Tl* the contact owns a 1996 jeep grand cherokee. The contact stated that when driving the vehicle it "shimmies" all over the highway. He stated that the steering box is defective because one of the attachment lugs on the box is broken. The lower control arms have been re torque-d by the owner approximately one week ago and so far the failure had not returned. The dealer was unable to detect the failure. The failure mileage is approximately 50,000. The current mileage is approximately 115,000.
1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee: ball joint or control arm failure
7 of the 892 complaints about the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 1 service bulletin for this area of the car. See below
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
What owners say
Vehicle swerved and rolled over due to a ball joint coming out of socket. Dealer has not seen vehicle.
Spindle and ball joints on the driver side are very loose and about to break which may cause loss of vehicle control and crash. Please provide further information.
My son was involved in a roll over accident while swerving to avoid a deer. The jeep did a slow roll onto its roof. The speed involved was not very high because the jeep did not slide for any distance on the roof. All repairs had been completed when we notice a thumping noise in the left front of the jeep while driving over bumps. It took a number of months to determine that the noise was coming from the left front sway bar link. The link has a ball joint protected by a rubber boot. The boot hid the fact that the ball was loose from the socket and the noise was the ball slamming in and out of the socket. I personally replaced the link not making the connection to the roll over accident untill some time later. During a discussion with my insurance company it dawned on me that the link may have contributed to the roll over. The jeep rolled to the right. If the ball joint on the left front sway bar separated during my son's attempt to avoid the deer then a significantly larger body roll angle would have been allowed without the countering effects of the swaybar. I feel this problem has a significant effect on the vehicles capability to limit body roll during an attempt to swerve and avoid a road hazard of any kind. Jeep has completely redisigned the swaybar link on newer grand cherokees. The ball joint swaybar link on the 1996 model has not been replaced by another part and is still out there on all 1996 grand cherokees. I feel that this is a significant safety hazard and am thank full that my son was not traveling at a higher speed when the roll over occurred.
On august 28, 1999, while driving, the steering wheel and front tires began shaking violently, the vehicle went out of control and jumpbed the curb on the highway, there was no damage done to the vehicle, however the driver who is pregnant experienced cramping in the stomach and was ordered by her doctor to spend the weekend in bed. The dealer stated that the steering gear was worn, the center link needed repair, and that both tie rods needed replaced. On october 9, 1999, the vehicle hit a sink hole causing it to shake violently and for the front end to wobble, the vehicle hit a guardrail and damage was done to the vechile. The cruise control didn't work properly. The airbag light was illuminated.
Steering gear, link and both tie rods failed causing loss of control of the vehicle. Mjs
When applying the brakes the bracket that supports the front right lower control arm to the front axle broke in the middle, causing loss of vehicle control. Please give further details.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Suspension: front
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: multi-purpose vehicles equipped with "quadra-trac" transfer case, temporary spare tire, and any of 225/70r16, 225/75r16 or 245/70r15 road tires. When the temporary spare tire is in use, the front axle can overheat.
- Risk
- An overheated axle can force axle fluid out of the seals, increasing the risk of a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the temporary spare tire with a full sized tire and wheel.
Recall number 98V006000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
7 of 892 owner complaints about the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee (1%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 1999.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
There is 1 recall and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Fuel pump 61Stalling 59Won't start 19Power steering loss 16No deployment 13Slipping 13Door locks 11Fire or smoke 11Transmission failure 11Grinding brakes 10Pulling 10Check engine light 9Engine failure 8Headlights 8Loss of power 8Brake failure 7Knocking 7Jerking 7Overheating 7Steering lock-up 6Sudden acceleration 6Tire blowout 6ABS 5Adaptive cruise 5Rollaway 5Won't shift 5Wipers 5
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