Four problems related to sway bar have been reported for the 2004 Jeep Wrangler. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
2004 Jeep Wrangler. Consumer writes in regards to several issues found during inspection after purchase of vehicle the consumer stated the day she test drove the vehicle, she noticed some play in the steering, the engine seemed to miss a little, and the cd player in the radio seemed to work whenever it wanted to. The next day, the consumer noticed the front differential leaked an oil spot on the concrete driveway. The consumer took the vehicle to a pre-sales establishment and the inspection revealed, the rear axles were leaking on both sides, the pinion seal in the front differential needed to be replaced, the front track bar had play, the transmission needed a new pilot bearing; as there was a noise when accelerating and the rear sway bar links were loose.
A week after I purchased the vehicle I hit a small, sharp bump in the road and the vehicle front end began to shake and wobble uncontrollably. Only by slowing down to 45 mph was I able to gain control of the vehicle again. This has happened numerous times after this. I had the tires balanced, rotated and an alignment done on it. The wobble happened again, sometimes at even higher speeds and sometimes, not at all. I took it to an authorized Chrysler Jeep dealer and according to their recommendation, had a new steering stabilizer, new sway bar links and tie rod installed and again had the tires balanced and an alignment done on it. The vehicle still exhibits the same behavior. I have had it happen three times on interstate highways and lucky enough each time I was in the right lane and able to pull over onto the shoulder to reduce speed and gain control again. Each time on the interstate my speed was between 60 and 65 mph. The last time it happened I drove 20 miles back home on city streets in order to keep my speed below 50 mph. The "death wobble" does not happen below 50 mph although I can sometimes feel it starting to shake as I approach that speed. As I have had the vehicle inspected by an authorized Chrysler dealer, replaced the recommended parts and have done the required maintenance, I feel that there is a safety issue built into some of the vehicles like mine. I think this needs to be investigated as many Jeep Wrangler owners that I have talked to and authorized dealers also were very familiar with the term "death wobble" in conjunction with Jeep Wranglers. In fact, as I was describing the problem to one of the authorized Chrysler Jeep dealers, he interrupted me by saying, "ah, the "death wobble". Once it happens to you, you know that it is a very apt description of the behavior.
2004 Jeep Wrangler death wobble. Front end shakes violently after hitting potholes at 45 to 70 miles and hour. Will not stop unless you come to almost a stop. This happens daily. Key in Jeep death wobble into any search engine or youtube video for a lenghty list of discussion on this subject. I myself have not been able to correct it permanently with stabilizers, new tires, alignment, wheel balancing and steering component tightening. This is very dangerous and needs to be looked at. This is a stock Jeep, no lift, standard size tires. This is not one incident, but an on-going problem for several years. New tires have fixed it temporarily once, new steering stabilzer fixed it temporarily once, new sway bar also did a short temp fix. I need a permanent fix as do many many other Jeep owners out there.
The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Wrangler. The contact was driving approximately 55 mph when the front end of the vehicle began to vibrate violently. The failure recurred whenever driving over a slight road bump at 55 mph or more. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis where the sway bar link and damper were replaced however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time but they were unable to locate the malfunction. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 30.