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Comments
When we test drove the Limited, with a 4.7, we noticed a vibration between 60-75 MPH. Ignorant as I am and thinking it was tires, they dealt us out of our 2001 JGC Limited (97,000 miles and no problems at all). I spent the next couple of weeks playing with tire pressures and moving the roof rack back and forth thinking possibly it was wind buffet causing the irritating vibration.
When this failed we returned it to the Chrysler Service Mgr who drove the vehicle and determined it to be the rear driveshaft (sound familiar?) It took a month to for the shaft to reach the dealer but it finally came in.
The shop replaced the shaft on 9/4/07, called and said it was fine, 100% corrected, driven and proven by the mechanic with 20 years experience and the service Mgr with as many years behind him. Well, again, as ignorant as I am, I was on I-77 for approximately 30 seconds and felt (yes you guessed it), the vibration....but not quite as bad, except now as I enter a right turn at interstate speeds, the steering wheel vibrates as well.
Well, before getting out of their that eve, the General Manager, the salesman I purchased the vehicle from and the General Motors Service Mgr (the Chrysler Service Mgr went home while I was on the test ride! Go Figure)were into it hot and heavy. The GM service Mgr did drive the vehicle and confirmed the vibration with the comment, "I'm not sure we can fix this vehicle".
I left the vehicle there and returned the next eve to get a loaner from Enterprise at the dealers expense.
The dealership is now to replace the front drive shaft. It is now 9/10/07, I still have the loaner and am not happy with Chrysler. I am pursuing it as a "Lemon" under the Lemon Law. :lemon:
I called the number located in Colorado listed earlier and talked with the service manager Jason. He stated that if replacing the two shafts didn't fix the problem to raise each wheel off the ground and with a string, measure the circumference of each tire. If one or more measurement is off by much and because the vehicle is all-wheel drive, it would act similarly. I will try that next and keep you posted.
By the way, what did you replace your Jeep with?
Prior to having the driveshafts replaced, the vibration was all the time rather than when accelerating. So, replacing the driveshafts did do some good.
I have an appointment at Goodyear on Sat, 9/14. If that proves no good my plan is to revisit the dealer and do more griping.
it does go away when coasting aT 70 MPH, AND COMES RIGHT BACK WHEN ON THE ACCELERATOR........MINE HAS THE GOODYEAR FORTERA HL TIRES AND ARE 18 INCH........
When the Jeep garage replaced the rear driveshaft, the service mgr stated that they checked to see if there was any way to adjust the pinion angle. It was found that there was no way to adjust this angle.
I ask about the u-joints and found out there is no U-joints. A type of CV joint is used and and very stiff when trying to install. The driveshafts are made of some lightweight alloy, not carbon fibre technology as used in some airplane wings and body structure.
Also, today, when I read that Jeep was recalling 360,000 jeeps with brake issues. I called the number listed and talked with a real person who said that my VIN number was not listed on the recall list. I thought possibly that the automatic downhill braking the transmission does was somehow engaging erratically going uphill causing the vibration.
As stated in last evenings posting, I have an appointment at 11:00 tomorrow to have the Goodyear Fortera HL tires looked at. I feel I have to rule out the tires in order to proceed with the Jeep Dealer.
the service guy on the phone commented it was probably the tires, so you are right to effectively rule out tires first.....but also, you do need your tires tested on the device with the road force feature.........follow the link below to find a shop in your area with his device........if this proves to be ok, it appears you need to be very very persistent at getting both front and rear driveshafts replaced..........good luck and please kepp us posted.....
http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm
I have the 4.7 V8. It seems from what I read, the problem is not with only Hemi's but across the engine line.
The jeep is doing better, I would say, 90% OK right now. I told my wife that I was going to a different Goodyear store to have all the tires checked again. I don't trust the store when the last tire pulled from stock was good enough to balance.
The vibration now is a "shudder" between 62 and 75 mph, going uphill or down, no difference. We seemed to have been chasing several problems, all causing differering vibrations. At least that is the way it appears to me right now. I think Michelin Tires would take care of the quality issue with Goodyear but hate to put $800. worth of tires on the thing if we may get rid of it.
I hope to get the link from bamsdm for the Canadian TSB.
Will keep you posted.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
This link is for filing a complaint with a government site. I filed ours under 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 powertrain-driveline.
Mine appears to be the only one listed for this issue. The more the merrier.
I have an appointment Thurs afternoon at the Jeep dealer to get another loaner and have them keep looking for the problem. I have also contacted the salesman who sold us this vehicle and plan to try to trade. They are also the Chevy, Buick, Chrysler and Jeep dealer so maybe we can work out something but have a slim hope of coming out without much damage to my wallet.
While there, the salesman told me he would get an appraisal on ours. I stated very firmly that no appraisal is due, that we had a certain number of dollars (trade-in + cash + taxes)in the vehicle and that that is what we were do toward another vehicle. If that didn't happen then we were going to pursue the Lemon Law.
He said he would be right back and was within 5 minutes, stating that he was instructed by the General Manager to get the Service Manager to start the paper work to get Chrysler to buy back the Jeep.
Now, will this really happen? We hope so but I wouldn't count on it and if it does, will we get our total dollars out of it?? I doubt that too.
I talked with the dealer owner this eve as well. He was courteous but non-wavering but is the one who is bringing in the Rep. He states that all "all-wheel" drive vehicles have the vibration. Of course this is BS as I have driven quite a few with none having any vibration at all.
When we got in our Jeep to come home there was a "Owners Rights Under State Lemon Laws" booklet on the console. I believe someone was giving us a hint but still trying to maintain their job.
Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be more.
What type of rims are on your jeep?
Do you think the other 2% could be the pinon in the transfer case or either differential?
Can't wait til the 16th when we meet with the service rep.
What does the 2% represent?
I have been watching and reading your post and find it almost exactly the same with regards to complaints that I have with my brand new (left over) '07 GC with Hemi. I too have had the rear driveshaft replaced (not the front yet) and that would equate to a 70% improvement. It's in the shop now and they are looking into the front shaft as well as motor mounts. I have a good shop foreman who confirmed he felt the vibration and hum from the drivetrain. He explained that a drivesaft problem would normally happen consistently and not at certain speed points as is the case. The drivesaft that came out had 45 pounds of weights and the replacement had 15 pounds. Completely different! This suggests that Chrysler knows they have a problem. My hunch is that this is a band aid where they have moved the vibration to higher speeds from the original 65-70 where it was most noticable. I am also in the northeast (CT) and made a recent trip to Boston with a client who loved the truck but noticed the vibration. I also have a 'clunk' noise coming from the center of the vehicle that only occurs when i first pull out of a parking lot or parking space maing left or right turns. What amazes me is how poorly engineered this vehicle is considering it has a price tag of over 43K. I have a feeling the scenario will end with one of two options:
1) They took out the majority of the vibration so i must learn to live with it.
2) file a lemon law case.
The frustrating thing for me is i love the truck and really don't want my money back. I just want what every consumer is entiteled to which is respectable engineering and quality control. Something that seems to apparently be completely absent with Jeep. flattop60, please get in touch with me so we can share some stories and our progress. E-mail me at alankm@snet.net
Thanks,
Alan
I mean't suvowner1.
Alan
Temporarily we are located in the Ohio/West Virginia area until sometime in November. Then we are back to our home in central Florida.
First, I want to give this new Factory Service Rep a chance to see if he is worthy of his salt. But, just in case if either of you don't mind, could I get your repair facility name, city and State? If not too far I could possibly get in touch with them and get some good service. Even a phone number of the facility would be enough of a start for me.
I agree with wholelottahemi, we really like all the bells and whistles and would really like to get it fixed if possible. I hate to lose so much money in just a few months if a buyback/Lemon law does not work.
Thanks in advance if you can help me.
Chrysler is going to purchase 4 new Michelin Tires of comparable value, have them force balanced to the wheels to "fix" the problem. We should have the Jeep back tomorrow. Will this fix the vibration ??????
Will keep you posted.
I feel your pain! I have the same problem on my '07 GC with a Hemi. I am in the process of filing a lemon law case in CT where I live. If you want to talk, e-mail alankm@snet.net. They replaced my rear driveshaft which like you, seemed to help a lot. Now, I have a front driveshaft coming ( they are on national back order I wonder why)which by reading your post, doesn't sound like it is going to solve the problem. The car has 2500 miles on it and for a 43K automobile, this is what I have to show for my money. Oh, I also have a clunk sound every time I turn the steering wheel that you can hear from the center of the dash. Three visits to the dealer for the same problem. really speaks poorly about Chrysler. If you can't manufacture a car that doesn't vibrate at speeds over 55, than you have no business making cars period!
Alan
I called the Area Service Rep this morning, told him that it still vibrates and I needed to know what to do next. He said "I don't know". I ask him to buy back the vehicle, he flat said no, that the problem was not in the vehicle but in the tires. He purchased the tires for me out of the "goodness of his heart". He felt the original tires were never rotated which was part of the issue. I normally rotate every 7500 miles but feel that as much as that vehicle has been in the dealers shop that if the tires needed rotated to fix the problem then they should have seen this and rotated them.
I ask him about the Lemon Law, he said that I would need to do that through the state that it is titled in, which is Florida. I mentioned I have that paperwork filled out for Florida and waiting on him to make a decision about a fix or a buy back.
He is trying to get a Chrysler Engineer to drive the vehicle. The problem is that I finish my work here on Friday, 10/26, will remain a few days in the area and then migrate to Florida trailering the Jeep. I told him that I would meet the Engineer anywhere within 100 miles of here, just name the place and I would be there. I also told him I would meet him next week as he makes his rounds in another part of the state so he could drive it again.
I am really trying to be patient but I am at the end of my patient fuse.
Chrysler ordered the parts, we delivered the vehicle on 10/23 for the rebuild of the front differential. On Friday, 10/26 we received a call that the vehicle was "ready". We drive the 100 miles to the dealer (Chrysler ask us to use another dealership for the rebuild) on Sat 10/27 to test drive the vehicle. Some better but still vibrated. We refused delivery of the vehicle and kept the loaner.
On Monday we were ask to meet with the 3rd Chrysler Engineer so he could drive the 07 Jeep. He quickly felt the vibration.
On returning to the dealership we reached an agreement that Chrysler would buy back the vehicle but with restrictions.
1. They would give us sticker for our 07.
2. We had to purchase any other Chrysler product at sticker or more. Basically
traded for sticker prices.
The other option for us was to accept another repair attempt that would get the vehicle to about 90% satisfaction (They were going to replace the transfer case), then they were going to give us a warranty for as long as we owned the vehicle that would in essence make repairs to the vehicle at no cost to us for any and all problems.
I really wish they had not restricted us to Chrysler but I understand their reasoning.
We elected to look around and choose another Jeep. This we did and test drove two that we liked. One we preferred over the other and drove it approximately 50 miles. Except for the Goodyear Fortera HL tires, we liked it and it did not vibrate. So, to end this saga in our lives, we are to pick up the vehicle later this week most likely 11/17/07.
Hopefully this purchase/trade agreement will be the end of our mysery of the vibration issues. Most likely someone else will end up with the 07, my only hope is that they get it cheap enough to live with the vibration.
By the way, our new 08 is going to be a 5.7 Hemi with all the bells and whistles.
I commend your persistence. I am curious, they replaced both of my driveshafts (front and rear) which seemed to cure about 95% of the vibration. It is so subtle now that I don't think I could even get someone to feel it or notice it anymore. Only i know that there is a querk. Are you saying that after the repairs you had made the vibration was clearly noticable and obvious enough that anyone could feel it? Let me know i am really curious. Perhaps you could guage it on a scale of 1-10 before and after the repairs etc. Please reply.
Thanks and good luck!
Alan
If you could get one of the regional service reps to use the vibration monitor that was used on ours, its possible that yours could be made a 10. Ours was always noticable beginning at about 58 mph and on up. They kept zeroing in on the problem but never quite got there. I'm glad its not ours any longer.
However, we are still awaiting the paperwork to be completed before we can pick up our new one. Hopefully this week. I'm sure with the holidays and vacations it will take a little longer.
Good luck with your Jeep.
Thanks for sharing your situation and communication. Glad to here that they are working with you at Chrysler! My GC had the same problem but once they changed both driveshafts the vibration was reduced to a very slight shudder throught the driveline at 70 with no vibration anymore. The slight shudder is so nominal that unless you were to drive the car daily, I don't know that anyone would pick it up which is why I have been reluctant to continue with the push. Never the less, it is annoying as I know something is still there but it's too small to make a stink with at this point. I had all my ducks lined up and ready to file a lemon law complaint before the fix. They wouldn't give me a loaner and made me drive around with the vibration until the front driveshaft came off of back order.
Good luck and enjoy your new ride!
Alan
I appreciate the dealership in Columbus, Ohio that completed the deal and don't have any good feelings at all regarding the dealership in Ripley, WV. where we purchased the 07. They are without a doubt a dealership out to get your money and not wanting to service the vehicles they sell. In my opinion they are part swappers not mechanics!
The new 08 drives so much better than the 07 its unbelievable. My wife and I are of the opinion that the 07 was wrecked and then repaired without disclosing it to us.
Hats off to Chrysler for making this exchange happen.
As we were pulling out of the dealers lot in Columbus with our new 08, stickers were being placed in the side windows of the 07 stating "This vehicle is property of Daimler-Chrysler, not to be driven without permission and to be sold at auction". I pity the poor soul that gets hold of this lemony cream puff!!!
I don't understand it belonging to Daimler-Chrysler since Daimler split a few months back. I assume it to be so since it was manufactured prior to the sale off.
I think it is the drive train and don't expect that they will ever fix it! I think I bought a lemon and I will have to dump it next year and buy a car from a manufacturer that cares about customer satisfation and is not on the brink of bankrupsy as is Chrysler.