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.
The car experienced the so-called "Jeep death wobble." At about 65 mph on the freeway, the front end of the car began to shake so violently and uncontrollably that I had no choice but to slow to a stop in the emergency lane. After attempting to drive at highway speed again several minutes later, the wobble occurred a second time, forcing me to pull over once more. Had I let go of the steering wheel during the incident, the car would surely have swerved and possibly spun out.
Driving on the highway at approximately 65 miles per hour my front end began to shake and the steering became so erratic that I had to grip the steering wheel to keep the car from veering into another lane of traffic. I was able to slow the car down and pull over to the side of the road. Once I began again there was no vibration. This is the second time this has happened within two month. There are many cases of this happening on the internet. It's called the "death wobble" and I don't feel safe in the car anymore. The dealership has told me that its a worn sway bar but 25K miles shouldn't wear out this type of part.
Known to many who have Jeep, the "death wobble". when this first happened to my daughter's car, thankfully I was the one driving. It was on the interstate and I thought a tire had blown. The steering wheel vibrated uncontrollably and I pulled over. Nothing looked wrong but I called a tow truck regardless. They looked at it at the station and could not find anything wrong. I had no idea this was a problem Jeep created when they built the vehicle. It is a situation where the front axle begins oscillating with such violence that control of the Jeep is difficult until slowed down, and the entire vehicle shakes to the point you feel it will come apart.
The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle would shake violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that they could replace the bearings on the driver and passenger side suspension. The dealer could not guarantee that the failure would be resolved after the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 45,000.
The steering wheels and front wheels started shaking violently after hitting a mild bump and that was the first give in a costly ball joint replacement on a stock unabused Jeep Wrangler. It cost over $1400 to fix through 4 wheel parts. The dealer refused to acknowledge a problem and suggested the tires were simply unbalanced as the problem for the shake that nearly caused serious wreck.
- Raleigh, NC, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
2008 Jeep Wrangler. Consumer writes in regards to mechanical problems and brake line routing defect the consumer stated the first problem he had with the vehicle was the transmission. It began failing to engage and shifting out of gear. The dealer discovered that the transmission oil filter had not been installed and was lying on the bottom of the transmission oil pan. In January 2011, while driving at highway speeds, the consumer began to experience intermittent violent shaking of the entire vehicle, which seemed to be originating from the front end. The consumer stated it felt as though a wheel was loose. The consumer went to a repair shop, where the tie rod and pitman were replaced. Two weeks later, the shaking occurred again and soon it became increasingly violent, making it nearly impossible to control the vehicle and stay in his lane. The consumer returned to the repair shop where they replaced the steering damper, which seemed to correct the problem for awhile. In July, the consumer took the vehicle for a routine maintenance check. While checking the front end, the mechanic was able to get two full turns on a nut on the track bar. Since then, the shaking has not occurred. The consumer stated as he approached a line of vehicles stopped at a light, he attempted to apply the brake, but it went soft and to the floor. An inspection revealed a hole in the brake line above the right front wheel, where the line left the wheel well and went into the engine compartment. The hole was caused by rubbing on the line by the edge of the plastic wheel well lining.
When my Jeep hits a bump on the highway (left tire first) the entire Jeep starts shaking violently. It feels like the tires are about to fall off. This happens whenever I go over 50mph (which could be extremely dangerous on the highway with other cars). It doesn't stop until I come to a complete stop. I have found hundreds of posting about this issue and every single one says that Chrysler says nothing is wrong. If most Jeep built after 2007 have this issue, maybe it's a manufacturer defect?
Once my vehicle reaches a speed of 50 mph, goes over a bump, or around some turns, it starts to shake uncontrollably. This shaking does not subside until I stop the vehicle. It has gotten worse and worse to the point where it happens about every 2 miles if I am going 50 mph. I can not go above 50 mph which is quite dangerous on the freeway because the speed limits here are 65-70 mph. When I go over a bump and it starts to happen, if there is no place to pull over (which has happened) I must come to a complete stop right where I am, or continue to drive while the vehicle is shaking uncontrollably, and I am unable to steer. This is completely visible to others not inside the vehicle as well, as I have been pulled over, verbally yelled at, honked at, etc...
Steering went into extreme shimmy I.e. death wobble after small bumps on highway. Vehicle lost control and required evasive maneuver to pull over and stop shimmy. Extremely dangerous defect in design.
My Jeep is experiencing what Jeep owners refer to as the death wobble. Violent, intense shaking of the front end after hitting the smallest of bumps. Must slow down immediately to gain control of vehicle.
Death wobble 2008 Jeep Wrangler. Bought vehicle in Oct 2011, 5 occurrances of death wobble, all on freeways through Jan 10th 2012. Only recourse is to pull over & stop after hitting a bump or groove in the road. Newtons law, every action causes a reaction. Front wheels will start shaking begin gradually then violantly until you can luckily pull over & stop. Once stopped, you can start again & not experience it again for weeks & then it happens again whenever you least expect it. Very hard to even control the vehicle once it abruptly starts. Dealer says it's damper needs replaced for 250$. doing this... but this really feels like this should be a recall issue or covered under a easy care warranty that I was duped into buying as well. After 4 months of owning a 20,000$ car & nearly killed 5 times is outrageous. Many people wouldn't have been able to control a vehicle if this happened to them. This is a Chrysler defect & they should be addressing this before someone is killed by their faulty engineering and/or parts.
The contact owns 2008 Jeep Wrangler. While driving approximately 10 mph, the contact heard a grinding noise in the front end of the vehicle and could not control the steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnostic. The technicians stated to the contact that the front ball joints were fractured, causing the axle to fracture as well. The technicians stated that the axle was on backorder and not available for repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 38,534.
This is my second online complaint regarding the "death wobble" I have experienced in my Jeep. I had the issue "fixed" in September, though it began to happen again in early December. I took my Jeep back in to the dealership and they replaced the steering damper with a "high performance" model. They did this at no charge because they said the original "fix" was still under warranty. I thought this took care of things. Two days ago, I was driving about 45 mph on a busy service road and the vehicle began to shake violently again. I immediately had to slow down and almost come to a stop before it would stop. Nearby drivers had to swerve to miss me and the guy behind me almost rear-ended me. This has got to stop. I took my Jeep back to the dealership this morning and they said they would look into it and call me back. The saga continues.
I was driving down the highway and all the sudden the whole vehicle including the steering wheel started to shake horribly. I don't feel like I can control the steering when this occurs. Stepping on the brakes to slow down/stop makes it worse. Once I drop back below 40 mph it stops, til the next time it happens. In the beginning it was only occasionally. Recently it has been occurring more frequently. It is very scary when this occurs. My mechanic replaced the steering dampener but that did not fix this issue. I have no idea what this issue is but it is not safe to be driving while this is occurring.
The vehicle's front end began to vibrate with resonance until the entire vehicle was shaking so badly that it had to be pulled off the side of the road. This phenomenon is well documented by many sources as "death wobble." The initial incident happened while driving on a two-lane highway in good condition. On this same drive, there were two more incidents of death wobble. After these occurrences, the vehicle was taken in to a mechanic for inspection, front-end alignment and tire balancing. There were no more incidents of death wobble until nearly a month later when it occurred on the highway at approximately 70 mph. After this incident, the vehicle was taken to a mechanic that specializes in Jeep maintenance and customization. The cause of the problem was identified as slop in the stock track bar. The vehicle has stock suspension, wheels and tires. The vehicle has been well maintained with tire rotations done at regular intervals. Other than these incidents of death wobble, the vehicle does not have any other noticeable problems. Following the track bar diagnosis, the vehicle was taken to a dealership for inspection. The dealership diagnosed several other front end components as being in need of replacement, at a significantly higher cost, contradictory to the two previous independent inspections.
Vehicle begins to shudder from road conditions, then when you strike a bump, or the road surface changes, the vehicles then violently shakes and will not cease until slowed to 30mph or increased to 70mph. Very dangerous situation on freeways. It appears that the entire front end is about to shake the wheels loose, then transfers to the rear wheels sometimes. Then when it appears the phenomena is over, it can reoccur again just as quickly. My wife refuses to drive it, nor will she allow my son to ride in it until it is resolved.
The Jeep shakes violently when it hits a bump in the road. It seems to happen mostly on the highways, although it will occur on a city road. During this shaking the brakes do not slow the car down and it is impossible to steer to the side of the road. This is extremely scary and dangerous. The car has been in numerous times and nothing seems to fix the problem.
I was driving on interstate 70 at approximately 65mph, I hit a bump, and my Jeep started to shake and vibrate so dramatically that I had to slow down to about 35mph before it would stop. I was so frightened that I pulled over and was afraid to continue driving. Thinking it was my tires about ready to fall off, I creeped off of the interstate and drove about 15mph back to the tire dealership where I had bought my tires. They could find nothing wrong. I then took it to the Jeep dealership and they replaced the steering dampner and updated a bracket. It did not fix the problem. I took it back to the dealership where they then replaced the drag link end. They then told me it had to be the tires. They, not one time, mentioned what I have now researched and found to be a "death wobble" problem that many Jeep owners have experienced. I don't know what to do next. The problem has not been fixed and my tires only have 15K miles on them and I am thinking this is not the problem. The wobble that I have experienced now dozens of times is not only frightening but I fear is very dangerous. I'm not sure what my recourse is at this point.
The vehicle shakes out of control at 50mph or after hitting a bump or flaw in the black top road. The steering wheel shakes out of my hands and you can not get the vehicle controlled until you come to a complete stop. I have replaced tires, shocks and control arms but this will not fix the problem. No one can tell me how to fix the problem and I am unable to drive on a freeway, because I will either hit someone or someone will hit me. People will not drive in my vehicle because of this problem and when someone see it happen, they tell me it looks like the front wheels are going to fall off.
The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. While driving approximately 40 mph over a bump in the road, the front end of the vehicle began to shake violently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the tires were balanced, rotated and aligned. The failure occurred a second time; yet, the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated there was a design flaw within the wheels. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000. Updated 8/29/11 the consumer believed the defect was in the suspension system, not in the wheels. Updated 10/03/11
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Corona, CA, USA