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 contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that whenever she would drive over an uneven road surface, the vehicle would violently shake abnormally. The failure recurred while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer five times where they were unable to diagnose the failure. Various repairs were performed on the vehicle, but the failure continued. The failure mileage was 6,000 and the current mileage was 68,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Driving westbound on M-59 in hartland, mi I hit a very small bump in the road and the Jeep started to shudder very violently. I had to pull over to the side of the road and stop in order for the shudder to go away. After doing much research on the internet, I have now found out that this is called the death wobble and is a highly common problem that Chrysler is aware of and has not done anything to let the public know of the issue.
We were driving on a limited access highway when I hit a section of rough a rough road about 6 feet long. The front end, steering wheel & transmission shook violently! once I got below 45 mph it stopped. I could not steer the vehicle. This has happened 6 times now at speeds as low as 50 mph. It would happen a lot more if I did not slow down when I come across patched spots in the road or where overpasses and bridges meet the solid road bed. On smooth roads, there is no vibration that I can feel. I talked to the previous owner and he never had a problem. It has never been off road, lifted or wrecked. The garage replaced the steering gear box under warranty and I paid for the alignment check and tire balance. I rotated the tired and then put a new tire on the right front. I checked for play in all the suspension and steering and found very little. The garage said they found none. I then installed a heavy duty steering stabilizer. It did not help. The garage said there was nothing more they could do. When I asked Jeep was their a problem called death wobble, because there are a lot of postings, they did not answer. Instead, the service manager suggested I buy 4 new tires and get a road force balance. A friend sent me to another Jeep dealer to talk to his friend, who was well aware of the problem and had not been able to fix it on other Jeep. There was no remedy or help from Chrysler Jeep. He has had it happen to him and will not ride in or drive one again. He suggested not driving interstates and below 55 mph on the highway. I am 68 year old retired car, truck, heavy equipment and industrial mechanic supervisor. The Jeep is unsafe to drive on the highway.
The vehicle has the notorious death wobble, in that on certain downhill grades and or hitting a series of small bumps between 45 -55 mph the front end violently begins to wobble, the cab begins rocking, the steering wheel is out of control, and after braking to 35mph control of the vehicle is regained. The vehicle has not been altered in any way from the factory. It was purchased with 12 miles on odometer and know has 28.889 miles. The vehicle has been in service at the dealer numerous time for repairs, and each time the dealer says that should solve the problem, but does not, in fact the Jeep goes back in next Monday for further repairs. I've contacted Jeep twice to no avail, they pretend to never have heard of the problem as does the dealer although they still find something to repair but never fully fixing the problem. If one goes to google and types in death wobble up come Jeep, with videos of the wobble but I guess they don't have internet access for their eyes glaze over in incomprehension and denial. Is there a solution for this? I do not feel safe in this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that when the vehicle exceeded 40 mph, it would begin to wobble. The vehicle went through inspected and nothing was found. The steering stabilizer was replaced which did not remedy the problem; the local mechanic stated that he would attempt to replace the track bar. The VIN was unavailable at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 39,500. The current mileage was approximately 41,000. Updated 10/27/10.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pensacola, FL, USA