealership to discuss the loose steering with them. A manager at the dealership attempted to dismiss my concern by arguing that Jeeps have looser steering due to their off-road manner. I countered that my previous Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road had no steering play. The manager countered that the Mojave had special suspension that was softer, so that was the key contributing factor. Neither excuse made sense to me, but I didn't press it any further. I decide to do more research and left the dealership determined to ready myself to make a better offensive move.

Thankfully I'd just purchased this Jeep. The new owner survey hit my inbox a couple days later. I pounce on the opportunity to articulate my experience regarding the steering. I related the manager at the dealership giving me the run around, and expressed I would be a very happy customer if the steering issue was fixed. At this point online research had equipped me with an arsenal of information. My best weapon, the TSB!

Needless to say I confirmed in the new owner survey I wanted to be contacted. I was. Someone at Jeep reached out to me, then conference called the dealership with me to coordinate service.. I was quite pleased about this. I took my Gladiator to the dealership for inspection and confirmation of the issue.

A mechanic from dealership took my Gladiator for a drive. He confirmed without hesitation I had noticeable steering drift and it needed corrected. The dealership ordered the part and said they'd let me know when it came in, but that if I didn't hear back from them in 2-3 weeks I should call them for an update.

Three weeks passed. I had heard nothing, so I called. I bypassed service and called the parts department. The parts department informed me that FCA was limiting the number of steering gear orders per dealership to just one per month. He commented I was in a customer queue for this part and that it appeared I had got in the queue early... my part would arrive the following week. He said others would be waiting much longer due to the dealer ordering limit of one per month. He asked me not to call back and said the service department would call me after the part was received.

I waited a week, called the service department, left a voicemail, and received a call back the next day—yesterday. My steering gear was in stock! Given what I was reading in forums I was delighted. I confirmed a service appointment for this morning and dropped off my Gladiator. The new steering gear is being installed as I type this post.

I'll provide an update when I get my Gladiator back.

I became aware of one potential cause for the steering drift after watching this YouTube video. This lead me to purchase Synergy Mfg.'s front track bar and sector shaft brace, which seem to have resolved the steering drift issue for many others. Once I get my Gladiator back I'm going to install it.

Probably won't need the Synergy stuff after the fix. The fix alone makes a world of difference...

 

[Factoid]

Dropped off my 2020 JTR at dealer this morning, Palmer DCJR in Roswell, GA. Less than 150 miles on the odometer, purchased 9/2020 with a build date of 10/2019. I was told the parts are ordered with no ETA however I know there are several ahead of me from a previous conversation I had with the service manager. He also said they are limited in how many they can order. About to go pick it up.

Palmer DCJR has been excellent in all aspects from sales to service - highly recommend. I've bought a 2011 JKU and 2014 JKU from them. No reason to doubt what they are telling me. I guess it's a waiting game now.

There was a similar delay with the passenger airbag replacement on my 2014 JKU. Almost a year after being on a waiting list, FCA contacted me to make an appointment and told me where to take it for the replacement (different local dealer, not sure why).

Not highly recommended. These are the clowns who stole all my Rubicon suspension components when I mistakenly asked them to install the Mopar lift at purchase. They told me they threw them all away even after I was clear I wanted them and the crate. They also tried to gouge me on the price of wheels/rims and several other parts when I asked for a quote and have been incredibly poor about meeting commitments and returning calls. All this from their VP and part owner, Jodie, not the sales or service folks, although they were the ones responsible for “throwing away” my parts which we all know is BS.

 

[DirkG]

I was just notified yesterday my parts are in. I'm tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday. I'll keep you posted.

 

[WayJayMane]

Not highly recommended. These are the clowns who stole all my Rubicon suspension components when I mistakenly asked them to install the Mopar lift at purchase. They told me they threw them all away even after I was clear I wanted them and the crate. They also tried to gouge me on the price of wheels/rims and several other parts when I asked for a quote and have been incredibly poor about meeting commitments and returning calls. All this from their VP and part owner, not the sales or service folks, although they were the ones responsible for “throwing away” my parts which we all know is BS.

That is terrible, I'd be mad as hell. I'm sorry you went through that. I guess these can be hit or miss, in your case truly a miss. Jeep dealerships (Chrysler in general?) don't seem to have good reputations.

Going off topic here a bit...from a service standpoint, I've had routine maintenance and warranty repairs done at Palmer. No mods or installation of upgrades although they seem to do a high volume of this in their new vehicle sales. As an alternative, my buddy who bought his JKU here used Fortec4x4 down the street for service and aftermarket parts installation. He had a great service experience but they are expensive. Selfishly, I hope my experience at Palmer continues to remain positive and through 3 new Jeep purchases it has.

 

[nyyankees]

Same boat here in in PA. I brought my Glad in a couple months ago and parts ordered. First it was going to be a few days, then when I called a couple weeks, and every time I call I'm given a date and told they can order 1 every 2 weeks. I haven't called in a couple weeks as I am assuming it continues to be delayed. Honestly I don't mind waiting as long as it is done right. I've had four Jeeps and two of them had issues that required me to go back multiple times and it was a major pain.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

............... but persistent bitching on here isn't going to shorten the lead times. ........
First it was the great TP shortage of 2020, now this ....

While I fully agree in principal, bitching doesn't change squat nor can anyone realistically expect any sort of response about it here as far as Jeep/FCA, whoever, in this weird year, yelling and screaming and cutting loose may make one feel at least a tiny bit better since there's so little else that can be done and we are surrounded by frustrations of all sorts this past year.

I spoke with a sales manager with the Launch Tech sales office about their products and was SHOCKED that I got responses from the guy TWICE today. Like isn't he busy doing other more important stuff? Pleasant surprise at any rate.
I mentioned something simple about a strange year impacting a lot of stuff and he commented how it's impacted business, supply, etc.

I also spoke with a truck driver who was getting his hair cut while I was getting what's left of mine trimmed up - he delivers flooring goods (wood floors, etc.) and other home improvement items to local flooring and specialty shops (not your Menards or Home Depot places, the higher end spots) and he said they can't keep things coming in fast enough, business has never been better, people wanting new floors, new kitchens, new baths and whatever, but getting the stuff can be an issue.
It ain't just us, is my point.

 

[Twilightwheelin]

I'm driving my 6th solid axle Jeep and honestly didn't think there was anything wrong with my Gladiator's steering outside of the "Jeep thing" however, I am at 30,000 miles on mine and figured if the dealership would replace a part for free, I would get a new part...I would love to drive someone's "death trap" Gladiator to see if they are experiencing something drastically different than what I did. Mine is still on my stock Rubi suspension with 35's...it is definitely tighter with the new box (more like my JKR) but it still drives like a truck or at least what trucks used to drive like. My 2015 Ram 1500 drove like a Caddy

Its not just solid axles. Its a combo of coil sprung fron axles with recirc ball steering, horrible aero and big 33” cload tires athat all add up to SLOP. 90% of people who complain come from IFS BMWs and sedans. Thats why I lease some of my trucks . Im turning in my 18jl after I pull my mods and return to stock.

 

[DirtGadgets]

I bought my 2020 Gladiator Mojave at the beginning of September. Noticed the sloppy steering right away... my previous truck was a leased 2019 Tacoma TRD Off-Road and slop in the steering was completely a non-issue. The steering in this Gladiator was more than loose, it was drifting so badly I feared I might wreck. Keeping this truck centered in its lane simply required way too much attention. I was deeply concerned.

Before I'd even heard of the TSB or joined this forum I went into the dealership to discuss the loose steering with them. A manager at the dealership attempted to dismiss my concern by arguing that Jeeps have looser steering due to their off-road manner. I countered that my previous Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road had no steering play. The manager countered that the Mojave had special suspension that was softer, so that was the key contributing factor. Neither excuse made sense to me, but I didn't press it any further. I decide to do more research and left the dealership determined to ready myself to make a better offensive move.

Thankfully I'd just purchased this Jeep. The new owner survey hit my inbox a couple days later. I pounce on the opportunity to articulate my experience regarding the steering. I related the manager at the dealership giving me the run around, and expressed I would be a very happy customer if the steering issue was fixed. At this point online research had equipped me with an arsenal of information. My best weapon, the TSB!

Needless to say I confirmed in the new owner survey I wanted to be contacted. I was. Someone at Jeep reached out to me, then conference called the dealership with me to coordinate service.. I was quite pleased about this. I took my Gladiator to the dealership for inspection and confirmation of the issue.

A mechanic from dealership took my Gladiator for a drive. He confirmed without hesitation I had noticeable steering drift and it needed corrected. The dealership ordered the part and said they'd let me know when it came in, but that if I didn't hear back from them in 2-3 weeks I should call them for an update.

Three weeks passed. I had heard nothing, so I called. I bypassed service and called the parts department. The parts department informed me that FCA was limiting the number of steering gear orders per dealership to just one per month. He commented I was in a customer queue for this part and that it appeared I had got in the queue early... my part would arrive the following week. He said others would be waiting much longer due to the dealer ordering limit of one per month. He asked me not to call back and said the service department would call me after the part was received.

I waited a week, called the service department, left a voicemail, and received a call back the next day—yesterday. My steering gear was in stock! Given what I was reading in forums I was delighted. I confirmed a service appointment for this morning and dropped off my Gladiator. The new steering gear is being installed as I type this post.

I'll provide an update when I get my Gladiator back.

I became aware of one potential cause for the steering drift after watching this YouTube video. This lead me to purchase Synergy Mfg.'s front track bar and sector shaft brace, which seem to have resolved the steering drift issue for many others. Once I get my Gladiator back I'm going to install it.

I picked up my Gladiator from the dealership a couple hours ago and took it for a good drive. I did some interstate driving to get a feel at high-speeds and some city driving to get a feel for stop/go, round-abouts, and lower speeds. Wow, what a difference the new steering gear made! It handles like a completely different truck.

When I got home I looked under the hood. Most folks following this thread probably already know the replacement steering gear is steel and painted black. Nothing surprising there. If anyone wants pictures I can post tomorrow.

In my case this upgrade has made a noticeable impact on the steering characteristics. It feels much tighter, much more controllable. Worth it!

I plan to install the Synergy Mfg. front track bar and sector shaft brace this weekend. I'll report here if that makes any difference too.

 

[Odubi]

Its covid season and everything is getting backed up. Take a chill pill, people are dieing and your worried about wonky steering.

Constructive comment there! Shame

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