The video I posted with this complaint isn't my video, and it doesn't even depict the severity of the "death wobble" I experienced, but it is the closest I could find online. This "death wobble" has happened several times to my truck. I completely rebuilt the front end, but it continued to happen, and destroyed some of the new parts I had replaced. I took it to a local Chrysler dealer/shop and they originally agreed to repair the problem. For some reason they changed their mind and expected me to pay in excess of $575 for the repairs. So, now my truck sits here at home because I'm afraid to drive it at highway speeds (especially with our "smooth" roads here in Arkansas). I WILL be joining the class action lawsuit.

I received a recall notice to have my tie rod inspected a couple years ago and when I took it in I was told my truck did not need the recall. In all my years of driving I have never experienced anything like the vibration I did when I hit a bump traveling at highway speed of 65 mph. I was able to get the vibration to stop after braking and slowing down.

The next day I started my internet search into the vibration I experienced. What I discovered was the phrase "Dodge Death Wobble".

The more I read on this topic the more I was convinced that my truck is demonstrating the death wobble.

Problem first began at about 35,000 mi. Hit a pot hole on the freeway at 55mph and got a VIOLENT front end shimmy/bounce. Had to slow to about 30 mph to get it to stop Took it to dealer (Don Wier in Reno) who said it wasn't covered and wanted $2300 to fix it. I took it to a 4 wheel drive specialist who has successively replaced the Track Arm, Upper and Lower Ball Joints, and balanced the wheels & tires. The problem still persists and has happened twice in the past week. In both cases the shimmy was VIOLENT and could have easily resulted in a serious accident. I need this truck for work but nothing seems to fix it and I am reluctant to drive it. This is more than a pain in the butt - it is DANGEROUS and I feel like I am throwing my money away trying to fix it. Do I need a lawyer?

I have replaced both front axle joints, both upper and lower ball joints, both outer tierod ends, the steering stabilizer, the tierod end on the pitman arm, and have had the tires high speed balanced and rotated three times. I still have this uncontrollable violent front end shake after hitting a bump driving 40 mph and faster. I have to slow down below 30 mph to get the shaking to stop. I never had this problem until the axle joints and ball joint were replaced (108000 miles). So far I have $2300 in repairs. I can't afford to buy a new truck. Does anyone have any ideas?

Even though I am reporting this problem now it actually happened for the first time last summer. ( Aug. 2010 ) When I hit rough sections in the road or freeway, the front end of my truck starts jumping up and down violently to the point that I can hardly control it! The only way to get it to stop is to slow the truck down to a very slow speed, maybe 20-30 mph. This has happened now about a dozen times in the last 6 months or so. The first time this happened I took it to my mechanic and he told me there was a little bit of play in the front suspension but nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that would cause the shaking that I described. He also said the steering box was leaking a little, but again nothing in his experience told him this would cause the shaking either. I then put new tires, shocks and steering stabilizer and it was still doing it. I then took to the Dodge dealer in Vacaville, CA. They told me the only thing that they saw that was wrong was the leaky steering box, and low tire pressure. They test drove the truck and did experience the shaking, ( thankfully ). After they put the proper air pressure in the tires they drove again and could not get it to shake again. I was grateful since the truck did not have a shaking episode for about 6-8 weeks or so. But after that it has started up again and is getting worse. I don't know what to do. Thats why I have turned to internet to see if other people have had this same problem, and what I can do about it. Please someone help, my truck is dangerous to drive but its the only vehicle I have besides my wifes car, and there's no way I'm putting her and my kid in that truck. I don't mind spending money to fix it but what is wrong with it?

The truck will be performing completely normal until it comes into contact with an uneven surface on the road, pothole, etc. and then it will shake uncontrollably. The entire truck shakes, including the steering wheel. The driver literally has to hold on tight to the steering wheel to even keep it on the road. The only way we have found to stop the shaking is to slam on the brakes and slow to almost a stop. It will usually stop at about 15-20 mph and then you can be on your way again, until you hit another uneven surface. It is very dangerous for the driver as well as oncoming cars as well as those behind you when you have to slam on the brakes. Our mechanic said he has heard many complaints from owners when he used to work at a Les Schwab garage. He does not know how to fix as it appears to be a Dodge defect.

I phoned both the local Dodge dealership and the 1-800 # and they both say they've never heard of the problem before. Ironically, 2 others in my very small town have similar problems with the Dodge.

2004 dodge 2500 needs upper and lower ball joints, wheel bearings, u joints, tire rods and power steering pump. i purchased this truck thinking i was getting quality i say bull sh*t. dodge sucks i will never buy another dodge. there is no way this should happen with less than 100k. the first problem arrived when my rear axle u joint went bad at 60k. between 15 and 25 mph the whole truck vibrated. 3 mechanics told me it was my rotors. so i replaced them $100 each. found out i needed rear brakes too. $85 each so that's $450. two weeks later i had to use four wheel drive truck made loud clunking noise sounded like it was going to fall apart. mechanic told me i needed to replace front axle u joints. while mechanic was ordering parts. realized that it would prob. need wheel bearings so there is $850. mechanic started taking apart my front end a realized i needed upper and lower ball joints and tire rods. at last it needed a power steering pump. my total bill is over $2500. i am just wondering if there is a way for dodge to cover some of the cost.

Truck started making a "clunking" noise prior to state inspection and I found out that I needed upper & lower ball joints. I made an appointment to have work done a week later and in the mean time the "clunking" got worse. When I dropped it off at the shop they had me look at the ball joints and come to find out both axle shaft u-joints were shot. I told them to go ahead and fix the ball joints and the u-joints, the cost to do this was $940 including tax and labor (5 hours labor (locked in) according to their service manual). The ball joints were $110 each and the u-joints were $50 each. When they started working on it (Thursday 7:30am) they called to tell me that they would need to remove the dust shields in order to do some of the work. The dust shields were $22 each so my bill went up by $44 plus tax. The u-joints that were ordered from the Dodge dealership (across the street) were not the correct ones so it took two hours to find u-joints that would fit my truck. They were found at an auto parts store not at a dealership!!!! The price on these were $65 each so my bill was going up by another $30 plus tax. I got a phone call in the afternoon (4:30pm) from the garage telling me that I "might" need new wheel bearings do to them trying to get them off. The new wheel bearings are $275 each. I started thinking about trading this in on a new truck but a different make!!!! Friday morning I get a phone call and the garage tells me that I will need the new wheel bearings and my truck should be done between 5:00pm and 6:00pm. My bill had grown to $1850 and my truck has just turned 65,000 miles. At 65,000 mile I should not have to spend nearly $2000 in repairs. I have the tow package that I use rarely and I have the snow plow package that I have NEVER used. I can not believe that Dodge has such poor quality. I have owned 3 Dodge trucks over the last 10 years and they all have had some issues but this one (2004 Quad 2500) has cost more to fix and was the most expensive one that I have bought. I contacted the dealership that I have bought the last 5 vehicles from to find out what they would charge and if there was a known problem, the answer I got was "You should just trade it in and get a 4-5 year newer one!" I will not buy another Dodge truck again!!!!