2020 Jeep Gladiator

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated while driving approximately 50-60 MPH, the vehicle experienced the death wobble after driving over a bump on the roadway. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,460.

Steering is very loose, wanders all over the road and is especially noticeable at higher speeds. It’s very exhausting constantly correcting the steering to keep straight on the road. There is a lot of play in the steering box. I’ve taken my jeep to be fixed by the dealership more times than I can count. I’ve had the steering box replaced 3 times with no improvement. This has been a day 1 issue that hasn’t been fixed. It’s especially dangerous in the snow, I had a perfect driving record till I went off the road during my first winter. Dealer confirmed there was a lot of play in the steering but hasn’t fixed it, they’ve just basically throw their hands up in the air. This isn’t what I expected when I bought a new Jeep, it’s been a nightmare.

Driving down the road the steering gear box will randomly quit, could be doing 70 mph down the expressway and not be able to swerve, turn or avoid an accident. Has happened to me three times. Also the steering free play on these vehicles is absolutely insane and very difficult to keep the vehicle in its lane going down the road. I have been pulled over by police three times for “swerving” and it’s all due to the steering wheel having too much free play. This needs to be recalled because it’s unsafe to drive

WHEN DRIVING THE SPEED LIMIT ON THE HIGHWAY (70MPH) we experienced some rough road. The steering wheel and the whole vehicle began to shake. This has happened several times and the shaking stopped when we slowed down significantly. Thankfully there were no cars in our immediate vicinity or this could have caused and accident. WE are reporting this to the dealership today. A search on social media reported many other people having this same problem.

While driving on a main road, in a rural area, the "Electronic Stability Control Maintenance" alert was enabled. It was a cold January morning and approximately 35 degrees at 9am. My tire pressure alerts were also activated and I presumed that the Stability Control alert was due to a potential flat tire, not just a cold morning pressure imbalance, which happens frequently when there are drastic swings in temperature. Less than a minute later, the "Electronic Throttle Control Maintenance Required" alert flashed and I lost the ability to accelerate. I was in an area that was going uphill and no shoulder. Due to my momentum, I was able to get halfway up the hill and pull over into a residential driveway. I shut the car off, waited a minute and turned it back on. I attempted to pull back onto the road and noticed that a) I could still not accelerate and b) There was a large oil truck barreling up the hill and I would be a potential hazard and accident if I pulled in front of it. I then began to notice that smoke was billowing from under the hood. I turned back into the residential driveway and immediately shut off the vehicle and called for roadside assistance. The vehicle was taken by flatbed to the nearest dealership to be diagnosed. They ended up determining that there was moisture in the oil and claimed that it was common in this model year. They flushed the systems and gave me an oil change, which was was due for anyhow. The dealership kept the vehicle overnight and said they wanted to assess how it would perform in cold temperatures before returning my vehicle. I am very concerned that this is happening so soon. It is the first new vehicle I have ever purchased for myself and I do not take it off-road and live 10 miles from work, travelling on rural roads and recreational highway travel three-four times a year.

The ESS/Auto Start/Stop system is unavailable rendering the remote start for cold weather unavailable. This issue also effects the reliability of the battery and electrical supply as a whole potentially leading to unexpected engine stoppages and stranding due to a no start scenario. The issue is widespread and well documented among 2018-Current Jeep Rangler models as well as 2020-Current Jeep Gladiator models. Causes are reported by dealers ranging from premature failure of the start/stop auxiliary battery to TPM/distribution box failures. My vehicle has experienced this issue twice with the first occurrence shortly after purchase. With many of the effected vehicles reaching the end of their warranty period, the number of vehicles circulating on highways will increase creating a safety hazard. Further, the failure of this system may create an EPA compliance issue as the ESS/Auto Start/Stop system is required equipment to meet EPA fuel economy standards for the fleet.

On 12/2/22 while driving at 70 mph, I suddenly lost power steering. Every system warning light came on and windshield wipers began running when this happened. I managed to get it to the side of the road, but it has zero gauges, no acceleration, cannot shift, and cannot be shut off. After 30 minutes, the warnings began to clear themselves and I was able to safely drive it to a dealer. The battery was assumed to be the issue and it was replaced. Picked the vehicle back up on 12/7/22 and the exact same scenario occurred on 12/13/22; highway speeds, complete loss of power steering, multiple system warnings, wind shield wipers began running. Once again, couldn’t shift it and couldn’t shut it off. I timed the process the second time. At exactly 30 minutes, it began resetting itself and I was able to drive it home before delivering it to the dealership this morning.

I recently purchased this vehicle used, while driving the lights go off and the vehicle shuts off while moving. Not displaying any warning indicators at the time. Luckily vehicle is a manual, so I have been able to coast to a stop safely. Situation could be very dangerous. Once off the vehicle will go dead and won't restart. After a few moments vehicle will restart until the problem occurs again without warning. Jeep/chrysler has obvious issues with this vehicle and has not done any recalls. Even though they have documented occurrences with similar vehicles.