While driving my jeep on the highway home from work, I experienced what I now know to be called the "death wobble" among jeep owners. While driving at approximately 60 MPH, I experienced a violent shaking in the steering wheel and the tires visibly wobbling while driving on the highway. I had to pull over to the shoulder and while braking, almost lost control of the vehicle. While trying to diagnose the problem on the shoulder in the middle of rush hour traffic in houston, I couldn't determine the problem. Through online research, the problem seems to be with the wearing of the steering and suspension systems. I reviewed the tsb from chrysler and no modifications have been made to the vehicle. The vehicle had new tires put on in november and also just had both an oil change and a tire rotation two days ago. This should be a concern that chrysler needs to acknowledge as a flaw in the design rather than simply issuing a psa.
2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 24 of 24, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Blend air door failure. Repaired by jeep dealership. Repair failed again in 6 months. Steering column noise. Failure of repair (tsb) in 2 months.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. While driving in reverse at 5 MPH, the vehicle failed to turn. The contact stated that the top connector to the power steering hose had failed and caused the fluid to leak. The power steering hose was replaced. The current and failure mileages were 73,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. While driving 10 MPH, the vehicle's power steering failed without warning. The contact, who is a mechanic, inspected his vehicle. He stated that the top connector of the power steering hose had failed and all the fluid leaked out. The current mileage is 62,000 and failure mileage was 61,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. The contact heard a high pitched noise near the front of the vehicle and discovered a large oil spill from beneath the hood. The contact attempted to drive the vehicle at 10 MPH, but found it difficult to steer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and it was discovered that the steering box was cracked due to wear and tear. The failure was remedied. The current mileage is 42,550 and failure mileage was 42,500.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. While driving 60 MPH the steering column was loose and the contact lost control of the vehicle when driving over a bump in the road. The failure mileage was 42900. The dealer on one of three occasions replaced the tracking bar and front steering damper. Also, the dealer stated that the steering column could be replaced at cost to the owner. The current mileage was 44200.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the power steering consistently malfunctioned while trying to turn in any direction. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, who determined that the steering box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to another dealer and two other independent mechanics who determined the steering pump needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and provided no assistance due to the vehicle being out of warranty. No repairs or replacements were made. Updated 12/5/2006 -
Dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle received a general maintenance inspection at a dealership, the dealer determined the steering column was loose and needed to be tightened. The manufacturer was alerted.
Dt: consumer states: vehicle cuts off while going down the highway, no warning, doing almost 70 MPH. Nothing worked, and there were no brakes. The only thing working was the 4-way flashers. Tried to turn steering wheel and lost power steering. Another time went to turn in the position the wheels were and in that was the way the vehicle went. The repair shop mechanic said it needed a crank sensor. Previously, before they put in a fuse and it blew out.
The steering gear box had to be replaced three times. There was a banging noise, which could be felt through the floor board. The manufacturer will not cooperate.
Main problem is the steering. Ever since I've had the vehicle there have been four alignments conducted and each time the toe was out of specs. The first alignment was done at 1200 miles and recently just had another at 26000. Vehicle continues to pull right even though there have been four alignments. It is not a 4x4 and I do not drive off road with it. Dealership said they took apart all components of the steering and found no problems. No parts were replaced, only continuous alignments have been done. The battery all of a sudden went bad and had to be replaced. Have had electrical problems with the stereo. Problems with rpms almost going down to zero after filling the fuel tank, and problems with a delay of accelerating. Recently went to start vehicle and heard a pop and smelled smoke, I think it was the starter and I'm going to have that checked soon at the dealership.
While driving vehicle I experienced a sudden loss of power steering. This lasted for approximately 10 seconds before the power steering worked again. Vehicle was towed to a mechanic, who referred vehicle to a dealership that replaced a lot of steering gear boxes.
While traveling on the highway and without prior warning consumer lost control of vehicle , went off the road, and hit a tree.
2003 jeep grand cherokee lorado makes high pitch noise when turning left. Dealer says there is not a fix , live with it..
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