steering as reported is silly

[Zimm]

I find it amusing that you have posted this on a social media platform

Well, when he takes out an ad in the New York Times, we’ll believe him.

 

[flynnsk]

Yep, it’s as easy as just removing the stock unit for a quick test drive to see for yourself. But of course adding an aftermarket version makes things right at the end of the day.

As well anyone who claims the aftermarket ones caused vibrations etc might have something else wrong on their truck. A stock Grenadier drives perfectly fine without a stabilizer at all.

Anyways, let the flame wars begin again cause they are coming. First will be oh it’s no big deal, just acquire a taste for it and you will be fine. Second will be the engineers at Magna know best and this is best.

Highlighted for emphasis.
Pretty sure I would put my faith in Magna Styr first and foremost. My Second, would be making sure I am keeping things in 'spec', particularly for a NEW launch vehicle.
Just over 8K now and can tell you there IS a distinctive difference between "New" (off the Lot/Ship) and after being "Broken In (used)*" a bit.
Drive a Brand-New Grenadier around a Dealer lot.
Now drive that same Grenadier and drive 1500** miles (mixed use, on road at highway, around town, dirt road, 'rugged terrain').
Drive back to the same Dealer lot.

Once back at the Dealer, ask yourself:
Does the Grenadier's Steering make it undrivable for Me?

If so, return it immediately.

*Dependent upon the driver of course,
**I find it hard to fathom that can take someone more than 1000-1500 miles to get a "sense" of how a vehicle operates.

 

[[ Adam ]]

I have 30,000 kms on mine on all types of roads and have absolutely no problem with the standard factory steering.

It doesnt drive like his IFS steering rack LR4, so something must be wrong with it...

 

[DaveB]

It doesnt drive like his IFS steering rack LR4, so something must be wrong with it...

My previous vehicle was a Mercedes AMG Sport Coupe.
The steering was massively over assisted at low speed.
I almost hit poles in car parks and overturned at slow speeds often.......in the first couple of weeks..............then I got used to it and never noticed it again
I had the opposite problem with the Grenadier...............then I got used to it and never noticed it again
Surprising how different the steering is in two vehicles that are almost identical in every other way.

 

[Tom109]

No steering issues here:

And the steering is fine, but I was lucky enough to score a very early build.

There is no steering issue. I drive one handed, wheel self centers, never hit a curb or even felt like anything untoward could happen.

 

[DoubleDoom]

No steering issues here. I can let go of the wheel and it remains straight. However, I am a relaxed wheel holder. As I have said it on another thread, so I apologise to the regulars for a repeat. My daughter felt it needed constant correction. She was nervous driving it and was gripping hard. That was causing her to steer the IG within the white lines. She did it with my old defender previously. Once I told her to relax and actually take her hands off the wheel, she realised it didn't move around and need corrections.

There was a run where I felt it did become a bit wallowing and that was on a hot day doing long distance 70mph. The tyres got into the 40c range and I was light load. It felt similar to the reports that some have made. The next morning, I checked the cold tyre temps and they were all at 39PSI which is the heavy load setting. I dropped the PSI to 36, which is light load, and haven't had a repeat.

Now I drive it mostly one handed, relaxed with little correction needed.

 

[DaveB]

No steering issues here. I can let go of the wheel and it remains straight. However, I am a relaxed wheel holder. As I have said it on another thread, so I apologise to the regulars for a repeat. My daughter felt it needed constant correction. She was nervous driving it and was gripping hard. That was causing her to steer the IG within the white lines. She did it with my old defender previously. Once I told her to relax and actually take her hands off the wheel, she realised it didn't move around and need corrections.

There was a run where I felt it did become a bit wallowing and that was on a hot day doing long distance 70mph. The tyres got into the 40c range and I was light load. It felt similar to the reports that some have made. The next morning, I checked the cold tyre temps and they were all at 39PSI which is the heavy load setting. I dropped the PSI to 36, which is light load, and haven't had a repeat.

Now I drive it mostly one handed, relaxed with little correction needed.

I also run 36 psi cold which then get up to 39-40 psi on long highway runs.

 

[Dokatd]

Highlighted for emphasis.
Pretty sure I would put my faith in Magna Styr first and foremost. My Second, would be making sure I am keeping things in 'spec', particularly for a NEW launch vehicle.
Just over 8K now and can tell you there IS a distinctive difference between "New" (off the Lot/Ship) and after being "Broken In (used)*" a bit.
Drive a Brand-New Grenadier around a Dealer lot.
Now drive that same Grenadier and drive 1500** miles (mixed use, on road at highway, around town, dirt road, 'rugged terrain').
Drive back to the same Dealer lot.

Once back at the Dealer, ask yourself:
Does the Grenadier's Steering make it undrivable for Me?

If so, return it immediately.

*Dependent upon the driver of course,
**I find it hard to fathom that can take someone more than 1000-1500 miles to get a "sense" of how a vehicle operates.

Yeah, you are right! They did a bang up job with the software implementation. Oh and the Safari windows that leak, poor turning radius etc etc. Oh and assembly and QC is top notch as well. My rear windows leak, my steering wheel wasn't centered at all, the jam nuts on my tierod and panhard rod were completely loose and my right front brake line rubbed the tire to the point that the brake line and the tire had to be replaced.

These are things I'm ok with considering what you get at the end of the day. But I can tell you my wife's 1st gen Rivian has been just short of flawless and that's a vastly more advanced and complicated vehicle designed, engineered and built by a company with virtually no experience. Granted they took time to figure out all the niggles first.

I've driven several Grenadiers with two being some of the pre production trucks with boat loads of miles. I can tell you that people that don't like the steering as it comes from the factory won't care for it anymore with 30k miles on it. Nor should they have to deal with it if there is a solution immediately available.

Regardless I just don't get the defensive arguments for the stock steering. I'm willing to accept that some of you are content or even love the factory steering. But many of you are not ok with people criticizing the steering and wanting to "fix it".

I personally don't have a single vehicle out of over 15 including trucks, boats, motorcycles and even airplane that I haven't modified to suit my needs. It's just something some people do.

Just like some people really need some stupid rail bolted to their dash to hold a phone, aux GPS and a CB radio, some of us need different steering feel.

I understand that some people and possibly myself make slightly definitive statements about the steering but I certainly recognize it's at a best an opinion and something I can choose to change or not. But for those that test drive a Grenadier and are turned off by the steering, they can search the internet and find threads like this and know there are options to make the truck suit their needs better. It would suck if they came on here and listened only to those that say the stock steering is flawless and you must accept it or buy a 4Runner instead because they are not a real man that can handle crappy steering.

 

[flynnsk]

Yeah, you are right! They did a bang up job with the software implementation. Oh and the Safari windows that leak, poor turning radius etc etc. Oh and assembly and QC is top notch as well. My rear windows leak, my steering wheel wasn't centered at all, the jam nuts on my tierod and panhard rod were completely loose and my right front brake line rubbed the tire to the point that the brake line and the tire had to be replaced.

These are things I'm ok with considering what you get at the end of the day. But I can tell you my wife's 1st gen Rivian has been just short of flawless and that's a vastly more advanced and complicated vehicle designed, engineered and built by a company with virtually no experience. Granted they took time to figure out all the niggles first.

I've driven several Grenadiers with two being some of the pre production trucks with boat loads of miles. I can tell you that people that don't like the steering as it comes from the factory won't care for it anymore with 30k miles on it. Nor should they have to deal with it if there is a solution immediately available.

Regardless I just don't get the defensive arguments for the stock steering. I'm willing to accept that some of you are content or even love the factory steering. But many of you are not ok with people criticizing the steering and wanting to "fix it".

I personally don't have a single vehicle out of over 15 including trucks, boats, motorcycles and even airplane that I haven't modified to suit my needs. It's just something some people do.

Just like some people really need some stupid rail bolted to their dash to hold a phone, aux GPS and a CB radio, some of us need different steering feel.

I understand that some people and possibly myself make slightly definitive statements about the steering but I certainly recognize it's at a best an opinion and something I can choose to change or not. But for those that test drive a Grenadier and are turned off by the steering, they can search the internet and find threads like this and know there are options to make the truck suit their needs better. It would suck if they came on here and listened only to those that say the stock steering is flawless and you must accept it or buy a 4Runner instead because they are not a real man that can handle crappy steering.

Well, hyperbole aside, I'll speak just for myself then so not as to confuse.
My concern is less about someone's feelings and more about addressing the underlying 'issue' and NOT steering people to make decisions that could VOID any Insurance Claim/Warranty (such as disconnecting a functioning safety device) and significantly impact another users' Life.

If you are asking (seeing as you are posing on a Forum of multiple users, it is safe to assume so), I would have to say I see the underlying issue would be that some users do not understand the purpose for which the vehicle was built/designed.

The only true 'issue' I see being presented is that A (recirculating Ball) does not drive like B (any IFS/Rack and Pinion) and cannot expand their marble sized minds to actually want to learn or adapt.

<climbs down Rear Ladder and gets off my 'Box'>

Edit: My understanding is Magna had very little to do with software implementation for the BMW sourced Engine and Transmission. BMW would have supplied the powertrain and basically said, here is a list of items you can and cannot alter/adjust to meet the requested specifications. Ineos (so far) has chosen not to open/allow access. We can only guess this is to protect Dealer/Service centers.

 

[Dokatd]

I only own one rack and pinion steering truck and that's my wife's. Ive listed all of my trucks here before and am happy to again if that helps. Hint, virtually all are vastly bigger and more off-road oriented than the Grenadier from the factory.

Changing a steering stabilizer is generally not considered an item that will void any warranty. That is especially true here in the states based on federal warranty laws. Nor is a steering stabilizers existence or non existence a safety concern. The millions of trucks with jacked up suspension and tires etc prove out that insurance is of little concern. Many dealerships even install this stuff theirselves nowadays.

And the software issues are not the BMW portion but rather the Ineos specific portions. To my knowledge BMW does not use any of the infotainment or dash features from the Grenadier. And they almost certainly didn't provide custom software to Ineos. The BMW side is seemingly allocated only to operate engine and transmission. Ineos would likely have their own module that connects via a can network to the BMW module.

 

[Bruce B]

I find it amusing that you have posted this on a social media platform

Where else can I complain? My wife just laughed at me!

 

[Dokatd]

Where else can I complain? My wife just laughed at me!

You could always invest in an old house with a front porch and a rocking chair. Then you can mutter and complain all you want about anything in public view. Problem is I might join you! So we might just bitch at each other

 

[Tazzieman]

It was designed as an 80% offroad car. If you drive 80% onroad you may have bought the wrong kind. It's like a small comfortable Unimog.

 

[Michael_in_Baja]

I’m curios. What is the year and month that your vehicle was built?

This is an important question. My steering (5/24 build) was ok but perhaps an earlier build might not be. I "solved" my OK steering with a Fox ATS 2.0 steering stabilizer. Worth it...

 

[[ Adam ]]

This is an important question. My steering (5/24 build) was ok but perhaps an earlier build might not be. I "solved" my OK steering with a Fox ATS 2.0 steering stabilizer. Worth it...

August 2023 build here... It drives like a truck.

 

[DaveB]

The wheel centering is unrelated to the wheel alignment as well as to the steering dampener. if your steering wheel's metal ring isn't at 12 oclock when driving straight then you should have your service center adjust it (or do it yourself, there are instructions on this forum). It won't affect the driving experience, but i found it a minor annoyance so i had it adjusted when i did my first oil change. They also did a wheel alignment and it really helped me getting my car to drive well on the highway.

i too changed out the steering dampener and i have nothing but good experiences from it.

I have owned about 20 vehicles and this is the first one to have the ring on the steering wheel.
I just don't look at it
I look out the windscreen and if the vehicle is going straight I am happy.

 

[Tazzieman]

I look out the windscreen and if the vehicle is going straight I am happy.

Whereas instant and realistic misery results from this:

 

[DaveB]

Whereas instant and realistic misery results from this:
View attachment 7878062

That's a picture I posted a fair while ago.
I just had a rock chip fixed in my windscreen and a few months ago a roo jumped smack into my front left corner.
Roo bar and side bars saved the day.

I can't remember where the little line on the steering wheel was pointing and I guess neither the rock or the roo noticed either.