2012 jeep grand cherokee power steering leak

One of the most common problems that happens with a vehicle over time is it’ll begin leaking power steering fluid.  Your Jeep Grand Cherokee‘s power steering fluid runs through your power steering pump, and all throughout the steering system.  

Without the power steering system, your Grand Cherokee would be very difficult to drive.  Most of the weight of the vehicle is absorbed by the power steering system, making it feel much lighter than it really is.

Power Steering Leak Symptoms:  Jeep Grand Cherokee

Here are the most common symptoms of a power steering leak in your Grand Cherokee:

• Fluid on the Ground–  The first symptoms of a power steering leak will be when your Jeep starts dropping fluid on the ground.   As long as the leak isn’t bad enough, this will be the only symptom.  But, if you let it go too long, it’ll begin to make noise.
• Whirring Noise–  If your power steering system is critically low on fluid, you’ll begin to hear your Grand Cherokee make a whirring noise.  This is the sound of the pump not having enough power steering fluid to cycle through the steering system.  It’s only a matter of time before there is no fluid left at all and your Grand Cherokee’s steering wheel feels heavy.
• Hard to Steer–  At this point enough power steering fluid has leaked out of the system so that the pump can no longer do its job.  Modern vehicles are not made to be driven without power steering.  Their close ratio steering makes them very hard to operate without power steering.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Leaking Power Steering Causes

1. Power Steering Hose

The first thing that you would want to do is look around the power steering hoses for any obvious signs of a leak.  The power steering hose will run from the pump to the rack or gear.  The most common place that the hose will leak from where the metal part of the hose meets the rubber.  Look for power steering fluid on or below it. 

2. Power Steering Pump

Your Grand Cherokee’s power steering pump pushes the hydraulic fluid through power steering hoses and through the steering rack or gearbox.  It is turned by the serpentine belt attached to the engine.  The pump can wear down over time.  When it does it can begin to leak power steering fluid under the engine.

3. Rack or Gearbox

There are seals in the rack or gear box that can go bad over time and leak.

4. Cooler

On some makes and models there will be a power steering cooler.  It’s easy to determine if there is a cooler.  You’ll see lines running from the power steering pump to the radiator.  It will look like a smaller radiator.

Grand Cherokee Power Steering Fluid Leak Fix

Fixing the power steering fluid leak in your Grand Cherokee is a pretty straight forward process.  You’ll want to try and find the leak.  

1. First, take a look at the power steering lines, they most commonly leak where the metal meets the rubber on the line.  Replacing the line will stop the leak.  If you have a power steering cooler, you’d want to follow the lines there as well.  Hoses are cheap.
2. After that, the power steering pump itself would what you would want to take a look at.  A leaking power steering pump is easy to identify.  Unless it’s leaking from the very bottom, it’ll be covered in fluid.
3. Seals in the rack and pinions or steering gear box can and do go bad over time.  The leak should leave fluid further back than the power steering pump.  This is the last thing that you would want to look at in terms of likelihood of it being the problem, as well as cost/effort to fix.

Conclusion

Good luck finding your Jeep Grand Cherokee’s power steering fluid leak.  If there is anything that you would like to add, please feel free to leave a comment below.

17 problems related to power steering fluid have been reported for the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee based on all problems reported for the 2012 Grand Cherokee.

Power steering lines leaked at 80k ( January 2019 dealer repaired ) now 7 months later (August 2019) both lines are leaking again. . It's going in on the 19th for repair but someone told me their is a huge fire hazard with this fluid leaking and has caused major car fires and steering failure. Is there or was there a recall at some point with the 2012 Grand Cherokee to fix this issue permanently ?I bought this truck in 2017 so I'm unaware of a recall about the power steering issues. My Jeep was serviced at lagers of mankato mn . .

I was advised during an oil change that power steering rack and pinion assembly needs to be replaced due to leaking fluid. The NHTSA database is filled with similar complaints about this defective part. With 10 recalls already on this vehicle, please investigate to determine whether a recall is warranted for this issue as well. Thank you.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving approximately 40 mph, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. Upon inspection, the owner discovered that the power steering fluid leaked from the power steering pump. One step auto Chrysler of fort walton (541 mary esther cut off, fort walton beach, FL) was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 120,000.

On April 16, 2018, I took my car into the glendale Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership in glendale, mo, to obtain the alternator diode thermal fatigue recall replacement. During their inspection, I was notified that I also needed to replace the rack and pinion power steering module due to leaking fluid for $2300. 00. This item is connected to the recall of the alternator diode thermal fatigue problem. In addition, I was notified by the inspector that I had to replace the right rear shocks, also due to broken seals and leaking fluid. This car obviously is experiencing systemic failures, for which Jeep should be held responsible, since the car has only been driven by myself and has only 46,000 miles on it. These core items should last at least 100,000 miles. I have found that the dealership is charging me almost twice the going rate for replacing these items, and this is quite upsetting. I have found information on the internet that there are many similar complaints about these electrical failures, and feel strongly that your organization should issue a recall re the rack and pinion power steering module as soon as possible. This is a very dangerous failure and should be Jeep's responsibility. My car has had regular service check-ups, the last one being on December 9, 2017, to obtain the brake booster water shield recall replacement - another failure. Between December 9 and April 16, the car was not driven more than a few hundred miles, and always garaged and clean. No accidents in its history. And yet, its electrical system seems to be disintegrating. I feel my life is in danger in this car, and I obviously cannot sell it without these items being fixed, harming me further financially. Please act on this complaint as soon as possible.

Rack and pinion leaking power steering fluid in cold weather.

Dealership related the found steering gear had no fluid, it was leaking and needed to be replaced. We park the car in the garage and have no leaks on the floor. Where is all this leaking fluid going?.

Power steering fluid leaking; according to dealer, power steering fluid is highly flammable and may cause a fire forcing me to pay the $1,600 for a new steering rack. 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 26k miles.

Rack and pinion is leaking power steering fluid. A crack in the seal has developed in the rack on the front passenger side. The vehicle has never had any other issues like this before. Also the computer has not indicated low power steering fluid but the mechanic told me it was low. The vehicle was not driven recklessly or off road that would cause a crack like this. There is no simple fix for this other than a $1300+ repair for an issue that is a defect. I have had 2 mechanics and the dealership look at the issue and give me quotes. I discovered this in January.

I am losing power steering fluid on my 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee - there is a leak somewhere in the steering. I have only 40,k miles on this vehicle. There have been many complaints on this and is obviously a defect in the steering system - Chrysler should recall and repair this problem.

Tl- the contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, the power steering fluid was low and that there was an internal fracture which caused a leak of the power steering fluid with no warning. The contact was not included in NHTSA action number: pe12020 (steering). The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and diagnosis to determine the failure. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and they provided no remedy. The approximate failure mileage was not available. Dyd.

Rack and pinion leaking. On July 23 2012 there was an article published about cars going on for due to power steering fluid spraying on motor. Please recall this problem. It's has affected many.

The power steering hose is leaking fluid onto the engine.

Seal fails prematurely on rack and pinon. It leaks into boot sealing the connection between the end of the rack and the inner rods, which masks the problem. Because the vehicle is not dripping fluid the leak goes unnoticed. I see this as a serious issue, as most people do not expect the rack & pinion to fail at such an early interval they are probably not checking fluid levels. . This could potentially cause lack of steering and result in many accidents. Jeep is ignoring the problem, message boards on internet are full of people reporting this issue. I would like to see it investigated.

Last Saturday (01/31/2015), I got 48k service done on this Jeep. Yesterday (02/02/2015) the steering wheel got jammed when my wife was reversing the vehicle from the driveway. We found out that the power steering fluid was missing. I took the Jeep back to the dealer and they found that the power steering fluid container is leaking.

The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking power steering fluid. As a result, the vehicle jerked while turning left or right. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 32,000.

We had noticed a small puddle of fluid in our garage and took car to be serviced at Jeep. They said it was transmission fluid and fixed the problem. Next day we drove 500 miles to oliver bc and when we stopped the car, we noticed a larger puddle of red fluid from the left front area under car. The car was difficult to steer and realized it must be power steering fluid that was leaking. We took it to a dealer in pentiction, bc and they said that there was no power steering fluid left in the system. They "located power steering leak, as clamp was not released, they released clamp, cleaned off the fluids, refilled reservoir, road tested and no leaks. " we then drove another 300 miles to our destination and have not had any leaks and the power steering seems fine. We just bought the car in may and it only has 2100 miles on it.

The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving approximately 1 mph in the driveway, a loud noise emitted from outside of the vehicle and suddenly the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact noticed an excessive amount of steering fluid leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer, where the power steering hose was reconnected. The malfunction recurred twice and each time the vehicle was towed to the dealer. There were other repairs performed at different times, which consisted of replacing the power steering pump and cooler. In addition, the power steering rack and hoses were replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. There was currently an open investigation under NHTSA action number pe12020 (steering:hydraulic power assist:hose, piping, and connections). The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.