Intermittent Power Steering Unavailable

[Sarge]

They don't. In my experience, you'll get inadvertently transferred and hung up on three times before you even get a disinterested person on the phone with a screaming baby in the background. Only to be told they'll cover $45/day. I can't rent a bicycle for $45/day where I live. My car would fetch $800/day on Turo, and the rental car companies are half that for a mid size SUV, but they're generally sold out. Suburbans go for $1k/day on Turo, and rent for $800/day, for example (maybe a little less in the winter).

Thankfully, my little dealer is awesome. Jeep, however...

 

[deesee]

Just joined this forum to post here.

My GCL got the power steering light last thursday and I turned it into my local dealer on Friday. The dealership where I signed my lease (not my local dealer where my car currently is) said they currently have a GCL in their service dept right now with the same issue. Like people have mentioned in this thread, they let me know Jeep is aware of the issue with a software fix coming in "Q1'22".

I opened a case with Jeep Customer Care today to request a buy-back of my lease (only 2 months old, <1,800 miles. I was also told that I would be able to push out my lease payments until I get the car back, but Chrystler Capital said that is impossible when I called them today. Seems crazy that I would have to keep paying my lease payments while I cannot drive it.

It looks like some of you are having luck with a buy back. The person I spoke to from Jeep Care said that it can take 4-6months to complete. Is this true? Does the buy-back have to be contingent on me purchasing another vehicle? I think I just want to walk away from Jeep altogether. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[joemclarke]

I haven't attempted to get them to buy our GCL back yet but I'm getting close. I'm sure it would be easier to get your local dealership to buy it back if you buy something else from them off the lot. I'm leaning towards walking away from Jeep altogether as well, this is just ridiculous how many issues we are having.

 

[ryangtogtx]

My 2021 GC L Overland had the same problem occur tonight. I’ve only put about 300 miles on it since I picked it up Friday night. Very disappointing!

 

[Sarge]

It looks like some of you are having luck with a buy back. The person I spoke to from Jeep Care said that it can take 4-6months to complete. Is this true? Does the buy-back have to be contingent on me purchasing another vehicle? I think I just want to walk away from Jeep altogether. Thanks for the help in advance.

It CAN take a long time. They like it that way because they can continue to try to fix your car, and in many states (all?) they get to deduct whatever miles you drove from the valuation as well. They generally have no incentive to do it quickly, and arbitration or court proceedings are almost ALWAYS slow things...

 

[Jaimiek]

I got my GC L in August I have about 3500 miles on it. In the past month my jeep has been at the dealer 4 times for the power steering issue. The first time they had it 5 days and they refused to give me a vehicle. 20 minutes after leaving the dealer it went back on. Took it back 3 more times. The first 2 times this happened it was only in the am but the 3rd and 4th it would go on and off all day. Currently I've been with out my brand new vehicle going on 4 weeks. They dealer keeps telling me jeep is pushing the update back 2 weeks so I called corporate and was told the update will not be available till mid March but they can't guarantee it won't be pushed back. I don't think it's fair I'm paying 500 a month for a vehicle that I can't drive. I've always purchased my jeeps from this dealer and was always satisfied but I don't think I will ever buy a vehicle from them again and it's getting to the point where I don't even want this jeep anymore I want my basic wrangler back that had no issues.

 

[Sarge]

I got my GC L in August I have about 3500 miles on it. In the past month my jeep has been at the dealer 4 times for the power steering issue. The first time they had it 5 days and they refused to give me a vehicle. 20 minutes after leaving the dealer it went back on. Took it back 3 more times. The first 2 times this happened it was only in the am but the 3rd and 4th it would go on and off all day. Currently I've been with out my brand new vehicle going on 4 weeks. They dealer keeps telling me jeep is pushing the update back 2 weeks so I called corporate and was told the update will not be available till mid March but they can't guarantee it won't be pushed back. I don't think it's fair I'm paying 500 a month for a vehicle that I can't drive. I've always purchased my jeeps from this dealer and was always satisfied but I don't think I will ever buy a vehicle from them again and it's getting to the point where I don't even want this jeep anymore I want my basic wrangler back that had no issues.

This is my fifth Jeep. My second was a '99 V8 Grand Cherokee that got bought back under the lemon law. I've had three Wranglers, which I loved, but I'm convinced they can't build anything more complicated than a garden tractor at this point. Dozens of electrical problems, HVAC, rattles, and other quality control problems. They should named it the Grand Cherokee FJ, it's such a f$%^ job. I'd think mine was a special edition, but a lot of other people got the no-discount-broken-features-package too. Two months and no Nav, XM, Uconnect, etc. Hateful vehicle, which is a shame, because it would be phenomenal (for the money) if it all actually worked.

 

[Jaimiek]

This is my fifth Jeep. My second was a '99 V8 Grand Cherokee that got bought back under the lemon law. I've had three Wranglers, which I loved, but I'm convinced they can't build anything more complicated than a garden tractor at this point. Dozens of electrical problems, HVAC, rattles, and other quality control problems. They should named it the Grand Cherokee FJ, it's such a f$%^ job. I'd think mine was a special edition, but a lot of other people got the no-discount-broken-features-package too. Two months and no Nav, XM, Uconnect, etc. Hateful vehicle, which is a shame, because it would be phenomenal (for the money) if it all actually worked.

It's just so disappointing.. It would be awesome if it was drivable. I just want my wrangler back.

 

[tjparthun]

The dealership has now had my car for 14 days, waiting around from an answer from FCA and avoiding my calls. Estimated repairs are some time in the next couple weeks but that keeps changing and nothing is scheduled. At this point I’m just hoping they run out the 30-day clock on the IN lemon law. Then they’re obligated to buy it back. If that doesn’t work or they’re not willing to budge, I’m moving forward with a suit. This is ridiculous happening to two cars and wasting a combined 2.5 months of my life.

Is anyone else at this point or have they had luck pursuing a buy back? Also, for those who submitted NHTSA complaints have you heard back? Still waiting to hear from them 2 weeks after submitting a report.

 

[eleceng1979]

The dealership has now had my car for 14 days, waiting around from an answer from FCA and avoiding my calls. Estimated repairs are some time in the next couple weeks but that keeps changing and nothing is scheduled. At this point I’m just hoping they run out the 30-day clock on the IN lemon law. Then they’re obligated to buy it back. If that doesn’t work or they’re not willing to budge, I’m moving forward with a suit. This is ridiculous happening to two cars and wasting a combined 2.5 months of my life.

Is anyone else at this point or have they had luck pursuing a buy back? Also, for those who submitted NHTSA complaints have you heard back? Still waiting to hear from them 2 weeks after submitting a report.

My experiences

1. Zero movement on any NHTSA reports. I’m pretty sure they hire from the same pool of people as Jeep.
2. My dealer said with a straight face “that they didn’t build it, just sold it, contact a lawyer”. So they pretty much don’t care, on dealer 2 now.
3. Any talks with FCA corporate are a waste of time IMO, but I am jaded and went straight to A-Hole status due to their ignorance and lack of any communication to me after repeated efforts via the dealer, phone calls and emails to corporate. When I have to explain how it’s supposed to work per the manual to the person on the phone, it isn’t promising. Keep in mind I was calling about cross path detection engaging for no reason, slamming my brakes on and coming to a complete stop. I’m not the CarPlay doesn’t work Karen, I’m the I don’t want to die in the middle of the road or get rear ended Karen according to others…
4. I would just get a lawyer to start the process. It is lengthy and has multiple hurdles for the owner. I wonder if the reason we don’t hear feedback here about such successful buybacks is due to a NDA being signed as part of the settlement. Don’t want to tarnish the image with the truth. Another user documented his initial process here…

Lemon Law Update #2 - Moving forward with legal action. Good info for eveyone with a uconnect issue

So, this morning I called Jeep (4th call with no callback) only to be told that "the lemon law team has reviewed your claim and is denying your lemon law claim." Keep in mind the vehicle is currently in the shop, again. The uconnect issue remains unresolved after 4 visits and more issues...

wljeepforum.com

 

[tjparthun]

My experiences

1. Zero movement on any NHTSA reports. I’m pretty sure they hire from the same pool of people as Jeep.
2. My dealer said with a straight face “that they didn’t build it, just sold it, contact a lawyer”. So they pretty much don’t care, on dealer 2 now.
3. Any talks with FCA corporate are a waste of time IMO, but I am jaded and went straight to A-Hole status due to their ignorance and lack of any communication to me after repeated efforts via the dealer, phone calls and emails to corporate. When I have to explain how it’s supposed to work per the manual to the person on the phone, it isn’t promising. Keep in mind I was calling about cross path detection engaging for no reason, slamming my brakes on and coming to a complete stop. I’m not the CarPlay doesn’t work Karen, I’m the I don’t want to die in the middle of the road or get rear ended Karen according to others…
4. I would just get a lawyer to start the process. It is lengthy and has multiple hurdles for the owner. I wonder if the reason we don’t hear feedback here about such successful buybacks is due to a NDA being signed as part of the settlement. Don’t want to tarnish the image with the truth. Another user documented his initial process here…

Lemon Law Update #2 - Moving forward with legal action. Good info for eveyone with a uconnect issue

So, this morning I called Jeep (4th call with no callback) only to be told that "the lemon law team has reviewed your claim and is denying your lemon law claim." Keep in mind the vehicle is currently in the shop, again. The uconnect issue remains unresolved after 4 visits and more issues...

wljeepforum.com

Thanks for sharing! I already moved forward with the attorney. The dealership has been avoiding my calls but the attorney tracked down the dealership owners contact info and called/emailed them. Next step will be to be contact Jeep/FCA and if they’re not helpful, we’ll file suit.

My experience with Jeep Customer Service and FCA is similar. They were extremely unhelpful when I had several electrical issues on the first car. I didn't bother with them when things started failing on the second car. And I’ve had the same experience with NHTSA. I can’t actually get connected to speak to someone and although I can search for my compliant using their tracking tool, it hasn’t been posted yet. I’m about to submit a FOIA request for a list of all pending GCL safety compliants submitted.

I still have to go to the dealership today because the loaner vehicle they put me in is having problems with Active Lane Managment and Adaptive Cruise Control. These were the two things to go before the power steering went out on my two cars. Plus there are two recalls they didn’t perform on it. Just my luck.

 

[this_yorkiecanadian]

And just like that, the power steering unavailable message came back on for my wife as she was leaving work. Only correlation with last time is that it's been a very cold and wet day for my part of the country. This should not even be a problem with any vehicle! We haven't had any problems since we got it back last time.

 

[Jaimiek]

Dealer just called me the update that was released today to correct the power steering issue didnt work. I asked if it was just with my jeep or everyone who has this issue and they said it didn't work accross the board.

 

[eleceng1979]

FYI…

There is a known TSB for repairs to loose/improperly fitted electrical pins in a harness for this issue. I am speaking about some harness some where, and the pins do not fully seat in the plug prior to being plugged in OR the pins are becoming dislodged during plugging the plug in/falling out. My assumption is… new platform, new plugs/harness, new pins don’t retain in plugs as good as prior stuff, I assume more plastics, less metals, and cheaper plugs. As a EE this is an issue with many cars and also my work. Pin retention is paramount and vehicles are subjected to worse conditions than multi million dollar industrial equipment.

I live in a rural area, travel back roads that are not perfect. The vibration and jarring from these roads I suspect has caused a bunch of my issues. There is a certain 4 way stop intersection that has each road intersecting at different, steep angles which cause the body to twist during the crossing. Due to this intersection being in the middle of nowhere/clear line of sight, it gets rolled through sometimes around 5-10mph. I have had several error lights (power steering, 4wd, abs, cross path, etc..) come on at/during/shortly after this intersection. Multiple events, at separate times at the same intersection. I suspect a harness is being pulled somewhere/pins not fully seated. Highway/city only folks probably never have such issues. I know a few folks with severe issue, live in rural areas, not sure about other posting above. If your wife travels roads that are not smooth, this might be be impacting you.

There are multiple communication networks inside the vehicle, the fastest operates at 500Kb/s (0.5Mb/s) and a split second interruption is all it takes. We are not speaking about a pin pulling free, just a minor momentary contact loss causes an entire module to go offline and lockout, requiring a dealer reset. This is why sometimes power steering remains despite the error, and sometimes it is totally gone. The equivalent of a browser 404 error while surfing the web and then instantly reappears. The vehicle network is fail safe and simply locks out the module due to comms/power/module failure.

 

[tjparthun]

Dealer just called me the update that was released today to correct the power steering issue didnt work. I asked if it was just with my jeep or everyone who has this issue and they said it didn't work accross the board.

Thanks for sharing, can’t say I’m surprised. I guess in my case that’s good news that the update failed. Only helps my pending IN Lemon Law and Magnuson Warranty Act. But I am sorry they can’t give you a satisfactory answer or resolution for this issue. I’ve been dealing with this for nearly 3 months now so I share your frustration.

 

[tjparthun]

I finally reached out to the NHTSA about my complaint because it isn’t posted for the GCL. They don’t understand that the GCL is a completely separate model and not just a different trim/class. If you submitted a complaint specially for the GCL, it was posted on the regular Grand Cherokee page.

I told the person I spoke with this is not correct and needs to be updated. She said I have to go into my original complaint and edit it to include the note that this affects the new, separate model GCL with my trim/class and that it must be moved to the correct vehicle because they can’t do that themselves.

 

[tjparthun]

My attorney visited the dealership today to speak directly to the general manager. My car has been in service 21 days. General manager tells my attorney this isn’t a serious issue and a buy back is uncalled for and the software fix is tested and will without a doubt work. Two hours later my car is magically ready for pickup. Has anyone had this software update installed and has it actually helped?

I’m not picking up the car. I’m holding onto the new loaner (3rd since this saga started since the last loaner also had issues). Attorney is talking to the owner of the dealership. And if they push back we’re filing a complaint with the IN attorney general’s office and preparing to file suit.

 

[blackgmc05]

Any updates to this issue? mine went out after the dealer did all the Recall software updates ?

 

[21GCL]

Just joined this forum to post here.

My GCL got the power steering light last thursday and I turned it into my local dealer on Friday. The dealership where I signed my lease (not my local dealer where my car currently is) said they currently have a GCL in their service dept right now with the same issue. Like people have mentioned in this thread, they let me know Jeep is aware of the issue with a software fix coming in "Q1'22".

I opened a case with Jeep Customer Care today to request a buy-back of my lease (only 2 months old, <1,800 miles. I was also told that I would be able to push out my lease payments until I get the car back, but Chrystler Capital said that is impossible when I called them today. Seems crazy that I would have to keep paying my lease payments while I cannot drive it.

It looks like some of you are having luck with a buy back. The person I spoke to from Jeep Care said that it can take 4-6months to complete. Is this true? Does the buy-back have to be contingent on me purchasing another vehicle? I think I just want to walk away from Jeep altogether. Thanks for the help in advance.

I was told by the dealer that the buyback process with Jeep/Chrysler is a nightmare (for both dealer and consumer) and they drag their feet as long as possible. I instead pursued the dealer buyback, which ended successfully. Total time from vehicle delivery to completed buyback was 29 days. Of which I actually had my car for 6 of them.

Really sucks all around, this car filled a nice gap between midsize and large suvs. But it just didn’t work.

 

[kennyr44]

My car had the original Power Steering TSB done when I took it in for the air bag recall. No problems ever with the Pr steering. This week a couple thousand miles later at 5000 miles on start up in my garage the power steering was not working and the red light was on. On the way to the dealer with it my wife stopped and turned the car off and it started working again on startup. The dealer said a fix is on the way someday and just drive it or park it my call, no loaners or anything. I talked to the service manager and he said mine was only the second one he has seen. Surprised since this is a huge dealership. Now a couple days later it hasn't malfunctioned again yet.