14 problems related to steering tie rod assembly have been reported for the 1996 Chrysler LHS. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
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, 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.
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.
Vehicle experienced steering wheel failure. (nar) while driving both tie rod bolts broke. This caused the vehicle to continue on a straight path although the consumer was turning the wheel. The consumer feels that since the manufacturer knew about the faulty component that they should reimburse her for the amount of the repair.
While attempting to back into driveway, consumer lost control of the steering, the front wheels were completely independent of the steering wheel, and the front wheels were independent of each other, vehicle was towed and consumer was informed that the steering gear and and tie rod end needed to be replaced.
While driving drivers side tie rod end rattling due to tie rod wearing out. Consumer feels that the rod may fall off, and there will be no steering.
My car was repaired at olson tire - store # 06-17 in port st lucie florida on may 11, 1999. My invoice says they replace a rack and pinion unit and a tie rod end at a cost of $1521. 86 including labor and applicable taxes. On Friday, oct 8, 1999, I was backing out of parking space when I heard a "clunk" I looked around saw that I did not hit anything and tried to pull forawrd. The car just rocked in place. I got out and saw that my d. Side tire was turned and the p. Side tire was straight. Bottom line was that the bolt that holds the rack in was sheered off (broke). According to what I have been told , these bolts just don't break. My warranty company will not pay for the repair beacuse a bolt is hardware??? and olson wanted to chrage me $300++++ to fix the problem. I am very concerned about this"bolt". Had I been driving when this occurred , there could have benn some very serious consequences. Where do I go from here??.
When driving at high speeds tires would wobble and vibrate due to the bushing on the inner tie rod going bad. Dealer said the rack and pinion also needs to be replaced.
Vehicle experienced two difference incidents: first, while traveling on freeway at 70 mph tie rod end broke, causing loss of steering (no collision or injuries). Second incident occurred while traveling on the freeway at 60 mph, rack and pinion came locked due to valve failure and caused steering wheel to lock, almost causing a vehicle collision (again no damages to other vehicle or injuries received). On both occasions, repairs was done at consumer's cost.
Tire rod end broken. Dealer wants 410. 00 to repair part.
The problem started last year with a cold sqwak noise when steering the car. I had that fixed but the problem started again 9 months later and developed into a major problem. I had the car towed to the dealer because the steering seemed loose and I was having trouble controling it. They replaced the inner ti rods and sent me on my way. I returned the car a few days later after being told by another garage that the steering was still loose under the car. They then told me I needed a new rack and pinion steering replacement. I hesitated and took the car to another Chrysler dealer for repairs. They told me the car needed outer ti rod replacement along with a wheel alingment and also that the inner ti rods were not installed properly. They also told me that this problem should have been diagnosed at the original dealership. This could have been a disaster if left to go unrepaired. After some research I found that this is not the only time there has been problems with the steering on these cars. I feel there has been some negligence on the part of the 1st dealer and also Chrysler. I notified them after this started and they told me I was on my own. I had the car fixed but I think that this might be a design problem that should be addressed.