Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
STEERING
19109708/15/19976088962Customer may complain of steering wander. *nlm01/11/2000
19039905/07/1999190194606349Conditions with steering slow to return to center. *tt08/17/1999
STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR
19139711/28/19976088972This bulletin involves lower steering column noise and/or mino lower steering column movement. *nlm01/11/2000
19089705/30/19976088951Concern with clunk/rattle felt in steering column/wheel. *nlm01/11/2000

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
STEERING
DP00002CHRYSLER GROUP LLC01/20/200004/24/2000STEERING COLUMN FIRE
 Alleges that the poor design of the ignition switch assembly and//or the key cylinder assembly in the model year 1991-2000 vehicles may cause the steering column to catch fire

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
STEERING
10/01/2000306/15/1996
 Under normal operating conditions when traveling around 50 to 60 mph and hitting a bump, front end will vibrate violently. consumer must stop vehicle in order to get vibration to go away. dealership has examined vehicle twice: during first incident dealership replaced track bar, and at second incident, dealership could not determine cause. *ak the steering damper has been replaced and consumer hopes that this solves the problem. *slc
11/01/2000
 Steering has to much play, also there is a popping sound, to dealer 4 times, cannot find problem. vehicle will not stay in overdrive. *ak
105/01/1996
 Front end shimmy when going over bump or pot hole, due to poor steering design, dampner kit available to correct design problem.
05/05/1997211/17/1995
 Noise in front end as well as leaking due to failure of the steering shaft and steering stabilizer.
02/04/1998111/30/1995
 Steering arm broke, causing complete loss of steering.
05/01/1997
 Steering has excessive play/clunking noise when turning or braking. *ak
 While making a left turn the steering wheel shakes. owner is very concerned about this problem. *ak
1
 Consumer has a 1995 mode, manufacturer gave consumer a 1996, the problem is the consumer was driving and there was no steering control on both trucks, still having same problem .*ak *slc
05/18/1996104/29/1996
 Consumer was driving and the steering came apart. *ak consumer states the upper universal joint dropped off the steering shaft, causing no steering control, the steering shaft and universal joint were not assembled properly at the factory, upper universal joint was barely stuck onto the end of the steering shaft, the universal joint was stuck onto the shaft only up to the area of the upper universal joint. *slc
STEERING - COLUMN
04/18/20021
 Consumer states that when changing the position of the steering wheel up the vehicle will shut off. contacted dealer and the dealer is not willing to do anything. nlm
STEERING - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE
04/04/1997
 Consumer's brother was driving 55-70 mph on state hwy 72 when steering made a full circle then a clicking noise, the passenger said that they then realized that steering wheel had locked up following loss of control. the truck then flipped over back end over front then rolled over on side, loosing both left wheels, brakes/drums/pads and tires. the driver was thrown from truck after the 2nd flip forward, he was revived on scene, then later died in flight to hospital. passenger survived with minor upper body injuries. *ak
STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION)
08/01/1999209/01/1995
 In august of 1999 with approximately 70,000 miles on odometer while driving 35 mph, there was a vibration, and the driver lost all steering control before crashing into a ditch. dealership examined vehicle and replaced steering gear box to remedy the problem. since replacement of original steering gear box, vehicle wanders all over the road during normal operation. steering gear box has to be replaced again by an independent repair shop. *ak *yh
11/18/199807/21/1998
 When driving at 20 mph and whitout prior warning the steering gear box broke, causing the consumer to lose control of the vehicle, and consumer crashed into a stone wall. *ak
 After bumpping into a low stone wall at no more than 3mph, the power steering gear box drained fluid, resulting in power steering lost.
07/08/19961
 Steering shaft replaced.
11/22/1996106/01/1996
 Steering box failed, causing accident.
07/03/1996110/01/1995
 Steering shaft loose, causing vibration.
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP
08/15/1999
 Power steering started leaking after 65,000 miles. vehicle loses all power steering when fluid leaks out & vehicle is hard to steer. consumer will contact the dealer.*ak
12/11/1997111/17/1995
 Power steering failed, due to failure of the pump.
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
03/24/1999105/01/1997
 When applying the brakes, vehicle has no power. also, the power steering failed, causing consumer to put vehicle into neutral, and rev the engine. took six months to get part after repeated calls. front brakes wearing out prematurely because rear brakes are not self adjusting. very unsafe when braking at higher speeds. *yc the left rear axle seal was leaking. water collects near the passenger door underneath the carpet. *yh
1
 Power steering gear box drained of fluid after a minor impact of 3 mph, resulting in loss of power steering.
12/21/1996112/20/1996
 Power steering failure.
05/18/1996104/29/1996
 Consumer was driving and the steering came apart. *ak consumer states the upper universal joint dropped off the steering shaft, causing no steering control, the steering shaft and universal joint were not assembled properly at the factory, upper universal joint was barely stuck onto the end of the steering shaft, the universal joint was stuck onto the shaft only up to the area of the upper universal joint. *slc
STEERING - LINKAGES
 Bolt in steering arm separated, causing loss of vehicle control. dealer has been notified.*ak
04/01/1997
 Steering pitman arm and idler arm have a lot of play, front bearings loose, front rotors rusted and worn out required replacement. *ak
11/15/1998103/01/1998
 Spent $1200 to rebuild entire front end of car due to excessive clunking and looseness after only 40,000 miles of lite street use. factory installed componants obvoiusly inferior quality or defective. dailmer chrysler was willing to assist in the costs of the repair until the bills came in. daimler chrysler walked away from the issue. rear window water leak - suggest other owners to look on passenger side for water ponding adjacent to sill plate at rear of seat. rear factory sliding window defective. must replace with alternate selection. headliner will not fit properly on alternate selection - beware. dodge ram owners beware. this owner jumping ship from dodge/chrysler products. only owned this vehical for 11 months.
05/02/1997
 While driving the vehicle experiences loss of steering control due to a defective steering tube which sheared off from the tie rods, cause the vehicle to crash into a tree. *ak
STEERING - LINKAGES - ARM - IDLER AND ATTACHMENT
04/01/1997
 Steering pitman arm and idler arm have a lot of play, front bearings loose, front rotors rusted and worn out required replacement. *ak
STEERING - LINKAGES - KNUCKLE - SPINDLE - ARM
12/03/20011
 Left front spindle broke with little warning while traveling on interstate.
STEERING - LINKAGES - LINK - DRAG - CONNECTION
1501/15/1996
 Front end misalignment. in addition, rear axle seals/axle bearings/steering drag:link/front brake calipers/rotors and pads/rear brake shoes and drums and rear brake cylinders and brake vacuum booster failed/replaced.
STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
09/02/19980
 Inner tie rod truck goes out and steering goes to the right. *ak
STEERING - RACK AND PINION
11/19/19961
 Failure of the steering column bolt, consumer was making a left hand turn and the bolt holding the rack and pinion steering in place broke, causing the consumer to have an accident/injury. *ak
STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR
 Steering column is extremely loose which causes vehicle to drift to right or left while driving, cause unknown. please give any further details.*ak
1
 Consumer states steering column is locking on vehicle. *jb
103/01/1996
 While make any turns consumer noticed a clicking noise from steering . dealer has been notified. *ak the dealer used a spray to fix the clicking noise in the steering column, but it did not solve the problem. *yh
08/01/1996
 Unexpectedly the steering wheel locks up. dealer has inspected and repaired the vehicle and the problem still exists. failed part not available for three days because of high demand and cannot be kept in stock. manufacturer has been notfied. *ak *yc
09/05/199908/01/1998
 Steering wheel binds and gear shift lever on column moves putting truck into neutral twice at hightway speeds, dealer tested and said that this needs to be replaced at a cost of 400 dollars i feel that a vechile should not have to have a streering colum replaced at 50000 miles
10/05/1999211/01/1995
 12-8-95 replaced defective stirring colum; 12-19-96 replaced defective fuel gauge;
 Steering column is very loose and shakes, this problem also gives it trouble placing the vehicle into park. dealer has been contacted. *ak
 Steering in the vehicle gets extremely sloppy when driving and makes it hard to steer. the steering column has been replaced and the upper and lower control arms. *ak
104/06/1996
 Steering column failed.
12/01/1996107/11/1996
 Steering column makes clicking noise.
03/10/19971
 Steering wheel not centered.
02/12/1997102/01/1996
 Steering column replaced.
01/24/1997
 Steering wheel: while driving the steering wheel locks up and it becomes very hard to turn. it seems as if there is no power. vehicle is in for repair in shop but they can't find the problem . *ak
12/30/19963
 When applying brakes, vehicle pulls severely to right, according to dealer, calipers were sticking, replaced calibers/ rotors, problem has reoccurred; also, experiencing lot of play in steering column, can m ove shaft u/down, not a tilted steering wheel. *ak
11/28/19961
 During vehicle operation at 5 mph, the brackets which hold the steering column disconnected, causing it to come apart. *ak consumer states the steering column fell in his lap and the bolts hit his feet. *slc
03/18/1996703/16/1996
 Front brake pads/calipers failed, causing vehicle to pull to the right, also steering wheel off center. *ak