Took my Jeep to dealer today for loose steering

[RickyR]

I regularly have people ask me " how I like my new jeep" , they are expecting me to go nuts telling them how much I like it. On the contrary, I am not so sure yet. I tell them, time will tell..

Will FCA reimburse for an alignment at an independent shop? As much as I hate, the local 4WD Hardware has a really nice machine that I want to use, With all of the money I have spent on the jeep, what's another $100-$150 to hopefully make it right, but what if it's not, then FCA says " you shouldn't have taken it anywhere" and blah, blah.... Then what?

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[MonkeySkunks]

Perhaps you are correct, however I am not going to travel more than an hour to get to the next dealership. There are 6 dealerships within 45mins travel time I have been to 5, all 5 have the same excuse "IT'S A JEEP", I am sure in Iowa things are very different than here in south Florida.

I have no idea what the actual problem is but it does sound like alignment may be the issue. I had the opposite problem, steering felt way too fast/unstable, on a van after a small fender bender.

Body shop had it aligned. Asked the dealer to to check it later because it still felt off. Everything was "normal." Ended up taking it to the shop I used to use before everything was still under warranty and asked them to have a go at it.

They messed with it and the tech told me toe and caster were a little out of whack. I asked to see the before and after print out and he said they don't do those because he can make it say whatever he wants. I don't know if he was BSing me or if they even had the capability to do a laser alignment or whatever it is these, hell he might have put it out of spec or not even messed with the alignment but it drove and steered perfect when he gave it back to me. Tire wear is also normal. Just another reason I take everything to them when I need a shop and recommend them to everyone I know.

It's probably worth the $75 or whatever it is to get a shop you trust to look at it rather than screwing with the dealer just in case it is a simple issue.

 

[MonkeySkunks]

I regularly have people ask me " how I like my new jeep" , they are expecting me to go nuts telling them how much I like it. On the contrary, I am not so sure yet. I tell them, time will tell..

Will FCA reimburse for an alignment at an independent shop? As much as I hate, the local 4WD Hardware has a really nice machine that I want to use, With all of the money I have spent on the jeep, what's another $100-$150 to hopefully make it right, but what if it's not, then FCA says " you shouldn't have taken it anywhere" and blah, blah.... Then what?

Don't know for sure but I'd guess an alignment shouldn't void your warranty.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This may have nothing to do with this - but here's a true situation that I have seen in other areas, not just alignment.
AMC Eagle - it's a SLA suspension 4x4 and is aligned like any other AMC.
I have the TSM (Technical Service Manual) for every car I own - I even try for the TSM SUPPLEMENT. The TSMs go through more than one printing - one when the car first comes out, then later with some updates, and then when enough changes, a supplement.
My 82 Eagle has xxx specs for alignment in the TSM - Mitchell, Chilton, Motor, they all echo these specs right as published in the original TSM. Ah, but AMC had some issues so changed the alignment specs - and the supplement shows the changes.
So I took my SX4 to be aligned and had made a copy of the NEW, corrected alignment specs -said USE THESE, they are correct, others are wrong.
I went back when they said it was done and they said it was fine - all in specs. Worse, I also showed them the page that showed how the tie rod clamps MUST be positioned to not catch on the cross member.
I picked up the car and pulled out of their lot, turning onto the highway and the steering LOCKED, I could not turn out of the path of an oncoming truck - luckily they could change lanes. They had put the clamps opposite of the sheet I gave them.
I asked about the alignment and they told me their computer said it was fine, nothing else they could do - what about the specs I gave them? They had to go by their computer.
So - if a company changes specs these stupid computers and the dopes that operate them can't think away from the computer......
Anyway, never trust the computer's info - it could be WRONG or out-dated! And too many of these people can't read - they nearly killed me with their stupidity after I furnished them CORRECT info.

 

[Hootbro]

Kaitlin thank you for your response, but I don't think I will be going back there, I had to file a complaint with the BBB in order to get the slightest attention from the dealership, once I did then I was the bad guy, (how dare you complain Mr. Nieves) why didn't you give us a 5 star rating..... ?
The focus has gone from providing 5 star service to demanding a 5 star rating. If workmanship merited 5 stars people would not be complaining. I have been a MOPAR customer for over 30 years. I think I am done with MOPAR perhaps one of the others would appreciate brand loyalty.

I am surprised the needle even moved when you made a BBB complaint. Only old people and people bitching after the fact of a problem dust off the BBB complaint motif.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I am surprised the needle even moved when you made a BBB complaint. Only old people and people bitching after the fact of a problem dust off the BBB complaint motif.

LOL - OK, I've always used BBB to get attention when phone, email, and other methods didn't work.
That almost always got a response. Quickly.
As for "....and people bitching after the fact of a problem....." - you mean you can bitch before there's a problem? ;-) I'll have to give that a try..........

The BBB is a TOOL that more people should use. If more folks held business accountable, there may be less stuff going on and fewer getting away with it because no one will complain via the means available.
Gets their attention, that's for sure. It's how after a year of back and forth I finally got our heat pump repaired correctly - they called me within a couple of days where I wasn't able to get anyone back out or even to call after they screwed things up badly.
Businesses love to wave that BBB A+ around in their ads......... it gets their attention.

 

[Hootbro]

LOL - OK, I've always used BBB to get attention when phone, email, and other methods didn't work.
That almost always got a response. Quickly.
As for "....and people bitching after the fact of a problem....." - you mean you can bitch before there's a problem? ;-) I'll have to give that a try..........

The BBB is a TOOL that more people should use. If more folks held business accountable, there may be less stuff going on and fewer getting away with it because no one will complain via the means available.
Gets their attention, that's for sure. It's how after a year of back and forth I finally got our heat pump repaired correctly - they called me within a couple of days where I wasn't able to get anyone back out or even to call after they screwed things up badly.
Businesses love to wave that BBB A+ around in their ads......... it gets their attention.

What I meant by bitching after the fact is that most people who finally invoke the BBB, never checked the rating and complaint history before making the purchase, only after when shit goes sideways.

I am sure the forum and populace at large is littered with special unicorn types that actually check the BBB beforehand to make an informed decision, but I stand by my statement the BBB is an archaic organization that only old people utilize in any given instance and results will vary depending on if said business is actually a BBB member.

People throw the BBB card like they are some quasi chartered govt. entity when the simple fact is they have no legal weight to throw around and are dependent on said business be actually standing members.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ah, no, the first thing I do is check for complaints - then for resolution. There's always going to be whiners and complainers - you know that from Amazon and Google "ratings", but it's the resolution I put the most weight on. If the issue was taken care of or addresses promptly, did the customer even bother contacting the company first to resolve things? I look at the whole story - not just are there complaints. Of course if there are many and some aren't really resolved or you don't like how things were resolved - then you move on.
One thing my wife always asks before I call anyone - did you check BBB for their history.........
LOL - no use looking to BBB for anything if the business isn't a member - there won't be anything there. Not anything useful.
You must be pretty young - as you'd be surprised just how many still do use BBB - at least around here they have a lot of weight and a whole lot of people use them and most businesses around here are members. At least any business that wants to get anywhere.
I know of quite a few who use them - and I don't consider a 40 or 45 year old to be "old". Maybe a gen-x or millennial does.
As far as other rating systems - none of the others follow up like BBB - do you see Fakebook or Google getting involved if there's a dispute? Do you see them messaging the parties and checking in? BBB does. Anyone can post anything to fakebook or google or Amazon or whatever - even non-customers. Take many of those complaints with a grain of salt and those posts that praise a business or product like they were the 2nd coming? Scratch those too.

I dig deep - even when looking at things like my new car hauler - I look at the manufacturer history, any complaints, what do others say about them, then look into the same with the dealers. I bought my new car hauler after digging very deep - getting downright anal about it and going far further than most might. I posted on a big automotive forum I operate/administer and found a fellow I happen to know has the exact same trailer I was looking at. Funny thing - he also traded the same trailer I had in on his new one so I had a basis for trade value allowed by a dealer in NY. We ended up getting the same trade allowance and the same trailer.

Gotta watch a lot of other rating places and systems as they are often loaded up by trolls or paid "reviewers". I found Home Advisers to be a big joke - I'll trust BBB way before I'll ever trust H-A again. After three big problems with Home Advisers - and the fact they spam you like crazy forever.......... won't even go near them again. What a crock.

 

[Lumberjack500]

I posted this on loose steering too, just upgraded to Fox stabilizer. Seems to have fixed the problem

 

[RickyR]

I posted this on loose steering too, just upgraded to Fox stabilizer. Seems to have fixed the problem

A steering stabilizer is not a fix.. That's a band aid. Properly aligned and designed steering shouldn't need a stabilizer.

 

[Gladiation]

I'm wondering why this conversation died? So I lowered air pressure and its better, but I don't believe that means its fixed, my tire pressure just like a steering dampener is a mere ban aid in the long run. hmmm

 

[jrf]

There are more than one thread discussing this: Loose Steering?

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