Overlander Steering Problems

AusOverlander · 08-19-2012, 06:25 PM

Hi Guys,

I am a new member from Australia.

I have recently purchased a 2012 Grand Cherokee Overlander – Automatic /Diesel

I am having troubles with the steering in my jeep. As soon as I got it home I noticed the car pulls to the left. Not by a little, but a lot (steering wheel on the right hand side in Australia). I took it back to the dealer and he asked if I had hit a rock or played with the electronic suspension and I said no.

They serviced the jeep and rotated and balanced all 4 wheels several times and at different places as they weren’t happy with the results. They have slightly fixed the problem (they did remove the steering wheel and move it around so I was told).

But this still hasn’t fixed the problem, as soon as I take my hands off the steering wheel it still cocks to the left (not as bad as before, say 10-15degs). At normal speeds it is fine, but highway speeds you can’t let go of the wheel otherwise you will end up in the ditch within 5 seconds.

I have just taken back to the dealer recently and they flew a technician from jeep Australia over to look at the it and now they are saying it is normal and that this normal trait of jeeps, I have driven a few new cars recently and none of them do this, they all have neutral steering.

Do any of you have similar problems or have heard of this occurrence before.

Regards

Craig

Trailguide · 08-19-2012, 07:24 PM

A bad tire will make the steering pull to one side, but on a brand new auto, that should be fixed correctly, changing tires if necessary. It could be aligment. It could be lots of things but I suspect the tires as the condition changed a little.

It is NOT normal. Mine does not do it and I'm sure othere will tell you the same. Insist on getting it fixed.

**ColdCase** · 08-19-2012, 07:58 PM

Not normal, perhaps a brake is dragging or a tight bearing. Do you have an ELSD rear?

**Jackal01** · 08-19-2012, 08:09 PM

2012 FSJ Cherokee Overlander??

GrootKoos · 08-20-2012, 04:15 AM

The WK2 steering is very sensitive to the camber of the road. I also have a right hand drive diesel and depending on the camber of the road the car tends to pull to one side - more than average. I upgraded from the WK diesel to the WK2 diesel a few weeks ago and this was one of the first things I noticed - apart from noticing that the build quality of the WK2 is much worse than that of the WK.

AusOverlander · 08-20-2012, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackal01

2012 FSJ Cherokee Overlander??

http://www.jeep.com.au/compare-models-grand-cherokee

AusOverlander · 08-20-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdCase

Not normal, perhaps a brake is dragging or a tight bearing. Do you have an ELSD rear?

Not sure but I will mention it to the techs and see what they say.

Cheers

**Jackal01** · 08-20-2012, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AusOverlander

http://www.jeep.com.au/compare-models-grand-cherokee

Where does it say FSJ Cherokee? The FSJ Cherokee is not made anymore.

Is yours a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland (WK2)?

Just confused regarding your model/ how your model is listed.

BobsWK2 · 08-21-2012, 03:52 PM

Still don't know what an Overlander is?

SixZeroFour · 08-21-2012, 04:04 PM

Have they done an alignment? If it's pulling one way or another this is usually the first thing they try.

If its pulling due to the road an easy check is to find a vacant stretch of road and drive down the opposite side and see if its pulling the opposite way.

Thomas_Jeep · 08-21-2012, 04:37 PM

What I have done in the past is take the service advisor or mechanic with you and let them drive so they can expirience the problem you are having. It has always worked for me.
Good Luck!

**ColdCase** · 08-21-2012, 05:11 PM

Can a bad sensor or connection cause the ESC to pull the Jeep one way or another? There is yaw control there.

The WK2 is somewhat more loose on the highway, darting off with road irregularities. The wide tires exacerbates the issue, perhaps more than a passenger car. I've driven worse, but typically trucks. The test mentioned above should shed some light.

I'm guessing they checked tire pressure and the lower steering column shaft for excessive play.