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.
Hello, I own a 2005 Jeep Wrangler unlimited. While driving on the highway, trying to "maintain" the proper speed limit, my Jeep will develop a death wobble to the front end. This erratic and almost uncontrollable behavior occurs at anywhere from 55 to 60mph. After trying to research the solution to this problem, I have noticed multiple other Jeep owners having the same issue. My Jeep is my daily driver, and also is used to Transport my 4 and 5 year old kids around. Due to the economy I can not afford to purchase another vehicle, nor will I sell these problems to someone else. I am surprised there hasn't been more highway related incidents/fatalities due to this issue. Any help will be greatly appreciated in solving this issue. Dealerships are no help and I cant afford to replace the whole front end just to end up with the same problems. Thank you for your time in this matter, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Death wobble violent shaking of steering wheel with after market parts I have spent thousands of dollars trying to fix the problem and it still death wobbles Jeep need to reimburse people for this if I would have been told this by a disclosure of some sort when I went to purchase the Jeep I would have not purchased it.
Front end shakes violently after hitting a bump and will not stop shaking until vehicle is brought to a stop. Dealer has attempted to fix it 5 times between August 06 and January 07. Dealer replaced steering dampner in August, 2006. Replaced trac bar in December, 2006. I had independent shop check front end. Found nothing out of spec. At one point dealer claimed that it was caused by tires. New tires fixed problem for a short time. Had tires balanced 4 times in 2009. Replaced stabilizer shock again in August, 2009 and again in December of 2011 with heavy duty one. Problem persists today in January of 2012.
Was driving over 50 miles per hour when I hit a little bump and my whole front end of my Jeep started to shake violently, I thought the wheels were going to come off, I could bearly control the steering wheel to make it to the side of road, I have had less violent ones but they are becoming more frequent now, I just went to dealer and they said my steering damper will have to be replaced for $255, I have been reading all the complaints about this " death wobble" and all the work that people are having done only to have the issue come back, I do not want to waste money on all the things that they will try and replace only to find its not the real issue. Please help!
This Jeep bought "used' in 2007 with 18K miles and no modifications. No post-purchase modifications have been made. Problem first noticed at 20K miles and happens intermittently and without warning. At 45+ mph, while entering freeway on-ramp overpass, hit expansion joint in road. Jeep began to violently shake from the front end of vehicle, and steering wheel wobbled left to right, 5 to 6 inches each side, uncontrollably. Vehicle sounded and felt like it was going to literally fall apart. Driver tried breaking gently but vehicle continued to shake/wobble even worse. With difficulty, driver got vehicle to side of road and called for help. Another occasion, while driving downhill 55 - 60 mph and decelerating, vehicle started violently shaking/wobbling, unprovoked by roadway defect or obstruction. Driver broke hard, down-shifted, got vehicle to shoulder of road and came to complete stop. Wobble did not cease until car stopped. Other occasions, typically while driving between 45 - 60 mph on freeway, steering wheel will start wobbling, subtly at first, then all-out shimmy/wobble from front end. On one occasion vehicle seemed to self-correct, but driver sensed wobbling trying to return. On all occasions driver(s) grasped steering wheel hard to try to "calm" vehicle. Three different family drivers (and only drivers) of this vehicle all experienced similar vehicle malfunction. Jeep has been taken to three different service centers (Chrysler/Jeep, les schwab, ken's tires) for inspection and repair. Owners purchased suggested parts and service each time. Problem eventually returns.
I love my 2005 Jeep Wrangler but I'm afraid it's going to kill me or cause a major accident. Hitting a bump or rough patch at speeds over 50 can trigger a "death wobble." The tires spin sideways- uncontrollably- and the car literally jumps and shimmies out of control. If I'm lucky I can guide it off the freeway to a stop. This happened a year ago and I had my tires aligned, which helped for a while. It started again, so I took it to the dealer who aligned my tires and replaced my steering damper. Jeep knows about this problem- there's a replacement part available for newer models. I drive conservatively, and never off-road, and have not made any modifications to the factory parts. This is a dangerous and common complaint- Jeep should be made to recall and fix this problem before people are killed!! how can there have been no action to date with so many complaints!
Driving over uneven road surfaces, man hole covers, pot holes, expansion joints in concrete, or any ripples in the road surface, what is commonly known as "death wobble" occurs. This is an uncontrollable left and right progressive wobble of the front wheels. This wobble does not stop until the vehicle is slowed down to approximately 10 mph. Parts replaced have been the steering stabilizer, track bar bushings, pitman arm and pitman tie rod end, tires, tires balanced three times (twice in two weeks), alignment performed twice, and steering gear box adjusted. Two different Jeep dealerships claim the stabilizer is the problem, and the one replaced must be faulty. Do the research, the steering stabilizer is not the problem... only a mask. The "death wobble" happens daily. Usually multiple times.
I bought a 2005 SE sport Jeep Wrangler about two years ago. In the past few months I have noticed vibrations increasing in the steering wheel and just in the past month the shakings have become extremely violent between 52-60 mph, causing me to have to pull over and stop on the interstate. I took it to the shop and have had the brake pad replaced, new shocks, new alignment, tires rotated, tires balanced, rotors replaced and the entire front end checked. The shaking is still present and I cannot afford to keep replacing one thing at a time when nothing seems to help. The violent shaking is occurring consistently every time I reach 52 mph now and I am scared to drive it on the interstate or have my family drive it. I don't know what to do, where to go or who to talk to to help me get this fixed without costing me my entire months salary or more. My tires also appear to be wearing wrong due to the shaking, which will cost me more money to replace. I have done research on this "death wobble" and am finding that it is very common. We need someone to help us so no one gets seriously injured and so we aren't paying out of pocket for a technical error.
2005 Jeep Wrangler shakes violently after hitting any minor bump while driving 45 mph or above. The vehicle must come to a complete stop before the shaking will stop. Tires have been replace, wheel alignment which stopped the shaking for a few months. The shaking is back and now the steering stabilizer arm is being replaced just to see if that will stop the shaking. This is very dangerous as it can cause accidents trying to come to a complete stop on a freeway.
We own a 2005 Jeep tj Wrangler. When hitting a bump it shakes violently and you have to come to a complete stop before it will stop. I have done a lot of research on this problem and find that it is very common with this year and model of Jeep. We have replaced the steering damper, sway bar ends, track bar bushings, all new shocks, brakes and rotors, tires balanced and rotated several times with no avail. This is a serious issue and we cannot seem to get any answers. The Jeep has 60,00 miles on it and is completely stock with no modifications on it. It is very dangerous drive, but my only vehicle for transportation to my job. My warranty does not cover suspension and steering so everything I have done has been at my own expense. This issue can cause a serious wreck and for a young driver could be fatal. Can you please look into this situation. We are stuck with what we have, as we are still paying on it. We can get no answers, except keep replacing parts with better quality ones. Which brings the questions up, why did they use less than good quality when it was built.
I bought my 2005 Jeep brand new off the lot. Within a year I began to notice the "death wobble". I had been a very moderate driver, and had less than 10,000 miles on the vehicle. When I took the Jeep to the dealer, they replaced the stabilizer arm, which the warranty covered, but the problem remained. The dealer then rotated and balanced my tires and adjusted my alignment. They charged me over $200 for that. This seemed to mask the problem for about a year, then the "death wobble" returned. I took the Jeep to a different dealership where I was promptly sold 2 new tires (stock uniroyal tiger paws @ $104 each) and a steering dampener. Total cost this time was well over $500. This took care of the wobble for about a year. Now the wobble is back, and I'm wondering what to do. I can't afford another dealer to fleece me again, and I hear Jeep isn't acknowledging this wide-spread problem. They should issue a recall. In the meantime though, I love my Jeep and want it fixed. I don't want it to kill me or anyone else. Does anyone know of anything that can be done to resolve this problem? I can't afford $200-$500 every year on band-aid solutions.
Paris rent a car rented 2 @2005 Jeep Wrangler that had bald tires, bad brakes and inproper steering while visting St. Johns, virgin island. Paris rent a car, P. O box 1155, cruz bay, St. John vi 00831.
Email from constituent requesting that NHTSA investigate the Jeep Wrangler in reference to a problem called the "Jeep death wobble" caused by a defective steering dampener. The dealer informed the consumer that the steering damper needed to be replaced on her vehicle.
I have researched "death wobble" in Jeep Wrangler extensively and found that not only is this a wide spread problem, but Jeep completely denies it's existence. What happens is at 40-70 miles per hour a harmonic action starts the front end vibrating and will cause a severe shimmy, to the point where the vehicle needs to be slowed or stopped. This has happened on the freeway and streets, both with hair raising results and near miss accidents. I have replaced tires, shocks, stabilizers, springs. This will fix the problem for a short time but eventually it comes back. Under warranty they fix a couple things which masks the problem, but it still will return. This is a design flaw, Jeep issue and they will not repair or acknowledge this problem. The designers need to come up with a fix, with a recall and soon before people are killed.
2005 Jeep rubicon unlimited has uncontrollable vigorous front end shaking. Vehicle begins to shake after hitting road patches, seams, and any other type of bump at speeds of 30 + mph. Shake is so violent that vehicle must be stopped to resume regular driving. Very dangerous conditions in heavy traffic and unsafe for passengers and other motorists dealer is going to replace camber bolts and steering dampener but parts are on national backorder with an indefinite time for repair. First incident was in June and it has happened several times since then. It is driven on an as needed basis only, due to the "death wobble".
The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Wrangler. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle engages in a "death wobble" (uncontrollable shaking) caused by steering suspension failure. The dealer replaced the steering dimpler, but the problem still exists. The current and failure mileages were 9,617. The VIN is unknown.
Uncontrollable handling ( in the front end) when going an excess speed of 45 miles or more and hit any kind /size bump in road. Found out it was the stabilizer bar. When I first took my car in (months ago) they told me ( Chrysler) it was my rotors. Didn't understand how my rotors could do that since I wasn't braking at the time the shaking was happening. I ended up taking it to a mechanic and they figured out what it was. The guys at Chrysler have a nickname for it; "sudden death". not once did I get a recall letter about this problem. They must of been worried about it because it only took them about 2 hours to fix it. They went and bought an after market stabilizer bar. I have had oil changes from the same place that have taken longer. I had the car for about a year when I first noticed the shaking but I heard about other Wrangler having the same problem. Someone needs to let other Jeep owners about this problem. It's very dangerous.
At 3611 miles, I took my 05 unlimited Wrangler back to the dealer. I complained about extreme bumpiness and partial control loss when going over bumps and railroad tracks. Also the rear glass rattles, and the wiper gets stuck in between the tire rack. The dealer said that handling was normal characteristic for the vehicle. They replaced tire mount bracket and adjusted rear glass. So far I have taken this vehicle to 2 different Jeep dealerships 5 times, for the same problems and it has not been resolved.
- Las Vegas, NV, USA
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- Grafton, VA, USA