This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Steering: Vehicle wanders and steering is loose in efforts to correct direction. Angle of road surface such as crown sometimes results in unexpected direction change toward another lane and the slop in the steering itself makes it challenging to correct without over-correction. In traffic this results in intense effort to maintain position which results in increased physical and mental fatigue over relatively long drives. The steering seems inconsistent as it varies from minimally problematic to a white-knuckle driving experience. Have not been able to determine if this is due to road condition versus steering component. Dealer has performed the V41 steering damper recall which improved only excessive wheel shudder when driving over road imperfections and did nothing to improve the wandering/looseness. They also did adjust alignment which they said was off slightly. No notable improvement from that. I have advised dealer that the repair effort was not effective and I will now have to take the vehicle back in, but they tend to just provide the 'it's a Jeep - that's the way they are' line. The steering in the Jeep is not typical and I see similar complaints in forums where a single thread has half a million views. Something is not right here.
1. while driving, the steering has about 2 inches of free play while turning the wheel from one side to the other. In other words there is a dead spot for about two inches of steering wheel movement. In that dead spot, moving the steering wheel does not change the vehicle direction. 2. while driving the vehicle will wander into other lanes while holding the steering wheel steadily in one position. 3. going over bumps causes the vehicle to unexpectedly change directions. 4. minor uneven road surfaces will cause the steering to wobble violently requiring the driver to slow down. This is especially true while driving at freeway speed -- where slowing down is quite dangerous. 5. while driving straight, the steering wheel is always turned slightly left. Note, this is not a one-time incident. This is a constant and constantly stressful issue with the vehicle. I can reproduce all of the above at any time.
Steering is extremely loose causing excessive steering corrections and lack of confidence in safety. Recall for steering damper was performed but there was no improvement in the loose steering
The steering has significant slack/play which causes the Jeep to wander requiring constant corrections. This is especially concerning at highway speeds around turns but is still evident at low speeds.
The steering wheel has 1.5-2.5 inches of play, this makes it very hard to drive the vehicle in a straight line. It is really bad when driving on interstates in windy conditions. You can see the imput shaft to the steering gearbox turn, with no output
- Murray, KY, USA
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Last night while driving home my Jeep Wrangler went into full deathwobble. I was coming from the I10 West to the I 19 South ramp at 50 mph and hit the bridge expansion joint and it went. It is a curved ramp over pass and the Jeep almost went completely sideways on the ramp. The Jeep is totally stock and has 2080 miles on it. I have had it back to the dealer at 1100 miles for this same complaint. Their response is to replace a steering damper, which is not in stock and was 8 to 10 weeks out. Every Jeep frontend tech will tell that a steering damper is a band aid. There should be a national recall on these $55,000 Jeep.
From purchase as new vehicle, steering wanders and is not tight. I have had the V41 recall with replacement steering stabilizer. While driving you must actively steer to maintain a center line in the lane. There is some play left to right in the wheel. While at speed on the highway you cannot ignore or relax the control. If you steer right you must steer left to center, the wheel does not return to center unassisted.
Jeep has very loose steering. Have to constantly overcorrect to stay in the lane. Dead spot in the center and have to turn it too much to steer. Won't return to center after turn. Lots of play when driving, play gets worse at speed. I can move the wheel back and forth at speed with little effect on steering. When I brake the vehicle dives to the left or right depending on the road because the steering wheel does not feel connected to the wheels. Jeep dealers say that it's supposed to be like that but it is very different from any other 2019 Jeep Wrangler that I have test driven. One dealer said that during the road test, it drove as intended yet they didn't put any miles on the Jeep. This has been doing this since I bought the Jeep in July 2019. I have video but it is too big to upload to the site
While driving on the interstate at approximately 72 mph, I drove over a bridge and subsequently bumps in the road. The steering wheel started shaking violently from side to side causing an increase in vibration through out my Jeep and swerving on the road. Next time I was with my husband and it did it again at about 74 mph and he too agreed that something is wrong. He now fears for my safety in this vehicle as I drive a lot of miles.
Test drove a Jeep Wrangler, drove great. Got my new Wrangler, not so great, as a matter of fact it's dangerous! excessive play in the steering wheel makes it near impossible to keep the vehicle in a lane.. I can't imagine how much more dangerous this vehicle will be once it is driven in the snow. This vehicle has been at the shop 3 * with another appointment coming up. So far two steering dampners 2 wheel alignments, no change... something needs to be done asap
I was driving on the highway with the speed about 63 mile/hr, and suddenly my front tirer, and my steering wheel was violently shaking. I had to slow it down, and pulled over. I thought I got flat tire or something. I googled, and find out a lot people have this problem also. It's called "dead wobble".
While driving on a highway at approximately 62 miles per hour, after a transition on a rough patch of highway road (uneven blacktop) the vehicle began to violently shake. The shaking felt horizontal as well as vertical. It stopped and then started again over the course of one to two miles. It was very violent and disruptive to the driver and passenger causing them to feel unsafe and unwell. The driver had to hang on tight to the steering wheel to maintain control of the Jeep. We have no idea if/when this situation will reoccur and what damage has been done by this to a relatively new vehicle of less than 7000 miles. This was in dry weather on dry roads. We were driving straight, in a right lane and not turning at the time.
As I was traveling down interstate 20 in columbia, South Carolina traveling at approximately 60 mph, I crossed over the bush river road bridge and hit a few small bumps in the road which immediately threw my Jeep into very strong vibrations. The vibrations were so strong that I felt the vibrations from the steering wheel up my arms and into my neck. I truly thought I had a flat tire on my Jeep. After approximately 15 - 20 seconds of these intense vibrations, the vibrations stopped on their own. I crossed over three lanes of traffic to pull over to inspect my Jeep noticing nothing abnormal. All tires have normal, recommend manufactured psi. I have all stock items on my Jeep with no alterations to the suspension system, tires, etc. The vehicle has less than 13,500 miles on it and was newly purchased earlier this year at more than $55,000.
Vehicle constantly pulls to the right on street and highway. Dealer cannot fix with alignment. Changed gearbox. Swapped brakes. Nothing has solved problem.
Jeep is still loosing control when you go over any uneven pavement on highway going over 60mph after I did the recall almost killed my self, brakes brake extremly hard and dont stop without jerking you forward
2019 jl rubicon 4 door. Has excessive play in the steering wheel going down the road. Jeep drifts from side to side in the lane. Doesn't feel right, like the steering box is shot. Doesn't feel safe driving. Get it figured out asap!
The vehicle has excessive steering wander when driving above 20 mph and gets worse at highway speeds making the vehicle very unsafe. The vehicle will not stay tracking in 1 lane without constant correction of the steering wheel. (purchased Jeep brand new & have been back to the dealer 2X and it still is not fixed)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Richmond, VA, USA