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.
Death wobble. I've been experiencing death wobble - especially driving over bridge connections - going highway speeds. MINIdeath wobble on bumpy paved roads. My 2018 jlu now has 25K - I've owned it for 9 months. It started a month or so ago- dealer replaced steering stabilizer. Still not fixed. Going back to dealer for the 2nd time on 2/19/19. This Jeep is unsafe!! I absolutely love Jeep & also own another older yj. This is a serious problem & needs to be addressed.
At roughly 45 mph steering seemed to 'lock'... it took extreme force to turn enough to make a slight corner while driving. The slight corner is approximately a 20 degree curve to the right then back to the left. After this initial 'lock' the steering felt as if it wanted to only go straight. Even a lane change was difficult. The safety part of it is that while applying enough force to turn the vehicle...when it 'unlocked' I nearly turned into the car in the lane beside me!!
Vehicle shakes and vibrates at highway speeds after a bump in the road is hit. Once it was so violently and continuous that I had to pull over and stop the vehicle so the shaking would stop. I was told this is "death wobble" a known issue in Jeep vehicles. Because I lease this 2018 Wrangler, I'd like know if there is a lemon law protecting me as a leasor so that I may exit my lease.
Power steering stopped working when driving on highway. Only can steering 10 degrees either right or left. Thank god, I was able to pull over. I restarted and steering cane back.
When my son's Jeep Wrangler hits a small bump on the freeway at speeds over 50 miles an hour, it goes into violent steering vibration. The first occurrence was on November 2nd, 2018 and I took it to the dealership for repair. The issue happened again on January 12th, 2019, and Chrysler repaired it for the second time. The issue recurred for the third time on February 9th, 2019 and this time, the vibration was even more violent than the first 2 instances. The first occurrence happened when the car had approximately 10,000 miles on it. It now has 12,000 miles on it. As I lost confidence in Chrysler being able to permanently repair the vehicle, I am requesting arbitration for Chrysler to take the car back and relieve me of the lease as I don't want to endanger my son's life, especially that it took him a frightening 5 to 6 seconds to regain control over the vehicle during the last instance. He was driving 65 miles an hour and the vehicle veered across 3 lanes. Had there been other cars, my son would have been in a life threatening accident.
- Troy, MI, USA
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Death wobble. When hitting a bump at highway speeds, the steering wheel will shake side to side violently until the Jeep has slowed to around 40-45 mph. Steering is still possible but very limited. This happens when going straight or during turns at 55+ mph. This started when the vehicle had 3,800 miles. I have had the Jeep into the dealer 3 times. The steering stabilizer was replaced, then the tires were balanced. Now they are investigating tie rod ends and other possible causes.
Vehicle has about 1-2 inches of free play in the steering wheel when straight. It is difficult to keep the vehicle in its lane at highway speeds, constant corrections are needed. Vehicle does not feel safe to drive at highway speeds.
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. While driving at any speed over a bump in the road, the vehicle shook violently without warning. The vehicle was taken to kelly Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram (978-683-8775, located at 175 pelham St, methuen, MA 01844) where a software update was performed, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer and the steering damper was replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact back to the dealer for further observation. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.
Model is a 2018 jk sport (2-door) with 3,400 miles. Upon a right turn into the entrance drive of an apartment complex and hitting a slight bump at the curb line, the car immediate loss steering control along with the traction control light illuminating on the dash and felt the vibration of the anti-lock brakes activating. Stopped immediately, check underneath, saw no damage. Continued slowly into the apartment complex, the steering was very loose taking many turns of the steering wheel to turn the front wheel of the car. Any time the steering wheel was turned right or left, the traction control light illuminated on the dash along with the vibration of the anti-lock brakes activating. With the loose steering and the traction control light / ABS activating when turning the steering wheel, nothing else out of the ordinary detected, decided to drive slowly to the Jeep dealer. On the way to the dealer, on a straight away at about 25 mph got a violent shaking in the front of the vehicle, commonly known as the "death wobble". arrive safely to the dealer keeping the speed real slow and the steering turns to a minimum. Inspection by the dealer reveled the front track bar bracket had completely detached from the frame on the way to the dealer. As seen in the uploaded photo, it is quite obvious that the bracket was improperly welded to the frame. This is exactly the same problem under safety recall UA5 / NHTSA 18V-675 for the jl model, but this jk model of the same year.
"death wobble" second occurence...I was driving on the freeway I-10 at approx 70mph I ran over a rough patch in the pavement; suddenly the steering began violently wobbling, I let off the gas, checked to see it was clear and I changed lanes as I began to slow down to about 40 mph as I attempted to regain control of the steering. Finally the wobbling stopped, and I was able to continue my driving speed. Then after about 5 min had passed, again the steering started shaking violently and it was even more difficult to control. It was very stiff and difficult to steer. It was at that point that my husband who was with me said thats it, were taking it back to the dealer, which I did, I took it back to crystal Chrysler in cathedral city where we purchased it on 11-30-2018. There is a Chrysler #U48 listed. This is my second complaint ive posted here on this website in the hopes that something can be resolved as I am no longer going to drive my brand new Jeep Wrangler because of the extremely unsafe "death wobble" that I have experienced even after taking it into the dealership where they kept it for 10 days, and first told me they could find nothing wrong with it, then they replaced the steering box. I can no longer drive my Jeep and feel safe, I feel that at anytime the steering could go out and it will cause a crash in which both myself and someone else can be killed....!!!! NHTSA id number 11171707
On cold mornings while parked, the brake will not depress and the car will not start. After multiple attempts or after the car warms up, it will start. This has happened on multiple occasions. On christmas morning after finally getting the car to start, the steering wheel locked up while I was driving on the highway (65 mph) on a straightaway. It happened twice that day. I was told until they can duplicate it, they cannot fix it. I do not feel safe in this vehicle.
My 2018 Jeep Wrangler has a steering issue that causes the steering wheel to shake and vibrate when hitting road imperfections at highway speeds. Was purchased new and has been back for repairs three times. The steering dampener was replaced and the problem still exists. Tasca Jeep in ri has had the Jeep for a week for this 3rd visit without resolution. I keep getting told that the Chrysler engineers are not getting back to them thru the " star" program. We bought this Jeep to tow behind our rv as we are retired and have not been able to leave for our retirement Venture and do not feel safe driving or towing this brand new Jeep.
I currently own a 2018 Jeep Wrangler unlimited jl model. My complaint is regarding what is known as death wobble. I am a former ase mechanic. I had 10,000 thousand miles on my 18 jl that is completely stock. I was traveling West bound on state route 33 at approximately 65 mph when hit a expansion joint that cause a rapid and rather violent shaking in the steering wheel that severally diminished my ability to not only steer my vehicle but also my braking ability. You have to get your vehicle slowed down to under 30 mph or come almost to a complete stop on the freeway. This is a serious safety issue when you have to stop in the middle of the freeway. The dealership replaced the steering stabilizer per fca as a so called fix. Being a ase certified mechanic for years this has never been a fix only a cover up/ band-aid fix to cover up the true issue. My 2018 Jeep Wrangler is back at the dealer again after approximately 1000 miles for the same issue. That's even after fca so called steering stabilizer fix. If my Jeep was lifted or modified in anyway I can accept my changes could have caused this issue. It's stock. This will mark 6 weeks the dealer has had my Jeep looking to try and repair this issue. I currently can not have any faith in my Jeep to take it anywhere with out fear of getting hit or hitting someone else due to fca not taking this issue seriously and replacing steering components. Fca says this issue is caused mostly by modified or altered/ worn front ends. The new 18 jl model is a completely new from ground up per president of fca( meaning they have modified the whole steering/ suspension with this problem built in by them). They need to fix this asap before death wobble lives up to its name! this has happened before there fist attempt to fix it on November 15th 2018 and has happened after fca said fix on January 29th 2019.
Steering has excessive steering wheel play and overall vaugness 1-2 inches left and right of center. Vehicle wanders driving down the road at all speeds and requires constant driver input to keep in straight line. This issue has been here since purchase. Vehicle has 1683 miles as of writing this.
I was driving the Jeep on the highway going the speed limit of 65 mph and when changing lanes and hitting a bumpy part of the highway, the Jeep began to shake vigorously. I had to slow down to 40 mph and pull off the side of the hwy. After this incident, anytime driving the Jeep over 55 mph and hitting a bump, the Jeep would shake. I would have to slow down below the speed limit for it to regain control. The Jeep was taken into the service department and they installed a new "steering stabilizer". when traveling on the highway again going 65 mph, hitting a pothole, the Jeep began to shake again. I was able to regain control when slowing down under the speed limit to 50/55 mph. This is not acceptable for a brand new car. I should be able to go the speed limit on the highway, hit a bump, and not feel as if my life is in danger. These cars need to be recalled before someone is seriously injured including myself and my passengers.
Death wobble when I hit expansion joints on a over pass, bumps, pat holes etc..I bought my Jeep a week ago and only 500 miles on no modification all stuck from factory
At highway speed the vehicle develops a pronounced shimmy which lasts for several seconds when encountering a bump in the road. Identical to what was commonly called the "death wobble" on my 97 Wrangler.
At speeds over 45mph, that if you hit a bump, expansion joint, anything that would cause the suspension to load and unload, it goes into an immediate 'death wobble '. you cannot control steering and direction at this point. It vibrates and shakes so bad the soft top latches can become undone. Has been sitting in a dealership for 2 weeks with no answers on why. Has 10,000 miles on it but started at around 9000 miles. Nothing aftermarket on it at all.
The front wheels of the vehicle often shake violently at highway speeds when the vehicle hits a small bump in the road. Often the triggering event could also be uneven or patched sections of freeway. The front end shaking is so violent, control of the vehicle is difficult. The vehicle must be slowed immediately below 50mph to stop the shaking. This will happen at least once, every time I drive on a freeway.
When outside air temperature is cold, steering becomes difficult at 50mph plus. Steering almost locks up and lets you move 15 to 20 degrees from center and will not move more unless a lot of force is applied to overcome, thus when this happens usually you go flying off to the side of the road. There is a tsb for this, 08-092-18 - I had this applied and did not help lots of information on jl forums; https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/steering-wheel-locking-up.20839/page-3
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wales, ME, USA