2020 Jeep Gladiator

BRAND NEW VEHICLE WITH LESS THAN 600 MILES ON IT SUFFERS FROM VERY LOOSE STEERING RESULTING IN WANDERING AND DEAD SPOTS IN STEERING. VERY DANGEROUS AT HIGHWAY SPEED BECAUSE OF CONSTANT CORRECTIONS NEEDED TO KEEP VEHICLE IN TRAFFIC LANE. TSB ISSUED BY MANUFACTURER BUT DEALERS REFUSING TO DO WORK AND NOW MANUFACTURER CANCELLING PARTS ASSOCIATED WITH TSB REPAIR INCLUDING STEERING GEAR AND MOUNTING BOLTS.

SINCE PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD LOOSE AND UNRESPONSIVE STEERING. IT CURRENTLY HAS 1600 MILES AND HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP MULTIPLE TIMES. I AM TOLD THE STEERING GEAR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED UNDER A CAMPAIGN HOWEVER THERE IS NO DECAL AS OF YET. JEEP DOES NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED PARTS IN STOCK AND I AM BEING TOLD IT MAY BE MONTHS UNTIL A REPAIR IS AVAILABLE FOR MY VEHICLE. I ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE U CONNECT SYSTEM CRASHING WHICH ALSO CONTROLS MOST OF THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE AND RENDERS MOST OF THOSE ITEMS LIKE THE HVAC INOPERABLE UNTIL THE SYSTEM IS RESET. BOTH OF THESE ISSUES ARE CONSTANTLY PRESENT. THE STEERING ISSUE IS A NUSSINACE BELOW 40MPH AND NEARLY UNCONTROLLABLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. I FEEL COMPLETELY UNSAFE IN THE VEHICLE. THE STEERING WHEEL SITS APPROX 15-20 DEGREES TO THE LEFT TO GO STRAIGHT AND YOU CAN MOVE THE WHEEL THE SAME DISTANCE TO THE RIGHT BEFORE IT REACTS. TO MAINTAIN A STRAIGHT LINE YOU MUST CONSTANTLY OVER CORRECT THE WHEEL.

THE STEERING ALLOWS THE VEHICLE TO WONDER AND REQUIRES CONSTANT CORRECTION. THERE IS FREE PLAY IN THE STEERING THAT REQUIRES CONSTANT CORRECTION TO MAINTAIN MY LANE OF TRAVEL. THE ISSUE IS EXTREME AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND COMPOUNDED ON ROUGH PAVED ROADS. THERE ARE SEVERAL TIMES THAT I COULD NOT CORRECT THE WONDERING OF MY JEEP GLADIATOR QUICK ENOUGH AND HAVE LEFT MY LANE OF TRAVEL DUE TO THE STEERING ISSUE CAUSING TO POTENTIAL HIT OTHER VEHICLES TRAVELING NEXT TO ME ON MULTI LANE ROADS OR DRIVE OFF THE ROAD. THE STEERING IS ON THE GLADIATOR IS S SERIOUS ISSUE AND MAKE THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.

PURCHASED MY JEEP GLADIATOR LESS THEN A MONTH AGO AND NOTICED IT HAD EXTREMELY LOOSE STEERING WHEN ON THE HIGHWAY AND EVEN ON BACK ROADS WHEN GOING OVER 30MPH. IT IS HARD TO STAY WITHIN YOUR LANE. IT LOOKS AS IF A DRUNK DRIVER WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. IT FEELS SCARY WHEN OTHER VEHICLES ARE NEXT TO ME AS IT FEELS I AM GONNA DRIFT INTO THEIR LANE AND HIT THEM WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PROPERLY CORRECT THE STEERING.

TOOK MY TRUCK IN TO THE DEALER FOR EXTREMELY LOOS FEELING STEERING, IT TAKES NEARLY 2 INCHES OF STEERING INPUT TO EFFECT A CHANGE IN STEERING, AND IT WANDERING IN THE LANE AS I DRIVE IT. THE TRUCK ACTUALLY HAS DONE THIS SINCE I BOUGHT IT IN APRIL 2020. THERE IS A TSB OUT TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE. I TOOK TO THE DEALER AUG 31 2020, AND ALL THEY DID AT THE TIME WAS TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE ON THE JEEP, AND TOLD ME TO COME BACK IF ISSUE STILL PERSISTS. I TOOK IT BACK IN SEPT FOR THE SAME, AND THEY CLAIMED PARTS WERE ORDERED. WE ARE NOW INTO NOVEMBER WITH NO END IN SIGHT. I TOOK A CAMPING TRIP WITH MY FAMILY TWO WEEKS AGO, I CAME OUT FROM BEHIND GUARD RAILS ON THE INTERSTATE INTO THE WIND, AND WAS BLOWN ALMOST OUT OF MY LANE BEFORE I COULD REGAIN STEERING CONTROL. FCA DOES NOT SEEM TO DEEM THIS AS A SAFETY ISSUE, AND IS LIMITING THE NUMBER OF REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR THE 2020, SO THEY CAN PUSH OUT THEIR 2021 MODEL YEAR VEHICLES. JEEP CUSTOMER SUPPORT SAYS THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO TO GET THE ISSUE TAKEN CARE OF.

THE STEERING WHEEL NEEDS CONSTANT ADJUSTMENT AND INPUT AS THE WHEELS OF THE CAR DO NOT TRACK STRAIGHT, AND ARE NOT IN SYNC WITH THE STEERING WHEEL. IT'S EVEN MORE STRESSFUL WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE DRIVING STRAIGHT, ON CURVES, THROUGH CONSTRUCTION ZONES, AND ALONGSIDE SEMI-TRUCKS, THE STEERING WHEEL NEEDS CONSTANT ATTENTION, AND THE VEHICLE WANDERS AT ALL TIMES. THE STEERING WHEEL IS LOOSE AND MOVES ABOUT THREE INCHES FROM CENTER IN EITHER DIRECTION WITHOUT THE FRONT WHEELS MOVING. THE DRIVE IS MENTALLY EXHAUSTING. THE STEERING WHEEL IS SO LOOSE, THAT WHEN YOU PLACE YOUR HANDS AT 10 O'CLOCK AND 3 O'CLOCK, THE STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT STAY FIRM, IT MOVES - WE HAVE TO PROP OUR ELBOWS ON THE ARMRESTS TO STABILIZE THE STEERING WHEEL. WE DID TEST DRIVE OTHER GLADIATORS AND THE PROBLEM DID NOT OCCUR IN THOSE VEHICLES. WE LIKE THE JEEP BRAND, HAVE OWNED SEVERAL JEEPS, AND WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE GLADIATOR, BUT WE ARE AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE, IT'S UNSAFE.