Ball Joint problems of the 2008 Jeep Wrangler

Tl the contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. While driving 55 mph over a bump in the road, the vehicle violently vibrated until it came to a complete stop. The vehicle was currently at fred martin superstore (3195 barber rd, barberton, OH 44203, (330) 753-4444) to have the ball joints, tie rods, steering damper, and universal joints replaced for the second time. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000. The VIN was unknown.

Driving vehicle over 60mph resulted in multiple episodes of the death wobble within a 3 week period of time. Vehicle was purchased at used car dealership and state inspection was performed on the day of purchase. Within 24 hours of having the vehicle, I experienced the first encounter. I was driving down a hill at approximately 60mph and the steering felt shakey and the wheel began to wobble. It subsided as I slowed down. The next day, this occured on a major interstate at 65mph and car was towed to a Jeep dealership. I was informed the ball joints should never have passed inspection along with the fuel system. I took the car back to the dealer and he claimed to have fixed the problem. Within 3 days of getting the Jeep back, once again the wobble occurred at a speed of 65mph and I almost lost control of vehicle. This vehicle should not be on the road. The dealer returned a portion of my purchase price and I returned the Jeep. The Jeep is now back on the lot for sale.

I was on the highway and all of a sudden my airbag light came on. Didn't know what was going on so I pulled over. I thought maybe it was just a one time thing but I traveled over 1000 miles with it dinging every little while. When I got to my destination the light was still coming on and I was told it was a spring and would cost 400. 00 to 500. 00 to fix. I feel that it is not my responsibility to fix since it is a safety issue. But not only that I also had to get the ball joints replaced, both upper and lower which cost over 1000. 00. I was told by the mechanic that Jeep does not put grease fittings on them so that they eventually go out. This could cause a very serious accident and these issues need to be resolved by the company before someone get hurt or worse killed. I love my Jeep but all these issues are really disturbing. One other issue I noticed is I am always having to check the oil which is usually low. Not sure what that is but I know others have complained about this.

It was a dry sunny late morning when I was driving on a colorado interstate at approx. 65mph. I went over a rough patch of road and the steering wheel started to shake from side to side. I thought it was just the rough road but it did not subside after passing back onto smooth road, in fact it got worse. The shaking did not stop until I slowed down under 10mph. This happened four more times on this trip, always after hitting a bump at 50mph or faster. After a little research I determined the symptoms were consistent with a well know problem, "death wobble". My 2008 Jeep Wrangler unlimited x is 4 years old, has 30k miles on it and is completely stock and well maintained. It has the stock 32" goodyear sra tires on 17" rims, filled to 35 psi. I checked the torque on the track bar and the bolts were to spec at 125 lb/ft. I took the Jeep to a local shop where they determined the ball joints were bad as well as the steering stabilizer. Those have been replaced with aftermarket components and so far there have been no further occurrences. That was about 3k miles ago and I have tested the Jeep at highway speeds with a severe bump which did not induce death wobble. My first experience with death wobble was in the left lane on a crowded highway; it is amazing that I was able to maintain control and did not cause a major accident just by having to slow down to such a slow speed in the left lane. I have seen Chrysler's comments on the non-existence of death wobble due to inferior engineering/design of the steering components and can tell you they are wrong when they say it happens only on lifted vehicles. This is highly irresponsible of them to not take this seriously when it is so easy to find so many people with this problem.

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.

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.

I have been experiencing the "death wobble" in my Jeep, and it is terrifying. When driving anywhere from 40-65 mph, the front end will occassionally begin to shake violently and it feels as if the vehicle is out of control. The only way to stop it is to immediately slow way down and try to get off the road (difficult in many conditions). I recently took it in to the Jeep dealership and they "fixed" the problem by replacing the ball joints, the steering damper, and the front shocks ($1,700). It seemed to be ok for about 2 1/2 months, but it has happened again several times in the last two weeks. I can't afford to buy a new vehicle at this time, but the "death wobble" is a very dangerous condition (especially when going 60 mph down the highway!), and I don't know what to do.