Loose Steering?

[BAT]

I have a feeling FCA is going to take a page out of Fords playbook they used for the Ford dual clutch transmission problems on their Focus and Fusion models. When or if FCA finally gets around to addressing it, they will just do a in sequence to new production fix and deny already current owners any addressing of their current steering issues. It is my opinion that unless NTSA makes it a recall issue, FCA is going to let current owners with this problem to hang in the wind.

Man talking about a nightmare with the Ford Focus. My wife bought one the first year it came out and talk about a nightmare piece of crap transmission. All we got from Ford was complete run around. Car was in the shop and all they could say was we don't see any issues with it. She finally wouldn't drive the car and we ended up getting rid of it and taking a beating on it. We have been in the Lawsuit with Ford but if we get any money from what I understand its not going to be much to sooth the burn of that one. Second Ford and second bad transmission will never by another one.

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[BajaDrifter]

This is a very informative thread on this issue. It appears Jeep dropped the ball and has not stepped up to remedy this problem. It is a design problem that got pass them. Period. Its obvious that more than a few people are concerned about the gladiator steering and perhaps its time to take it to the NHTSA, but you have to file a complaint with them and it takes several mins to do so. I've only done a little freeway driving with mine and each time I have, it demands more concentration and effort to keep it centered in the lane. BTW, it seems our lanes are getting narrower and narrower these days to accommodate more traffic lanes, at least here in busy Southern California. Some of these semi's on the road almost take up the whole lane width, leaving no room for error. I digress... The NHTSA can sue automakers to correct certain defects, especially those that are safety related. I urge everyone to take the time to fill out a complaint. I once had a problem with a Ford explorer seat latch that gave way. Ford would have nothing to do with it, but once they heard I was considering filing a complaint with NHTSA, they contacted the local dealer and suddenly it was fixed.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

 

[SgtMajTomahawk]

This is a very informative thread on this issue. It appears Jeep dropped the ball and has not stepped up to remedy this problem. It is a design problem that got pass them. Period. Its obvious that more than a few people are concerned about the gladiator steering and perhaps its time to take it to the NHTSA, but you have to file a complaint with them and it takes several mins to do so. I've only done a little freeway driving with mine and each time I have, it demands more concentration and effort to keep it centered in the lane. BTW, it seems our lanes are getting narrower and narrower these days to accommodate more traffic lanes, at least here in busy Southern California. Some of these semi's on the road almost take up the whole lane width, leaving no room for error. I digress... The NHTSA can sue automakers to correct certain defects, especially those that are safety related. I urge everyone to take the time to fill out a complaint. I once had a problem with a Ford explorer seat latch that gave way. Ford would have nothing to do with it, but once they heard I was considering filing a complaint with NHTSA, they contacted the local dealer and suddenly it was fixed.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Well this is a potential safety issue if it causes someone to lose control and crash. Sadly, that's what it takes for these companies to do the right thing because they are afraid of their bottom line. If they sit quietly and fix one or two here and there it doesn't cost them a whole lot of money. Doing the right thing and announcing a recall? That costs a fortune. They are hoping they keep it contained to a case by case basis while they quietly work on a fix for 2021 or 2022. Part that really bugs me is the JL has this same issue and it's been out since 2017.

There is apparently a different steering box Jeep has been replacing with a different part number from the ones we all have. It's taking owners 3 or 4 visits before they will swap out for the new steering box, but they won't do a recall.

 

[NC_Overland]

I read a lot about this as I’ve not been very happy with the tracking of my brand new, stock overland on the hwy. While, my steering should still be tighter, my JKU had tighter steering. Changing my tire pressure from 38psi to 35psi made it track a heck of a lot straighter. I don’t have to constantly correct it anymore to stay in my lane. I even noticed that after only 1500 miles you could see some signs of wear on the center lug of the tires already. I think FCA put too high of a number on the tire pressure to try to get more mpg out of it. I only made the adjustment a few days ago, so I’m not sure how much of an impact, if even noticeable, it will make on my mpg.

 

[SgtMajTomahawk]

I read a lot about this as I’ve not been very happy with the tracking of my brand new, stock overland on the hwy. While, my steering should still be tighter, my JKU had tighter steering. Changing my tire pressure from 38psi to 35psi made it track a heck of a lot straighter. I don’t have to constantly correct it anymore to stay in my lane. I even noticed that after only 1500 miles you could see some signs of wear on the center lug of the tires already. I think FCA put too high of a number on the tire pressure to try to get more mpg out of it. I only made the adjustment a few days ago, so I’m not sure how much of an impact, if even noticeable, it will make on my mpg.

The first thing I did was adjust the air pressure. I still have entirely too much play in the wheel. Its not a matter of it simply having low resistance I can literally move the wheel 2in either way and get no movement put of the wheels on the ground.

 

[JOKER8R]

All I can say is I installed the synergy adjustable track bar & sector shaft/track bar bracket and it made a world of difference, well worth the $425 and my time to install. Should we have to do this to get our gladiators to handle better? maybe, maybe not. There is definitely some reduced/lag of motion in wheel input from center and if this is truly built into the steering for off-road purposes then so be it (after all this is an off-road vehicle) but I feel it’s very excessive for daily driving. Based on what the synergy track bar and bracket resolved in my steering my concern lies more with the flexing issues that were occurring and that should also be addressed. There always have been and always will be aftermarket companies that make products to resolve manufacturer oversight and I strongly recommend the synergy option in this case, I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with the outcome

 

[Hoss63]

All I can say is I installed the synergy adjustable track bar & sector shaft/track bar bracket and it made a world of difference, well worth the $425 and my time to install. Should we have to do this to get our gladiators to handle better? maybe, maybe not. There is definitely some reduced/lag of motion in wheel input from center and if this is truly built into the steering for off-road purposes then so be it (after all this is an off-road vehicle) but I feel it’s very excessive for daily driving. Based on what the synergy track bar and bracket resolved in my steering my concern lies more with the flexing issues that were occurring and that should also be addressed. There always have been and always will be aftermarket companies that make products to resolve manufacturer oversight and I strongly recommend the synergy option in this case, I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with the outcome

I did all that and just added the Steersmarts draglink and that really helped. Waiting for C.C. Bill to cool down and will install the Steersmarts tie rod assembly.

 

[NC_Overland]

The first thing I did was adjust the air pressure. I still have entirely too much play in the wheel. Its not a matter of it simply having low resistance I can literally move the wheel 2in either way and get no movement put of the wheels on the ground.

I realize that some have a much worse problem than mine

 

[Gottype]

Have had mine to the dealer 4 times, they did alignment , replaced stabilizer, they tried a set of different tires, and still floats all over the road.
Don't think I should have to buy extra parts to get a all stock new JT rubicon to drive down the highway, but it sure is looking that way. The sad part is I like the JT ! or I would just sell it. Keep thinking they are going to come up with a fix.

 

[erichsglad]

Have had mine to the dealer 4 times, they did alignment , replaced stabilizer, they tried a set of different tires, and still floats all over the road.
Don't think I should have to buy extra parts to get a all stock new JT rubicon to drive down the highway, but it sure is looking that way. The sad part is I like the JT ! or I would just sell it. Keep thinking they are going to come up with a fix.

Mine has been in more than four times (sorry you have the same problem). I was just told by Jeep Cares that mine drives as designed and that the older models will not drive the same. So I guess they are saying that they have designed the sloppy steering into this new platform as an innovation in jeep performance. So I guess we can all look forward to having to step out and lock our hubs for four wheel drive in the new models. They brought back the Gladiator name, I guess they are bringing back the CJ technology as well.

 

[Scrubb84]

Mine has been in more than four times (sorry you have the same problem). I was just told by Jeep Cares that mine drives as designed and that the older models will not drive the same. So I guess they are saying that they have designed the sloppy steering into this new platform as an innovation in jeep performance. So I guess we can all look forward to having to step out and lock our hubs for four wheel drive in the new models. They brought back the Gladiator name, I guess they are bringing back the CJ technology as well.

They lied to you. Have you drivin one without the sloppy steering box? Its night and day difference. Are they telling you that all the ones out there that drive normal are in fact bad? Lmao!!!

 

[Retro Bait]

Before I bought my sport s I test drove a Rubicon and it had some drift to it. At the time I chalked it up to new aggressive tread tires causing it to wander. When I test drove the Sport it handled like a Maserati. I installed 35's last weekend expecting it to wander a bit but it did not. Still drives great. It does not appreciate crosswinds however.

 

[erichsglad]

They lied to you. Have you drivin one without the sloppy steering box? Its night and day difference. Are they telling you that all the ones out there that drive normal are in fact bad? Lmao!!!

Yes I did drive one that had steering like my other Jeeps. Drove the way it should. Pointed this out to the service manager. His response was "I wouldn't know, I have never driven one".

 

[Scrubb84]

Yes I did drive one that had steering like my other Jeeps. Drove the way it should. Pointed this out to the service manager. His response was "I wouldn't know, I have never driven one".

You should ask this d-bag when the recall is coming out for all the Gladiators that accidentally got normal steering boxes. I guess they should all have this amount of dangerous dead-zone in the steering.

 

[erichsglad]

You should ask this d-bag when the recall is coming out for all the Gladiators that accidentally got normal steering boxes. I guess they should all have this amount of dangerous dead-zone in the steering.

True. There should be a recall on all the Gladiators that do not have the dead zone/freeplay in the steering. Obviously they did not intent that kind of precise steering so they should study mine and figure out how to get the slop back. I would be happy to leave mine with them to and they can give one of those awful precise steering versions to drive in the mean time.

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