2.5

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,433 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Jeep Wrangler steering problems

steering problem

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2003 Jeep Wrangler Owner Comments

problem #12

Jun 092021

Wrangler

  • 141,999 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving 30-40 MPH, the vehicle hit a bump in the roadway and the steering wheel started shaking significantly and the vehicle seemed to be at risk of a rollover. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 141,999.

- East Patchogue, NY, USA

problem #11

Feb 172021

Wrangler

  • miles
Violent shaking after hitting holes in the road during acceleration-less tan 30 MPH. My vehicle has been inspected by my mechanic, who has knowledge of the -??Death Wobble-??. Safety was at risk due to front end shaking violently and almost losing control of the vehicle. The problem has been confirmed by mechanic. They started to manifest about 8 months ago.

- Bloomington, IL, USA

problem #10

Aug 032015

Wrangler

  • 112,000 miles
Terrible wobble at 45-55 mph. Tires and front end wobble until I stop or slow below 40 mph. It causes driver to slow at highway speed causing near rear end collisions when other drivers are following. At times wobbles so violently have to exit freeway in order to get it to stop.

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

problem #9

Mar 012014

Wrangler

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The Wrangler "death wobble". violent shaking after reaching speeds of approximately 50 mph. Must slow down and almost come to a stop to stop the shaking. First occurred a year ago. Took it our repair shop. They replaced the steering stabilization shock, which seemed to repair the problem. It then started to re-occur approximately 6 months later. Now it is doing it all the time, even at low speeds.

- New Market, VA, USA

problem #8

Nov 092013

Wrangler

  • 96,000 miles
While driving at 55mph - 60 mph on the highway and hitting a bridge joint, pot hole, or other road surface bump, the vehicle starts to violently shake and become uncontrollable. The only way to stop the shaking is to slow the vehicle to less than 30mph.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #7

Jun 122013

Wrangler 6-cyl

  • 79,732 miles
When I was driving around 50 mph I hit a pothole and the vehicle start shaking violently. I had to hold the steering wheel so hard it almost went to the other side of the road. This happened already 5 times, I am so scared to take it on the highway, because I might get into a wreck. I have to come to a complete stop for it to stop shaking.

- Clovis, NM, USA

problem #6

Aug 022011

Wrangler

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When the Jeep is in the 40 to 50 mph range, a "death wobble" happens. Sometimes by itself and sometimes when I hit a pothole or street patch. I have had auto professionals look at the car and they cannot figure out what the problem is. Most of the time the solution is to fix a symptom but not the actual cause. When this happens the brakes must immediately applied hard which has cause near rear end collisions. If auto professionals cannot find the cause then this is not a maintenance issue. This is a design flaw. This is not a remote issue. If you google death wobble Wrangler it will return over 110,000 hits!

- Madison, AL, USA

problem #5

Mar 212012

Wrangler

  • 45,370 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle started jerking violently. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was extremely hard to maintain control over. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the track bar and steering dampener needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 45,370.

- Box Elder, ND, USA

problem #4

Jan 012005

Wrangler

  • miles
We are experiencing the "death wobble". have been to the repair shop several times but the wobble returns shortly after we get the Jeep back on the road. Help....

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #3

May 132010

Wrangler

  • 19,000 miles
Incidents with stock 2003 Jeep Wrangler X 35,000 miles. Vehicle will shake violently out of control when driving over 40 mph. Incident is known as the death wobble and is very dangerous. Has occurred to my vehicle on many occasions. It is very hard to Jeep the Jeep on the road when this death wobble happens.

- Medford, NJ, USA

problem #2

Apr 062008

Wrangler 4WD 6-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 23,500 miles
Steering wheel shimmy on 2003 Jeep Wrangler...100% stock equipment...shimmy first noticed summer 2007...had wheel alignment done with no effect...had front tires rebalanced with no effect...performed tsb 19-003-06...while a significant improvement the shimmy is not gone and at times the vehicle feels unsafe to drive.

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #1

May 062007

Wrangler 4WD 6-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 35,600 miles
Steering shimmied at 45 mph unable to control vehicle the same exact scenario as in all the other complaints listed here about the steering shimmy.

- Elgin, IL, USA

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