2021 Jeep Gladiator

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving approximately 70 MPH, the front end of the vehicle and the steering wheel began shaking violently. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, and the shaking gradually disappeared. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.5 The contact stated on April 8, 2024 there was another severe front "end wobble”, this following after the dealership replacing major steering components under warranty.

I took delivery of my 2021 Jeep Gladiator on 10/29/20. I brought the vehicle in on 12/29/22 for service (Webber Family Motor, Detroit Lakes, MN). The driver's door lock switch was inoperable. I could not lock, unlock the vehicle either with the FOB or with the key. This means that I was unable to lock my vehicle from the driver's side when leaving the vehicle AND I was unable to lock the vehicle using the switch on the driver's door panel (from the inside). This is a safety concern for a lone female. Webber Family Motor found Circuit G161 broken in the boot harness. They replaced the wire and retested. The vehicle passed. The charge out of pocket to me was $201.74. On 01/19/24, I again took the vehicle to Webber Family Motor for the same issue. They took the door panel off and found that "someone" had taped the boot harness. This someone was them in 2022. They want to charge $600 for replacement of the boot harness. My safety is at risk because I work nights and am unable to get into my vehicle and lock the door from inside. This issue has happened twice

Driving on the freeway at freeway speed. Hit a bridge transition point and the front end started to shake uncontrollably. I braked and was able to pull to the side. Got out and checked. No visible damage. Took the truck to the dealer. They replaced my steering damper and track bar. The truck only had 6K miles. Again at 20,000 miles the same parts needed to be replaced as the same thing was happening. There has been a class action lawsuit settled on this same model. My vehicle is completely stock. This is a huge safety concern.

See video of incident here: [XXX] Additional video is here: [XXX] The incidents happened while driving on the interstate at approximately 70mph. When a normal expansion joint or bump was traversed, the steering wheel would suddenly oscillate continuously, with the degree of the oscillation growing more severe over time. The entire body of the vehicle shook violently. The only way to recover from the severe oscillation was to reduce speed substantially - generally to below 40 mph - or to encounter another bump to upset the oscillation. We took the Gladiator to a local Jeep dealership. They stated they replaced the steering damper and that the manufacturer had updated the part number (the failed damper was the old part number). However, we still feel a looseness in the suspension that we did not feel previously with this vehicle. When traversing bumps at speed, sometimes the oscillation can still be felt, but it is not continuous as shown in the videos. We suspect the steering damper may have been damaged to due another loose or failed component that is still in service on the vehicle. The vehicle is stock and has not been modified previously. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving on a highway around 70 MPH upon traveling on a bumpy portion of roadway or a transition from an overpass back to roadway the steering starts to Shimmy extremely bad. The only way to get this to stop is pull over and bring the vehicle to a complete stop. I was almost killed when there was no shoulder available In a construction zone on [XXX] in Florida and I had to stop in the lane of traffic and was almost rear ended by a semi tractor trailer. I’ve made a complaint about this before. The dealer previously changed the steering damper but unfortunately the new damper is not the fix to this safety issue. Luckily I’m an experienced driver and a retired law enforcement officer and have calmness to work through this issue. If it was a young driver with little experience the outcome would be sadly different. Sooner or later I believe a fatality will occur due to this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My Jeep has a manual transmission and Jeep realized there was an issue with the clutch pressure plate back in 2023 where the issue can possibly lead to a fire. Every time we call about getting the issue fixed all we ever get is excuses. I think almost a year is plenty of time to have come up with a fix for the issue. Apparently our safety doesn’t mean a whole lot as we still have the issue and it doesn’t seem they’re in any hurry to find a fix.

There is an active parts recall for some Gladiators, Recall 26A, for the right rear axle shaft. This part on my vehicle has been failing for over 6 months. The ABS system, Traction Control, and 4WD system have active fault codes, preventing these systems from working as intended. In the last month, this problem has become unsafe due to 3 separate incidents where the traction control has triggered during normal driving conditions, causing the vehicle to become inoperable. In each of these incidents, I was travelling in a straight line, on dry roads, when the traction control system activated, preventing all acceleration to occur. In the first occurrence I was in a tunnel, and unable to pull over as there was no shoulder. This was driving in a straight line, accelerating up to about 15 mph before the traction control kicked in and disabled the drive train. Traffic was able to safely pass me while I coasted through the tunnel with my hazards on. Turning the vehicle off, then back on was the only way to cure this condition. The next 2 times were both at unprotected stop signs, meaning cross traffic did not have a stop sign. When I pulled out into the middle of the road, the traction control activated, causing the vehicle to lose forward momentum and power. One of these incidents, traffic did have to slow and alter course to account for my vehicles failure in the road. During the 6 months of the axle going out, the ABS system triggers at intermittent times during normal driving/braking conditions. I have tried working with the dealership where I purchased the vehicle, and with Chrysler directly. Both parties deflect responsibility to the other, stating there is no way to help escalate these problems because they are a recall item. I have been directed to wait for parts and to continue driving the vehicle, despite it seeming like a safety risk.