Drove a Wrangler today... My Gladiator definitely has much looser steering.

[5JeepsAz]

When I first picked up my JT I thought it drove like a dream. No issues at all. A few weeks later I had the Mopar 2 inch lift installed and instead of driving “better than stock” the first time I drove it at highway speeds I was spooked the first gust of wind that hit me. The first time I had to do a quick lane change to avoid a car that cut me off, I finally admitted that something wasn’t right.

I had already read up on the steering issues and was in total denial about it to the point I never told anyone or posted on the board. I brought it up with my dealer and they hadn’t heard about it yet, but knew about the JL complaints. Either way...dealership was great about things and paid forthe Fox Stabilizer and free installation for me and the ride was ”back to stock” for me. It drove for me like it did when I first test drove (a different Gladiator) a JT and when I picked this one up.

No problems with it now. When there were though...what I told my dealer was it drove and steered worse then the cube vans I drove to work and felt as bad and white knuckled when a gust of wind hit the side of my work trucks on a really bad day.

I know it’s not the topic here...but in 9 years of driving the flat windshield on the trucks in the photos, I’ve never had a stone chip or crack yet...

Nice jeep truck egg in your post there... You said that giant flat window never had a chip from a rock in your life?!? Well then why do we have so many window chips on our Jeeps? Huh? Riddle me that...

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[JKABBQ]

Nice jeep truck egg in your post there... You said that giant flat window never had a chip from a rock in your life?!? Well then why do we have so many window chips on our Jeeps? Huh? Riddle me that...

My point exactly! I’ve been super super lucky! That said...reading up on not following dump trucks, semi’s etc is something I definitely think about now. Taking my JT along the various FSR’s as of late I can hear the rocks pinging off my sliders once I get into the highway, and driving the cube vans I do for sure there’s the odd rock stuck in the treads that I’m sure also let loose sometimes.

The smaller cube van was purchase by my partner last summer and had a crack in the windshield...That was replaced once so I should have mentioned that.

As an aside though...the 2014 JK Hardrock I owned after I traded it in a couple of years later...no cracks or chips in the windshield. Within a week of the trade in and I was at the dealership, there was a large crack in the windshield of the Jeep I had previously traded in. Not sure if it happened during a test drive or what!

 

[Chetcpo]

Long story short, my jeep had some steering noise, brought it in, they damaged the truck, so now it's getting repaired and I have a Wrangler as a loaner.

So while my initial steering complaint was different to the loose steering issue a lot have had, I have definitely noticed loose steering with my truck, but not to the extent that a lot of others have reported. I read a lot of people saying that's just how jeeps are and stuff like that, and since this is my first jeep, I took their word for it. Today, I got a Wrangler for a rental, and the wrangler 100% has a much more responsive steering wheel. It's night and day better than my Gladiator. The wrangler feels how I thought steering should feel without any big dead zones. So has anyone gotten a repair? I already have a different steering issue that they cant seem to fix, but what about this? Is there a solution?

My 2016 JK has more responsive steering but my JT isn't too bad. It's not great but I'm 99% sure it's an alignment issue. I used to compete in autocross for years and have done some sports car racing and played with alignment enough to know how it can transform a vehicle from good to bad or vice versa. It would be interesting to take one that you feel like drives properly to an alignment shop and see what the numbers are compared to one that wanders or feels dead as you say. Factory parts should be the same but alignments are done within specification but aren't identical. I would check it before throwing parts at it and making warranty claims.

 

[SwampNut]

Just as another data point, my JT picked up a few weeks ago has fantastic steering. So much more stable and precise than my 2015 JKUR on 35s with a RE 3.5 lift. This thing drives like a nice car. I've gone about half a mile with my hands off the wheel. I have a stock LE, stock tires.

I know some didn't get so lucky, but just throwing this in as it shows how good it COULD be.

 

[Factoid]

I find it interesting that this community seems to have a surprisingly large amount of people that are quick to dismiss any type of issue people claim to have with these vehicles. Despite an increasing amount of people having these issues, their response always seems to be that those of us with issues have just never driven a Jeep before and should go buy a cadillac, as someone stated in this thread. Their reasoning is nothing more than the fact that they personally haven't had an issue and that they have driven shittier vehicles in the past. I don't really see how this is relevant to people not wanting significant issues with their new expensive vehicles. It's wild to me that they want to blame the consumer instead of the manufacturer's QC. The brand loyalty with some people is what enables FCA to just ignore the issue. It's a Jeep thing, I guess?

Because there are at least four categories of people/Jeeps that are reporting steering issues:

1. Those who expect their Jeep to drive like a sports car or have no experience with the minor steering/handling differences that exist between an ifs R&P steering set up and a solid axle sector shaft steering box.

2. Those who actually have alignment, tire pressure, tire balance issues, that make it seem like a steering issue.

3. Those who have non-steering box related steering/handling issues like drag link, track bar, tie rod looseness/damage.

4. Those who actually have faulty/mis-adjusted Steering boxes.

The problem is that all four of these report the same “my steering sucks” creating community/dealer/FCA doubt and more importantly giving FCA a get out of jail free card for those, like perhaps yourself, who fall in category 4. I feel your pain and I’m sorry you are going through this issue.

By the way, there is no death wobble video posted in this thread. 90% of what people report as death wobble is simply shitty steering for one of the reasons posted above.

 

[SwampNut]

You will know when you have death wobble. I once thought I had it. Then another time I KNEW I had it. Pretty sure the tires left the ground. It was a bent part along with a broken part.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Because there are at least four categories of people/Jeeps that are reporting steering issues:

1. Those who expect their Jeep to drive like a sports car or have no experience with the minor steering/handling differences that exist between an ifs R&P steering set up and a solid axle sector shaft steering box.

2. Those who actually have alignment, tire pressure, tire balance issues, that make it seem like a steering issue.

3. Those who have non-steering box related steering/handling issues like drag link, track bar, tie rod looseness/damage.

4. Those who actually have faulty/mis-adjusted Steering boxes.

The problem is that all four of these report the same “my steering sucks” creating community/dealer/FCA doubt and more importantly giving FCA a get out of jail free card for those, like perhaps yourself, who fall in category 4. I feel your pain and I’m sorry you are going through this issue.

By the way, there is no death wobble video posted in this thread. 90% of what people report as death wobble is simply shitty steering for one of the reasons posted above.

Yes this,and if you got death wobble you want be driving, you'll be pulling over. There is no safe driving when real death wobble occurs, it's like the whole jeep is coming apart. Been there done that. If you can drive with it occuring it want be over 10mph. When it happened on my JKU it shook so hard it broke the hangers to the exhaust right off and left it laying on the ground.

 

[SwampNut]

I was able to drive up to 50-something safely, and get to a shop doing 40-45.

 

[Factoid]

You guys get it. Death wobble is not shimmy. It is not simple vibration. It is not wheel hop. What it is is a progressive oscillation of suspension/steering that grows in intensity to the point you lose control of the vehicle. I swear that 90% of what people report as “death wobble” is not.

 

[SwampNut]

Oh yeah, I was headed towards and off-ramp originally, and during the wobble it was just pushing forward to the separation point. Luckily I had plenty of room.

A JT is far less likely to have real DW than a JK/TJ/etc. I am not saying it's impossible, but it is more likely the shorter your wheelbase is. Simple physics. Same with trailer sway.

 

[5JeepsAz]

My point exactly! I’ve been super super lucky! That said...reading up on not following dump trucks, semi’s etc is something I definitely think about now. Taking my JT along the various FSR’s as of late I can hear the rocks pinging off my sliders once I get into the highway, and driving the cube vans I do for sure there’s the odd rock stuck in the treads that I’m sure also let loose sometimes.

The smaller cube van was purchase by my partner last summer and had a crack in the windshield...That was replaced once so I should have mentioned that.

As an aside though...the 2014 JK Hardrock I owned after I traded it in a couple of years later...no cracks or chips in the windshield. Within a week of the trade in and I was at the dealership, there was a large crack in the windshield of the Jeep I had previously traded in. Not sure if it happened during a test drive or what!

A detour into the world of auto glass... The upshot is they test by dropping a steel ball to prove it doesn't go through and take out your eye. So maybe we should ask how many windshield cracks are full penetrations, and I bet jeeps have almost none. Kind of a crack but dont break deal. And, the window is supposed to keep you in the vehicle if you roll or collide, which again probably jeep windshields do. And the kicker for me... Better windshields add weight and we know people want their tow rating. Basically you'd have to go after market special if you want rocks to bounce off your window.

Here's some info...

Advanced materials for automotive applications: an overview
P.K. Mallick, in Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, 2012
2.7 Glazing materials
The glazing materials in a vehicle are laminated glass used for the windshield, and tempered glass used for side windows, rear window and sunroof. Laminated glass is constructed of two 1.8–2.3 mm thick sheets of glass with a very thin layer (typically 0.76 mm thick) of polyvinyl butyrate (PVB) in between. The PVB layer makes the windshield shatter-proof, which is essential for the safety of the driver and the front passengers. Tempered glass is a single sheet of glass (typically 2.4 to 2.6 mm thick) and is strengthened by heating it above the annealing point of 720 °C followed by rapid cooling. Tempered glass is much easier to penetrate than laminated glass and fractures in a brittle manner when impacted, but it is 3 to 4 times cheaper than laminated glass.
Although the weight of the glazing material is only 2–3 percent of the total weight of a vehicle, several alternatives are being considered to reduce its weight. One of these alternatives is to reduce the windshield thickness by using thinner glass sheets; however, a large reduction in the thickness may not only raise concern about safety, but also reduce its contribution to the torsional stiffness of the vehicle (which is approximately 10 percent with the current windshield thickness)...

And https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...or-vehicle-safety-standards-glazing-materials

 

[5JeepsAz]

Because there are at least four categories of people/Jeeps that are reporting steering issues:

1. Those who expect their Jeep to drive like a sports car or have no experience with the minor steering/handling differences that exist between an ifs R&P steering set up and a solid axle sector shaft steering box.

2. Those who actually have alignment, tire pressure, tire balance issues, that make it seem like a steering issue.

3. Those who have non-steering box related steering/handling issues like drag link, track bar, tie rod looseness/damage.

4. Those who actually have faulty/mis-adjusted Steering boxes.

The problem is that all four of these report the same “my steering sucks” creating community/dealer/FCA doubt and more importantly giving FCA a get out of jail free card for those, like perhaps yourself, who fall in category 4. I feel your pain and I’m sorry you are going through this issue.

By the way, there is no death wobble video posted in this thread. 90% of what people report as death wobble is simply shitty steering for one of the reasons posted above.

This.

 

[drkshaw]

My Rubicon JT is 3 months old and still stock. I felt the loose steering on the test drive, but put it down to being used to the amazing steering of 2 sports cars and bought it anyway. I've owned 2 Wranglers for a total of 14 years, and this is definitely looser than either of those. Mine is not dangerous, and it doesn't fatigue me to drive it long distances, which I have. However, I cannot take my hand off the wheel for more than a couple of seconds. It's obvious some folks have worse problems than mine, and some have no problems at all. Mine isn't bad enough to cause me to do anything about it yet, but I'm thinking about it. I hope you guys who know more than I do about steering figure it out so I know what to do. I'm in Alexandria, VA, and if anyone smart on steering wants to compare mine to theirs, let me know.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

For anyone on here experiencing steering issues. I personally haven't had any issues with mine, drives awesome, but on my JKU I added a steering attenuator from Steer smart and it made a world of difference on my JKU, it was night and day. They don't make just the attenuator for the stock drag link like they did for the JKs or it doesn't appear that they do but it would be worth buying the drag link with the attenuator on it if it would help your steering. These yeti setups are expensive but proven and they can take a beating. Here's a link. It would take someone buying one and giving it a shot to see if it would cure the issues or you may be able to contact steer smart and see if someone can get one sent out for free to test out. Their pretty good people.

https://steersmarts.com/collections/jl-wrangler-jt-gladiator

 

[MrJeep]

Mine has the "bad" steering box. I'm on my third trip to the dealer.
What's more infuriating, if you do the five times lock to lock thing, my steering gets better for a while, how long I don't know, since this lockdown thing has greatly reduced the amount of driving.
Not completely better, there is still mucho dead zone. Thus, I have bad steering but you can kind of make it sort of go away. To me this is much worse than just: it's bad all the time, fix it it's broken.

What's even more infuriating is getting into my lifted 04 Rubicon that has much better steering, even compared to the "good" steering in the Gladiator they lent me for the weekend before I ordered this one.

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