I drive a 2008 chrysler 300 base model with 150k miles. The other day I went over a dip in the road at 35 miles per hour and the steering power went out for about 3 seconds. The car pulled about 10 feet to the right as I struggled to counter steer to the left. The power suddenly came back and the jolt through off the alignment of my steering wheel. It was almost a serious accident. I’m lucky! Dealership said that there is no issues that they can see. I just need an alignment now. Pump is fine, holds pressure no leaks anywhere. Belt and tensioner look like new. keep driving till it happens again. They thought maybe the belt got wet and slipped but it hadn’t rained in days and this was 40 minutes into the ride. I don’t want to wait till I crash to do something. I don’t believe the electric power went off in the whole car, I was to busy trying to avoid a crash to have noticed. However the car didn’t stall or stop at all, it just kept driving when the steering came back. Does anybody have any thoughts on this.?
Were you aware of a recall? Got lots of keys on your chain? I would use just one key in the ignition.
NEWS: Chrysler is recalling certain 2008 Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger, Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles; IGNITION SWITCH
Report Receipt Date: SEP 17, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V567000
Component(s): IGNITION SWITCH
Potential Number of Units Affected: 291,703
OCT 2014 – Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2008 Chrysler 300 vehicles manufactured May 31, 2007, to May 12, 2008, Dodge Magnum vehicles manufactured May 23, 2007, to May 12, 2008, Dodge Charger vehicles manufactured May 24, 2007, to May 12, 2008, Jeep Commander vehicles manufactured April 3, 2007, to May 12, 2008, and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured March 21, 2007, to May 12, 2008. In the affected vehicles, the ignition key (FOBIK) may not return to the “ON” position after being rotated to the “START” position, instead sticking between the two positions. Potentially, while the vehicle is being driven, the ignition may inadvertently move through the “RUN” position to the “ACCESSORY” or “OFF” ignition position, turning off the engine. If the ignition stays between “START” and “ON” positions it could cause loss of certain electrical functions. If the ignition key inadvertently moves into the “OFF” or “ACCESSORY” position, the engine will turn off, which will then depower various key safety systems including but not limited to air bags, power steering, and power braking. Loss of functionality of these systems may increase the risk of crash and/or increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash. The remedy for this recall campaign is still under development. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Chrysler’s number for this recall is P57. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/daimler_chrysler/jeep_commander.htm
This could be your problem.
but, also, “The car pulled about 10 feet to the right as I struggled to counter steer to the left”, this indicates a major alignment problem, as even with no power steering, the car should track straight. Perhaps you had a problem that you were unconsciously correcting via the power steering.
Can I ask how fast you were going when you hit the “dip in the road?”
I was going between 30 and 35 mph. I also just had an alignment done when I brought new tires approx. 4 months ago. The road that it happened on is tilted to the right tho. I know because I’m on it everyday on my way to work. You guys are awesome. Keep those suggestion coming. PLEASE!
A local driveway mechanic suggested I replace the entire steering system. The car has a lifetime warranty on the drive train and everything else is mint. I love it and would like to keep it as long as possible! any other ideas???
What part of ignition switch recall did you miss?
maybe it was
"the ignition may inadvertently move through the “RUN” position to the “ACCESSORY” or “OFF” ignition position, turning off the engine. If the ignition stays between “START” and “ON” positions it could cause loss of certain electrical functions. If the ignition key inadvertently moves into the “OFF” or “ACCESSORY” position, the engine will turn off, which will then depower various key safety systems including but not limited to air bags, power steering, and power braking. Loss of functionality of these systems may increase the risk of crash and/or increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash. "
Did you even read anything?
"A local driveway mechanic suggested I replace the entire steering system. "
sure replace the entire steering system instead, wtf
Glad you have found a not solution outside the recall that sounds totally innefective and costly.
How did the ignition switch throw off the alignment of his steering wheel?
“A local driveway mechanic suggested I replace the entire steering system. The car has a lifetime warranty on the drive train.”
I may be misinterpreting what you wrote, but I hope you don’t think that the steering system is part of the drive train!
As ridiculous as the mechanic’s suggestion is, if you were under the impression that this over-the-top approach to fixing the car would be covered under warranty, please be assured that it would not be covered. Instead, focusing on the ignition switch is more likely to yield results.
If the car didn’t stall, I wouldn’t suspect the ignition switch, though anything is possible I guess. This car has hydraulic power steering, not electric. Really there’s not enough data here from one incident to make any kind of determination as to what happened. If some mechanic is recommending you “replace the entire steering system”, it sounds like what needs replacing is the mechanic. Silly question, is the power steering fluid reservoir full?
If it hasn’t been done, I would have a competent mechanic inspect the steering system components for wear, excessive play, binding, etc.
What doesn’t make sense to me is when you say the “…jolt threw off the alignment of my steering wheel” Do you mean that after the incident that the wheel was now canted left or right while cruising straight ahead? If that’s the case, I would have the steering linkage and rack and pinion assembly looked at closely.
I am carefully listening to all the comments hear. Thank you to all who have responded so far. Here’s where I’m at.
-
After the incident the steering wheel which used to drive the car straight at the 12 o’clock position now drives straight when it is at 1 o’clock. So I believe that is the linkage. In addition the cars pulls slightly right so that is an alignment issue.I don’t want to fix that just yet because no doubt it will happen again when the problem reoccurs. Those things are small potatoes.
-
I was told by the dealership that if it was the faulty (recalled) ignition issue the car would have stalled/ the engine would have turned off. ? Are they right or wrong about that ? Perhaps more of you can way in on that.
-
I know that the steering system is not covered under the warranty. However that (you would have to agree) is a great reason to keep this car going in 100% safe and reliable condition. Now that I’m at 150k miles I thought replacing the steering system components made long term sense. Since they can’t pinpoint the problem. How about just replacing the rack and pinion assembly and the pump?
-
The pump might have shut down for a moment and caused the issue.
-
The extra play, due to wear in the rack might also be the issue but that’s something that cannot be seen.
Soooooooooo here I am wondering…
A) Chrysler has not issued a replacement ignition switch for the recall.
B) I don’t want to crash waiting for it to happen again.
CAR GUYS PLEASE WAY IN HERE! YOU GUYS ARE THE GURUS!! WHAT DO I DO!!!
deleted
Barkydog: I have removed all extra keys from my key chain at this point. Thanks for that suggestion. Great idea!
Do you know, would the ignition switch explanation cause the engine to shut off like the dealership said? Because it just kept running. The only thing that turned off was the steering for a few seconds. Then I kept driving like nothing ever happened.
deleted
Oblivion all levels are full. I appreciate your comments and analysis. The mechanic who may need to be replaced theorized that (Chrysler is famous for premature front end wear and tear.) The worn parts may have so much play that the ball popped out of the rack and pinion, as he explained it. The jolt of the counter steering that I did popped it back in. Replacing it all gives me a 100% chance at removing the problem and resets the system for hopefully another 150,000 miles before this type of issue reoccurs. It was just a possible explanation - suggestion, he can’t do the job, he said have the dealership do all the replacing. It’ s best left to the clueless experts!
YIKES!!!
Best estimation of the situation imhop, Sometimes the ignition switch will go to off (as noted in reecall info), effectively locking up the steering and any control as if in park, I think your steering locked up, due to ignition switch failure, happened to be turned a bit, and luckily for you popped back out to give you control again. The brakes have a few stops left if an engine is dead, but I think you should consider the most probable causes before throwing money and parts at it. One kicker for me after the dip, could cause keys to sway enough to change the position of the swittch.
I received a letter from Chrysler that they are having a recall. It arrived in February stating the replacement switch would be available soon. I have been hounding the dealership about it and they said the new ones would be available in late July. As of last week they claim that Chrysler still has not made them available. Scorn!
Barky they claim that they can’t even get a replacement old ignition switch. I might have to call Detroit and start raising HELL : (
CAR GUYS H-E-L-P ! ! !
deleted
“sure replace the entire steering system instead, wtf”
“Glad you have found a not solution outside the recall that sounds totally innefective and costly.”
I like your style . . . !
:naughty:
It is unlikely the engine would restart itself after being switched off. I wouldn’t fault the ignition in this case.
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch and key FOBs, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin August 14, 2015.
The ignition modules are in limited supply to dealers, this is beyond the control of the OP and the local dealer.
The vehicles ESP (stability control) may have engaged if this was a violent event causing the pull. You may have run something over that was caught in the wheel. There are a number of things that can’t be investigated over the internet.
Have the vehicle repaired, when the alignment angles are measured and found to be off they will have to identify and replace the damaged parts. Sometimes it is difficult to spot damage to control arms, steering knuckles and steering linkage by eye but alignment measurements will show if there is a problem. If it is pulling to the right the caster may be off, I don’t believe that is adjustable on this vehicle, something will have to be replaced to correct the alignment.