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

MrJeep

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I doubt it. You guys trip me out. Go drive a CJ, YJ, Or TJ and report back how crappy the steering is in your gladiator. I'm sure there's a Cadillac dealer in your area that would love your business.
I hate it when I read things like this on this board in the steering subject. IT doesn't help and presumes our knowledge of Jeeps.

We have driven them.
We know what we are talking about.
My JT steering is worse than the several TJs or CJs I owned or the YJ my father in law has. Period.
The latter 3 have less than 5mm of slack from right to left. My JT has well over an inch.
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Jeeperjamie

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I hate it when I read things like this on this board in the steering subject. IT doesn't help and presumes our knowledge of Jeeps.

We have driven them.
We know what we are talking about.
My JT steering is worse than the several TJs or CJs I owned or the YJ my father in law has. Period.
The latter 3 have less than 5mm of slack from right to left. My JT has well over an inch.
My apologies to all who are having true steering issues. My problem is with the ones who complain about how bad they drive after they buy them and say they expect more from a $40,000 vehicle, meaning no steering issues just flat out don't like how they drive. I hope they get you guys issues sorted out.
 

MrJeep

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Thank you for this magnanimous (meant in the polite way, it takes a greater man to admit misinterpretation) response. This is what the "Jeep thing" is all about.
I do agree there are some that expect Toyota 4 runner IFS handling but they are in the mix with those of us with true problems, as outlined by the brilliant 4 point list above.
 

Bigphe JT

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My JT that I just purchased last week has great steering. I've owned a lot of Jeeps over the past 20 years and its as good or better than all of them. My wife has a JL now and its as good or better than it. We have 33s on both. I had two Grand Cherokees (WK2s) a 2011 and 2016 and they drove much better over all but the steering is just as good on the JT. Totally different vehicles with straight axles though. I do miss the Grand as a daily driver already but love the JT. From the description and videos I have seen of how bad the steering is on some JTs and JLs, I would not be happy and would make sure it got fixed. Bad steering is not a "Jeep Thing".
 

Murgatroid

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Yeah Jeep's not going to do nothing about it. It's only a fraction of the number they sell that has this issue. Mine drives awesome, better on 35's with the lift than my 2010 JKU drove stock. I test drove a few JLUs, before pulling the trigger on the JT and everyone I drove pretty much felt the same stock across the board. I probably in 3 months time drove 12 JLUs and maybe 3 JTs before buying mine.
The steering is looser than any vehicle I've had, but handling wise, I can take a very windy down hill run just as fast in my Gladiator as I did in my CLK350 Mercedes convertible. Now driving down the highway, I can't let my attention wander the way I could with other cars because it does wander in it's lane.
 

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Rayzzz

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Drove my Gladiator yesterday with my daughter with me and I heard her say woe a couple of times because I was going through some S turns and was having a hard time keeping it out of a ditch. I didn't tell her about the bad steering box I have because I didn't want her to worry when she was with me. If I could have my 2004 Jeep Rubicon back I would be back driving it in second. Jeep Cares I don't think so because my dealer has no fix
 
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Drove my Gladiator yesterday with my daughter with me and I heard her say woe a couple of times because I was going through some S turns and was having a hard time keeping it out of a ditch. I didn't tell her about the bad steering box I have because I didn't want her to worry when she was with me. If I could have my 2004 Jeep Rubicon back I would be back driving it in second. Jeep Cares I don't think so because my dealer has no fix
Yeah, I hate to say it, but I bought my last vehicle brand new as well and drove it for almost seven years before selling it to buy the Gladiator. In that time I had to bring it into the dealer one time, which was three years after I bought the car and they replaced a $2,000 part, no questions asked, because it was a known issue with the cars. In 6 months of owning the Gladiator, I've already had to bring it into the dealer multiple times and the steering issues haven't been addressed at all. (In fact, instead the dealer damaged my truck, but that's not Jeep's fault) I want to love this truck, but every time I drive another vehicle (including other Jeeps) I tend to just miss my old vehicle because It's annoying to have something so essential to be messed up out of the factory with no solution.
 

Factoid

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Hey, jeepcares, every Gladiator should drive at least as well as mine. What does it take to get this resolved?

My commute to work yesterday.

 

SwampNut

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Yeah, that's how mine drives. It's amazing how that electronic steering keeps it straight. Most amazing when towing a trailer. I've gone half a mile hands free.

I wonder if there's any visible thing we could compare between good and bad Gladiators? A serial number? Part number change?
 

totomojo

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This will probably appear as my first post here. I'm not a troll. I joined this and a couple other jeep sites to investigate the Gladiator. I've test driven them three times and almost pulled the trigger in April on a Rubicon but couldn't get past the wandering steering. 80% of my driving would be getting to the spots I want to explore and I would not want that part to be so tedious that it discourages me from getting to the fun 20. At heart I'm a lazy highway driver.

This is a really good forum. I've found a lot of good discussion about aftermarket stabilizers, sector shaft braces, etc. I plan to take another test drive from a different dealer and vehicle this coming week. If the steering again feels sloppy then I'm probably out. I had a 2017 Jeep Cherokee (yeah. yeah. that's not a jeep) and avoided the horrendous transmission problems those had when they first came out but it gives me caution about things FCA.

I'm weighing in on this issue primarily in case there are "Jeep Cares" folks who monitor this forum so they will know that some potential customers look at this as a deal breaker.
 

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SwampNut

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At heart I'm a lazy highway driver.
Me too, 100%! That's one reason I love the adaptive cruise. I did a road trip with a trailer a week into owning it, and it was SO relaxed and smooth compared to my JK. I *think* the problems happen up front? Or do they creep in later? Can you tell from a test drive if your particular Gladiator will have a problem?
 

totomojo

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I *think* the problems happen up front? Or do they creep in later? Can you tell from a test drive if your particular Gladiator will have a problem?
It's not clear why it is happening, at least from what I've read, so I suppose it could develop later but it seems to be something that happens from the get go. So, you know right away
 

REDJT

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Drove my Gladiator yesterday with my daughter with me and I heard her say woe a couple of times because I was going through some S turns and was having a hard time keeping it out of a ditch. I didn't tell her about the bad steering box I have because I didn't want her to worry when she was with me. If I could have my 2004 Jeep Rubicon back I would be back driving it in second. Jeep Cares I don't think so because my dealer has no fix
Just wondering - has anyone with this issue reported it to the NHSTA? If it is really as bad as some are indicating maybe you might want to let them know. The NHSTA has a form you fill out and the website says all safety complaints are reviewed and some may even lead to recalls...
 

Scrubb84

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Just wondering - has anyone with this issue reported it to the NHSTA? If it is really as bad as some are indicating maybe you might want to let them know. The NHSTA has a form you fill out and the website says all safety complaints are reviewed and some may even lead to recalls...
When I filed the complaint with them back in November there were only 18 others for the same thing.
 

DunnMan

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I really wish one of the bigger reviewers like Car& Driver would have gotten a bum steering box in their review ride....would they chalk up the horrendous steering to 'just a Jeep thing'? Maybe it would help draw attention to the problem.
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