Steering Gear Box Shaft Pitman Problems of Jeep Wrangler

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.

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Follow on to last weeks initial input of case number 11257557 nhsta # ref: VIN number 1c4hjxfg7kw525098 received a safety recall note to immediately come to a dealership and get the steering stabilizer fixed or replaced. (note I didn't have any issue driving for the past 4 months until this recall note. ) I did that (went to faricy boys colorado springs dealership. They replaced a part or two. In approx. 2 hours. Next day drove it and it was a lot worse, I took it back to the same dealership. . . . . They then replaced the steering box and the pitman arm. (receipt attached) it took them 2 days to do that. I then drove it again. . . . . It was a lot worse I pulled over on the road and looked underneath the vehicle. I noticed wet marks all over the parts under the vehicle as if something was leaking (pictures attached) I took it back again and again all they did was use a cleaner on the one section underneath and said all is good. I took more pictures of the issue and you can see more wet areas under the vehicle. I stated either they spilled something when they pulled the part or something was not tightened at this point causing the leaking now. They said all was good. The vehicle was smelling of something burning under the vehicle. I then took it to a vehicle cleaning service to get the whole undercarriage cleaned to stop the bad smell and DE-greased the complete underneath of the vehicle. Today again the vehicle is driving (wandering as driving on the road) I took another video again because of the way it was wondering and pulled into the right lane as I am driving . . . . Totally unsafe to drive at this moment. The dealership stated today. . . There is nothing else we can do for the vehicle. Stated by cory tidwell service department. I tried to contact steve the service dept manager no luck. Then tried to contact mike davis general manager. No call.

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Jeep Wrangler jlu rubicon with ongoing steering issues. At freeway speeds, at or above 60 mph, the Jeep wanders and there is 1. 5 to 2 inches of play in the steering. Constant correction and steering input is warranted to maintain lane limits. The Jeep has been to the dealer 3-4 times without resolution. Dealer stated the play was normal. The steering damper was replaced under recall without resolution. I paid out of pocket for a new front tack bar and steering gear without resolution. On evaluation from a Jeep independent alignment facility, it was identified the tie rod connected to the pitman arm had excessive play. At 13500 miles, the steering has costed me $1500 and it is still not fixed. Dealer recognizes the issue. Serial calls to the fca customer service line has led to �complaint numbers� but no resolution. My steering issues are reported by others on Jeep jl forums and youtube.

Ball joint on the tie rod fell off of the pitman arm of the steering box backing out of a parking spot at a shopping center, leaving no steering control. Low speed at time of incident (under 5km/h) luckily there was no accident. Vehicle was backing out of spot to the right and a clunk was heard and felt in the steering wheel when straightening the wheels. Jeep Wrangler 4door 4x4 sahara unlimited.

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Brand new 2019 Jeep jl Wrangler rubicon. Has less than 700 miles; problem was noticeable immediately upon delivery of vehicle. Issue: steering has a "dead spot" when wheels are straight center. This dead spot is about 2 inches of play, and most noticeable when driving over 50 mph. I have rough Jeep in several times. V41 recall (steering damper) already completed, along with all steering components to include: steering box (ae); track bar; front bar; drag link; tie rod; socket drive (connects to pitman arm). Tire pressures checked and realigned. No change. Not sure where else to go now. Driving at freeway speeds is not safe! I constantly have to correct steering on straight sections (like a bowling ball going down alley with bumpers on sides). In other words, you have to over-correct to because Jeep does not start to turn until past dead spot.

Within the first week of receiving vehicle, I experienced a violent shaking of the steering wheel while traveling 60 mph on the highway, that almost caused me to run into the vehicle next to me. This occurred several times that day. After several occurrences, I realized it seemed to occur when hitting a bump. Called service department who reassured me this was not a safety issue (???) and that they would replace the recalled track bar. Several weeks later, said track bar was replaced (they are on backorder). The vehicle continues to demonstrate this violent loss of steering control and at most recent inspection (after being told it can't still be happening), I was told they found "some play" in the drag link joint at pitman arm and part has been ordered. This weekend, the violent shaking occurred and would not stop for well over 30 seconds, even when I took my foot off accelerator and then hit the brake (on the higheay, next to a semi). I just took possession of this vehicle on November 29 and it only had 5000 miles (demo sold as new). Something needs to be done about this. It's happening in brand new, unmodified vehicles.

Joint between pitman arm and tie rod failed, leaving no steering while going down the highway at 70 mph in a straight-away. Under many circumstances this could have lead to a deadly crash. There was no forewarning of pending joint failure (no noise, vibration, sloppy steering, etc). Vehicle was serviced several times in the preceding 3 months. No mechanics observed wear of this joint. 105k miles on vehicle.

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I was returning home from the grocery store and was driving on a paved city street with no potholes, speed-bumps, or other obstructions. As I made a left turn into our driveway I heard a noise and then suddenly the Jeep turned hard right and I hit another care parked on the right side of our driveway. I had no control of the steering. Upon inspection, I noticed that the stud coming from the steering gear box had sheared in half between the steering gear box and the pitman arm. There was nothing that I did that would have caused this to happen. Also, this Jeep has never been off road. I contacted Chrysler and they said I need to contact my insurance company. They offered no assistance.

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The death wobble at approx 60-65 mph/ repaired steering stabilizer/front axel joint/ right outer pitman adjustment sleeve/ left hand steering arm to connecting tie rod/ left inner to lh adjustment sleeve/ alignment, repairs cost $675, have been on the highway and still shimmies.

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I have a 2010 Jeep jk unlimited 4x4. I bought the vehicle used from a local dealer in July of 2013, with approx. 10k miles on it. At about 18k miles, I began experiencing the common dreaded "death wobble". I was driving down a country road with my children in the back seats. All of a sudden, while hitting a small bump in the road, the steering wheel began rapidly moving back and forth and the frontend of the vehicle was shaking violently. I quickly stopped the vehicle, checked on my now frightened children, then go out to examine my vehicle. I couldn't find anything obvious, like tie rods or ball joints. So, I slowly drove home. I went over the entire front end. Couldn't find anything. After reading a lot of forums on the matter, I found I am one of many Jeep owners that have/are fighting this same issue. I went ahead and put on a new steering stabilizer, and trackbars, as these are claimed to be the most common issues (even though mine looked fine and had no play). I continually have had the problem and have had it to shop for an alignment, tire rotations, and checking the balancing on the tires. The shop said tires and alignment were fine. We found that there was some play in the sector shaft where the pitman arm connects to the steering gearbox. Some guys are saying they have replaced theirs 3 times in 30k miles. I don't offroad, my vehicle isn't exposed to harsh conditions, where one could expect mechanical failures. I currently have 26k miles on mine, and have been trying to find out the cause, meanwhile throwing $$ and parts on it to try and find the issue. After researching and seeing the large amount of owners fighting death wobble and the component failures which cause it, I feel Chrysler should be held accountable to some level. I think they should be recognizing the problem and the large scale of it, and offering some type of solution to fix the issue.

While driving over speed bumps or slower speed bumps I could feel a distinct "clunk" in the steering. The dealership looked at it and said they could not feel the clunk anymore. The clunk returned a few months later, now I can see there is play in the sector shaft as well as the pitman arm on the steering box.

Death wobble on a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. Vehicle has a predictable vibration between 55-60 mph. On one occasion, the vehicle shook so violently that it took the steering wheel out of my wife's hands. She was going around 55 mph around a curve. On a second occasion, I was slowing down to take an exit ramp. Slowing from 75 mph to around 60 mph and entering the exit ramp curve, the steering wheel was almost shaken out of my hands. On a third occasion, at around 60 mph on a straight road with no bumps, the Jeep began to shake violently and again pulled the steering wheel out of another drivers hands. The minor vibration happens everyday between 55-60 mph. The dealership says nothing is wrong. I have replaced the steering stabilizer with a rancho heavy duty stabilizer. Vibration went away for about 500 miles. I religiously do a 5 tire rotation and balance. No change. I have had a 4 wheel alignment completed. No change. Jeep will not drive the vehicle. They say if there is a vibration to have the tires balanced and the front end aligned. When I tell them that has been done, their reply is that it was not completed properly and they would do it for $300. I am getting to the point of selling or trading it in since I cannot fix the issue. I am almost ready to try to replace ball joints, but at 47,700 miles and no suspension or engine modifications. The Jeep has never been off-roaded, never been mistreated. What now? Jeep also offered to replace the ball joints, pitman arm, tie rod ends, sway bar end links, etc. For a nice sum of the $2500. Ouch.

2008 Jeep Wrangler. Consumer writes in regards to mechanical problems and brake line routing defect the consumer stated the first problem he had with the vehicle was the transmission. It began failing to engage and shifting out of gear. The dealer discovered that the transmission oil filter had not been installed and was lying on the bottom of the transmission oil pan. In January 2011, while driving at highway speeds, the consumer began to experience intermittent violent shaking of the entire vehicle, which seemed to be originating from the front end. The consumer stated it felt as though a wheel was loose. The consumer went to a repair shop, where the tie rod and pitman were replaced. Two weeks later, the shaking occurred again and soon it became increasingly violent ,making it nearly impossible to control the vehicle and stay in his lane. The consumer returned to the repair shop where they replaced the steering damper, which seemed to correct the problem for awhile. In July, the consumer took the vehicle for a routine maintenance check. While checking the front end, the mechanic was able to get two full turns on a nut on the track bar. Since then, the shaking has not occurred. The consumer stated as he approached a line of vehicles stopped at a light, he attempted to apply the brake, but it went soft and to the floor. An inspection revealed a hole in the brake line above the right front wheel, where the line left the wheel well and went into the engine compartment. The hole was caused by rubbing on the line by the edge of the plastic wheel well lining.

Driving over uneven road surfaces, man hole covers, pot holes, expansion joints in concrete, or any ripples in the road surface, what is commonly known as "death wobble" occurs. This is an uncontrollable left and right progressive wobble of the front wheels. This wobble does not stop until the vehicle is slowed down to approximately 10 mph. Parts replaced have been the steering stabilizer, track bar bushings, pitman arm and pitman tie rod end, tires, tires balanced three times (twice in two weeks), alignment performed twice, and steering gear box adjusted. Two different Jeep dealerships claim the stabilizer is the problem, and the one replaced must be faulty. Do the research, the steering stabilizer is not the problem. . . Only a mask. The "death wobble" happens daily. Usually multiple times.

: the contact stated the pitman arm fell off from the steering gear box while driving 20 mph on normal road conditions, causing the vehicle to sideswipe another vehicle. No injuries were sustained, and a police report was taken. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for evaluation. Also, the front end shook when driving 50 mph for two months prior to the failure. The manufacturer were contacted but the cause of the problem could not be determined.

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Driving away from my home in residential subdivision. Turned corner at approx. 5 miles per hour and steering went out. Wheel just spun round and round.

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