Drivers side front wheel lost control while turning left. Car had to be towed. Diagnosing failure today. Believe either tie rod or steering box. If your steering wheel has any play would highly recommend not driving until having it looked at by mechanic. Lives could easily be lost at highway speeds.
1996 Chrysler LHS: ball joint or control arm failure
23 of the 135 complaints about the 1996 Chrysler LHS describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 23
- of this car's complaints
- 17%
- typical mileage
- 111,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 4 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
What owners say
Front end shaking and popping replaced tirerods a lowercontrol arms.
I bought a 96 lhs in sept 2006 and knew I needed to do some front end work. What I didn't know was everything associated with the front end would need to be replaced. Tie rods, ball joint, hub bearings, control arm bushings, boots (axles) transmission mounts. I can't begin to remember all the parts I have replaced. Now today after another trip to the repair shop I am informed the rack and pinion is shot. After all the work that has been done still rides like a tractor. There are websites full of the same stories about dodge/chrysler and nobody can make these people clean this mess up? And we keep giving them billions of our tax dollars. My next letter will be to my senator and representatives trying to stop anymore tax dollars going chrysler's way.
1996 chrysler lhs, loose steering. Discovered steering at risk of total failure, tie rod/rack & pinion bushing completely disintegrated. If not discovered in time, could have caused complete failure of steering due to bolt shearing, perhaps causing fatal or at the very least, extremely injurious accident..
Still in need of repair, needs rack & pinion bushings, right outer tie rod end, already had inner tie rod replaced.
1. Backing up from a parking place 2. Lower control arm bracket ripped away from the engine cradle and cause the cv joint to come apart and break. 3. Replaced engine cradle, cv joint,front end alignment. I have pictures and old engine cradle.
I'd parked my 1996 chrysler lhs in a parking lot for a couple of hours on 7/10/2005. The vehicle has 95k miles on it. As I returned, and backed the vehicle up to exit the space, I heard a loud "pop". Suddenly the car no longer responded to steering. Upon examination, I found the inner tie rod bolts had sheared off where they connected to the steering gear. Both bolts had sheared off at the same length, and the retaining plate was still in place, preventing the bolts from loosening/rotating. If this had occured while I was driving down the freeway, I'd be dead. I haven't had it repaired yet, but I've kept the old tie rod bolts. I don't know how easy I can get out the sheared ends from the steering gear, but I would suspect it won't be in good shape when I finish.
I am having problems with the transmission down shifting on it's own at low speeds. Also the vehicle keeps veering to the right and left. Have replaced the control arms two times due to break of bushings. The bolts attaching the steering rack do not keep it secured to the chassis and moves as the steering wheel is operated. There was a recall issued for the suspension control arm bracket in 1999. I have not been notified of this recall and need to know how to receive notification to have the part replaced. The vehicle's manufacture date on the driver's door indicates the manufacture date august/1995.
The tie rod ends wore out prematurely. Consumer stated he was going on the fourth set of tie rods at 125,000 miles.
Inner tie rod ends only last realistically about 10,000 miles,become completely unserviceable in 20,000. I am sure chrysler is aware of this poor design/material problem. Additionally, the steering box also has problems with the mounting bushings. Be advised that I have replaced the inner tie rods twice, then the bushings when they became available in after market form. Chrysler, after my many complaints, replaced the tie rod ends(once again) and the steering box due to movement of the box due to bushing wear. Once again, the tie rod bushings need to be replaced. This car now has almost 80,000 miles. Isn't this ridiculous. Having at one time been a front end mechanic I know how dangerous this problem is. The car is a 1996 chrysler lhs. I expect some relief from this.
While driving at a low speed in a parking garage the steering failed and the vehicle could not be turned in either direction. The dealer determined that two half-inch bolts for the inner tie rod broke in the steering rack. The dealer replaced the steering rack and inner tie rod bushing. The consumer has the parts in his possession. *ak
Front end components wore out and needed replacement. This included tie rods/ ball joints/axle, etc,. The cause of these failures had not b een determined, but this was a common problem with these vehicle.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1996 Chrysler LHS ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1996 Chrysler LHS?
23 of 135 owner complaints about the 1996 Chrysler LHS (17%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 1996.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 Chrysler LHS?
There are 0 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1996 Chrysler LHS
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