Developed speed wobbles (or death wobbles) when driving on 95 north , going just 60 MPH .this happened twice in about 1/2 period . Hadn't happened before , but was very dangerous . Seems to be a more common problem than I thought (searching teh internet)
2018 Jeep Wrangler steering complaints
Page 11 of 38: complaints 281 to 310 of 1,117, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I started the vehicle and pulled out of my drive, turning right. No problem until a left turn, and I couldn't turn the steering wheel to the left. I was only going about 35 MPH with no traffic on the road other than myself, so I had time to move the wheel to the right and then back to the left and I hit some resistance and then it started working normally. About one mile down the road it occurred again. 0830 hrs, dry roads, sunny, 34 degrees fahrenheit. Dealer could not duplicate, it hasn't happed again.
Started up my vehicle and began to roll forward down the driveway. Realized I could not turn left. The steering wheel was totally locked up to the left side. I braked and started trying to turn the wheel. Then it locked up a second time as I turned right. The wheel became stuck to the right. It took a lot of force to eventually break the wheel free.
There is a violent shaking of the steering wheel which occurs at highway speeds when initiated by a bump or pothole. It is known as the death wobble and has triggered at least one recall. That recall repair was done to my vehicle but it has not resolved the problem. The jeep is back at the dealership now and they are trying to figure it out again.
I have a lemon jeep that has caused me many accidents due to the steering issue and engine overheating and leaking oil which I almost started a wildfire in northern california mountains highway 299. Unacceptable, fca doesnt care ....
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel was loose with a half inch of additional play. The contact stated that while driving in the rain, the vehicle hydroplaned due to the play in steering wheel. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken twice to premier chrysler dodge jeep ram of buena park (7301 artesia blvd, buena park, ca 90621, (714) 646-7110) where the contact was informed that the vehicle was working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the failure was like the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v343000 (steering). The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 10.
Standard 2018 jeep wrangler, no modications, factory tires, recently serviced with oil change. Day, dry conditions, no road hazards. While driving on the interstate at approx 70 MPH, the asphalt area around an overpass is a little high, and when our front tires made contact with the uneven surface, the car immediately began to violently shake and wobble for over 45 seconds to a minute, and the steering wheel wobbled excessively while I was trying to troubleshoot the malfunction, and maintain control of the jeep. I proceeded to slow for to approx 40 MPH using my brakes lightly, and maintaining a grip on the steering wheel which I could barely hold onto and the oscillations, went away. I resumed acceleration back to 65-70 MPH, and again encountered some more uneven pavement. The entire episode re-occured and was so violent that I needed to pull over to the side of the road and shutdown the car and visually inspect for damage. The shaking was so violent, I thought something might have broken, or the tires were about to fall off. This car has approx 16,000 miles, and never had any damage. This is the 6th time this has happened.in the past two years and it only happens on tarmac type surfaces, while going 60-75 MPH.
While in cruise control mode on a highway doing speed of 70 MPH when coming to a slight bump in the road on a curve causes the vehicle to go into severe shaking mode, even after canceling the cruise control by either braking or canceling manually it continues. The only way it stops is if I pull off the highway and stop the car completely.
Steering wheel loose and has a lot of play. Also when driving on the highway over 50 MPH and hit a pot hole or a small bump, vehicle rear wobbles and almost have to come to a complete stop.
My 2018 wrangler violently shakes when hitting any small bump on the highway traveling at 50+ miles per hour. This has occurred several times and every time it forces me to unsafely slow down to well below the speed limit or pull off of the road until it stops.
While driving approximately 40 MPH through a double curve on a city street the steering locked up on my 2018 jeep wranlger. A steering error, check engine light, traction control and ABS light all came on. The vehicle had to be towed back to the dealer. This is now the 3rd time the vehicle has been taken to the dealer (twice via tow). Each time, the scanner has given the same codes yet fca has returned the vehicle to me stated its fixed. The steering locking up could have resulted in an accident harming myself or another vehicle.
The sterring on this vehicle is uncontrollable. I research this issues and found many other owner of this vehicle have the same issues. I believe this vehicle has a recall on the steering box and is currently being replace. How ever I have not recived any notices that this is true. Im consern that this issues will eventually cause and accident which im trying to avoid. Ive had this issues from the first day I roll it out of the dealership and that was 3 years ago. Thank you
While driving the jeep down country roads or city highways the steering is all over the place. I'm constantly correcting the steering to try to keep it straight down the road, it is a workout just driving anywhere. It is very unsafe to drive especially on narrow country roads with oncoming traffic with the fear of crashing into them! If jeep cannot fix this ongoing known problem very soon then I will for sure be trading this death trap of a vehicle in for something more safe, reliable, and built better!
This vehicle has excessive wander when driving at highway speed 35+ MPH. The entire time the vehicle is in motion requires constant steering correction by the driver, and it is worse on narrow roads with oncoming traffic because it feels like the vehicle could wander into the oncoming lane. This has been at the dealer for a warranty repair and a tsb was supposedly completed, but the problem persists. I have been without the vehicle for well over 15 days at this point over 3 different visits for the same issue. There was a lot of play or a "dead spot" in the steering before they were able to tighten that up and it no longer has this, but the constant drifting from side to side in the traffic lane feels very unsafe and is quite fatiguing when driving more than 20-30 minutes, as the driver has to hold on tightly to the steering wheel and make corrections constantly. It almost feels like the vehicle is driving on ice, and it's a real challenge to maintain a straight track. This vehicle has had no modifications other than wheels and tires, and the problem existed with the oem wheels and tires. No suspension or lift kit, or any other type of modifications have been done on this vehicle and it has approximately 20k miles on it. Please help us!
The current wranglers have a significant problem with steering. Because jeep used aluminum steering box and gears, as opposed to steel, there is an unacceptable amount of "play" in the steering, specifically on center. While driving at 45mph or above, I can turn the wheel almost a full inch in either direction and the car does not respond at all. There other day I was on a highway with uneven pavement and had to slow down significantly because I could not control the car. Jeep has now issued a tsb replacing the aluminum box with a steel box. The vast majority of people having this tsb performed state it fixes the steering. I took my jeep into my dealership 3 weeks ago, while having jeepcares, the national customer service for fca, involved from the start. First the dealership told me they couldn't do anything because I had an "aftermarket" lift. When I told then the lift was not aftermarket and is mopar, they demanded a receipt to prove it. I bought the lift over 1.5 years ago so no longer had a receipt. The issue was escalated up the corporate ladder multiple times until they finally agreed to replace the steering box under warranty. There had been instances of jeep owners coming in for this tsb but dealerships were not replacing the steering box with the steel version per the tsb, just putting in another aluminum box. That's exactly what happened to me. The main point of this is this steering absolutely needs to be a recall. The dealerships are putting forth every effort not to do the work. And the problem is so bad that fca is only letting dealerships order 1 steering box per week, due to the overwhelming number of jeeps with dangerous steering and demand for the part. There is much more information and I can upload document in my possession. Any questions, feel free to call, [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Since purchase the steering wanders excessively, this leads to driver fatigue on longer trips because I am constantly having to make adjustments to keep the vehicle centered. Even with those adjustments when on a longer turn on the interstate the vehicle is just not responsive to input to maintain a smooth radius turn. I don't have any sort of shimmy or shake and I've had it to my dealer for inspection, even paid for an alignment out of pocket because I was concerned. I know have 42k miles on it and just out of manufacturer warranty and fca has issued a tsb for replacing the steering gear for this exact reason however, because this isn't considered a powertrain component or a safety issue I am out of luck. This issue is deserving of more attention due to the near uncooperative and uncharacteristic steering behavior.
Every time I drive on the highway over 45 MPH I have to play with the steering wheel back and forth around 1 inch because if I don't do that my wrangler pulls to left or right moving out the lane, I have informed that at dealership when I take my wrangler for service and they replaced the steering damper back in september 2019, but the issue still not fixed. Last week I went to a road trip of 6 hours distance and it's very frustrating and exhausting to be driving thinking that I must play with the steering wheel to avoid having an accident.
Hello - I currently have a 2018 jeep wrangler jl. I have brought this vehicle to the dealership several times attempting to solve issues with steering and there has been no solution. There are multiple complaints online that mention the loose steering in the 2018 models. While driving at speeds past 50mph there is a significant amount of road wander, steering wheel play and lack of control with the vehicle. The dealership has rejected this stating that this is simple "a jeep thing." I am not sure where else to turn and am actively hoping to find a solution for this. Thank you.
Excessive play in steering wheel. There is a dead zone from 1-2" left and right. Very hard to steer on highways and the jeep wanders from left to right. Did not drive like this before and I've had it for two years. Affects it at all speeds but is especially dangerous on the highway.
I was driving the service drive of a major freeway in detroit going about 30 MPH. I was driving straight..no turns. All of a sudden the steering wheel began to shake violently. I thought the front drivers side tire was falling off. I pulled to the side of the road and stopped the car. I drove home with no further issues.
There is some type of issue with the steering which causes the driver to keep adjusting the steering wheel constantly. This issue occurs at low and high speeds both on highways and city streets. It can feel like the jeep wrangler is difficult to control and requires a very attentive driver.
Every single day I drive my jeep I constantly have to correct my steering because it's constantly wandering in the lane, I'm afraid an officer is going to pull me over because they may believe I'm driving drunk. My steering wheel has about 3' of play in it before the wheels are responsive, it's just downright dangerous to drive.
I was on the 15 freeway, changing to the lane on my right, so I can then exit the freeway. All of a sudden the jeep started shaking hard. I got so scared and put my hazard lights on while making the lane change. Still shaking as I made my exit. It stopped as I came to a stop at the light signal. I went straight to the ontario ca jeep dealer. 6/3/2020 they said it was the steering damper that had already been replaced, needs to be replaced again and that jeep is covering the cost but the part is on backorder and there isn't an eta. They reserved a rental car for me through enterprise but I have to put down the $50.00 deposit and pay the daily sales tax. I'm scared to drive my jeep especially since this part has already been replaced.
The wrangler has had loose steering and hard to keep straight on the highway since leased. Had back to dealer several times. It had both the steering dampener and sway bar replaced only for them to turn around and tell me that they could not duplicate the issue. It is getting worse the more miles that are put on it. I am really disappointed in jeep/chrysler!
Loose steering in the neutral steering stage. Dead zone 1 inch to the left and to the right. Steering wheel straight. Jeep will veer to the right. This happens at speeds of 50 MPH or higher.
Rust on the frame (mainly the welds) and hubs. The doors leak on drivers and passengers floor when opened during rain. Steering has play when going through turns while maintaining highway speeds.
Almost 1.5-2" of play in the steering wheel without the wheels moving.
Recently purchased a certified pre owned wrangler 2018jlur under 25k miles and less than 2k miles from purchase. Checked out steering and was loose noticed wonder at from 20mph to over 65mph. Over 65mph steering is very loose and unsafe, was in a construction corridor on highway and due to how loose steering and wandering was it could easily lead to a crash and fatality. There is a dead zone of a 30 degree turn of the wheel. Dealer was very helpful and confirmed pitman arm and drag link needed to be replaced, as it was stated the pitman arm had seized in the connection with the drag link.
The vehicle has about two inches of loose play in the steering wheel, left and right of center. This is true whether the vehicle is stationary, in motion or even if the vehicle is on a lift with the wheels off the ground. The vehicle has been to three dealers and two private repair facilities as well as a case with jeep wave. The first dealer threatened to void my factory warranty. The second put a restriction on the factory warranty and jeep wave dropped the case. The dealer I purchased the vehicle from got approval to replace the steering gear despite the restriction. The problem is still not fixed and they said they cannot find anything else wrong with it. The other dealers and the jeep corporation have refused to fix the problem. The vehicle is over 18 months old and only has 1500 miles on it.
Steering feels 'loose' and 'wanders' from side to side at speeds above 50mph. I feel I have to fight the steering wheel just to keep it going straight. It occurs on highways, smooth roads, bumpy roads, all road conditions.
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