My 2003 Grand Cherokee manual tilt steering wheel is stuck in the up position. I have taken the all the panels off to get at the steering column except the one behind the steering wheel which covers the tilt lever connections. What do I need to get at the lever to see what the problem is and what is the fix?

 

Welcome to the forum.

There is a large plastic two piece clamshell cover behind the steering wheel that conceals the shallow, squared off, u-shaped saddle, into which the tilt lever screws. Rocking that saddle releases the tilt latch, permitting the tilt to actuate.

The clamshell is retained by three screws from the bottom. A long skinny screwdriver, Torx if I recall correctly, permits removal of those screws. (Mine has been removed and replaced enough that I have used a small flat blade also.)

The other option is to leave the wheel pointing up and instead remove the seat to operate while standing.

 

Wingless, thank you for the reply. On my steering column there is a two piece cover behind the steering wheel. The one closest to the dash has two screws on the top which I was able to remove, but I can not remove it because the cover closest to the steering wheel covers part of it and it can't be slid forward as it is up against brackets, etc. To me it looks like the steering wheel needs to be removed to get it off which I really don't want to do.
My Jeep is a 2003 Grand Cherokee Laredo. I have searched the Internet and can't find anything for this year Jeep that has the same setup as mine. I guess I may have to take it to the dealer if nothing else.

 

The black plastic trim panel on the bottom in front to the gauge cluster is just held on by clips and can be popped off easily which should give you access to that area. The column cover consists of 2 half shell sections that snap together on the sides and are held by screws on the bottom. Did someone break off the short tilt control stick that comes out of the left side behind the headlight control switch? It just screws into an aluminum piece inside. Pulling it toward you releases the latch and allows the wheel to move freely. There is a spring that pulls the wheel all the way to the top when the latch is released and many click-stops to set the wheel where you'd like.

That's what my 2000 looks like and 99-04 should all be the same.

 

Thank you for the information. I took my Jeep to my mechanic. They found that the cast iron block (I don't know what it's function is in regards to the tilt is) was cracked on both side. The part can't be ordered separately so they found a used steering column for $150.00. Hopefully they can replace the parts needed without removing the steering column.

 

I was hoping there weren't any broken parts. My question now is how did it get broken? Was this a collision repaired vehicle, I wonder? If it was, the title should have said so. Swapping a column isn't a big deal and you can still use your old ignition key assembly.

I once bought an 87 Chevy 4X4 truck that was lifted with 33x12.5 tires on it and the tilt steering column was so worn out that you could move the wheel a good 2" in any direction from center because people used it to climb into the truck because it was so high. I replaced it with a column from the junkyard that wasn't a tilt column.

 

It wasn't in and accident. I had less then 30,000 miles on it when I bought it and didn't show any signs of an accident. I think what happened over time I didn't hang onto the steering wheel when i released the tilt lever. I know this happened a number times over the years. Also, the part may of had a flaw in it. I guess I'm paying the price for not being more careful.

 

Yeah, that spring is pretty violent. Sorry, today you have to think about deception too much. With all the hurricanes we've had lately, there are an awful lot of salt water flood cars out there for sale that should have been scrapped.