general problems of the 2008 Jeep Wrangler - part 2

2008 Jeep Wrangler sahara stock. Violent wobble. "death wobble" while taveling at highway speed, 60mph, I crossed over an expansion crack for a bridge. The front end of the Jeep began a violent wobble back and forth until slowing down to approximatly 10 mph. This wobble almost contributed to a head on collision with a tractor trailor in the opposing traffic due to an almost complete loss of steering capability. The problem happened again at the same speed after another small bump. This is an extremely dangerous situation. After researching the problem further, there are endless factors that trigger the wobble. Each problem may be fixed, but it will only provide a temporary solution. The wobble itself cannot be fixed under most circumstances, you can only fix what sets it off. The problem has been documented multiple times on the internet. It was also displayed publicly on the news, however chrystler has not been held accountable.

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.

Driving eastbound on I-40 at approximately 65mph, bump where bridge meets rd, front axle started vibrating tremendously and had to pull off rd to stop vibration. Have had this occurrence happen numerous times at 60-70mph and at 40-50mph at different places in nc. Recent occurrence happened 7-12-2012 at 40-50mph on regular rd. I have 2 small kids riding in Jeep with me. At 60-70mph, it can be very dangerous due to wanting to slow down quickly on highways with traffic. . .

I started experiencing the Jeep "death wobble" in February of 2012. While traveling at speeds of 50mph or faster and driving over any small bump or pot hole on the road, it causes the Jeep to "wobble" out of control. There was a few times I actually lost control of the vehicle and swayed onto the opposite side of the road. The only way to stop the Jeep from wobbling is to slow the Jeep down to about 10-15mph and which is very unsafe when you are on a highway. I spent $1500 to have this fixed covering everything Jeep said to do (suspension, shocks, torsion bar, bushings, tire pressure, tire balance, steering stabilizer, caster angle, draglink and tierod) and it still has not been fixed. I am now left with a vehicle I owe $17,000 with only 44,000 miles that is too unsafe to drive.

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 phenomina 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.

Going up to 50 mph,,,,get severe shaking,,,not safe at all,,,I have spent over $1000 on repairs, re alignemnets, rotations and had the stearing damper replaced 2x by Jeep,,,,still does the wobble,,,,I am furious about this. This is very dangerous. The Jeep dealership has told me they have done all they can do.

I purchased a 2008 Jeep Wrangler unlimited new. I have not modified my car in any way, nor have ever taken it "four-wheeling. " in June 2011 I experienced my first "death wobble," an extremely violent, shaking of the front wheels. Since then, it has since happened five times, resulting in repairs (that still haven't solved the problem) totaling $1644. 24 (not including tax). I most recently experienced the death wobble about four days ago on the highway (4/9/2014). I had it in to the shop to be "fixed" in early March with "repairs" costing over $950. I'm hesitant to take it in again because no one knows how to fix this problem and I don't have the money to keep making repairs for an unknown problem. I am not blaming the repair shop that the wobbling hasn't been fixed; I am blaming Chrysler/Jeep because they don't seem to recognize this as being a safety hazard. I've researched this problem extensively and I am definitely not the only one experiencing this problem. I am not exaggerating when I say that when the "death wobble" happens, I feel like I am going to die. The only time it happens is when I'm going 45 mph or more, so it has happened primarily on the highway. The only way to re-gain control is to slow down quickly and pull over (which could result in a major pile-up on the highway). All I want is to have Chrysler/Jeep recognize that this is a serious safety issue and provide a remedy/recall and monetary compensation for this problem.

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.

While driving down the road if the vehicle hits a big enough bump it will begin an increasing wobble in the suspension, known around the community as the "death wobble", it will continue to get worse until the vehicle is slowed to a speed where it can recover. This has happened many times. Not only when traveling the posted speed limit but sometimes 5 to 10 miles and hour slower, causing a disrupt in traffic. Made sure tires were properly inflated, balanced and the front end aligned and the problem still occurs.

This vehicle has the Jeep "death wobble" which involves severe shaking and violent wobbling at about 50 mph. This occurs frequently. I have made numerous attempts to have the problem solved and vehicle repaired. Nothing has helped.

Having problem with "death wobble". While traveling at a high rate of speed, over 40mph. A violent shaking has occurred a multiple number of times. Feels as though the entire front end of vehicle is ready to fly off. Control of vehicle is compromised. Especially at such a high rate of speed, which usually occurs on the freeway with other vehicles around. Dealership says that the steering stabilizer needs to be replaced. Research on the internet says that this just masks the problem. Personally looking at the steering components of the vehicle. I cannot see how a worn out steering stabilizer can cause so much chaos.

My 2008 Wrangler 4 door has had a consistent and unrepaired case of front end wobble that first occurred at 8000 miles. This a dealer show room model, everything is stock, there are no modifications at all. Three years and 60,000 miles later the dealership has tried 9 times to fix this with no success and nothing but stonewalling from Chrysler corp. They have changed the track bar three times, and done numerous other "fixes" which in some cases worked for a few weeks then I am back to wobbling. Now after three years of waiting and now being out of warranty due to mileage Jeep has decided my car has bad wheels and they expect me to pay to replace the ones that were installed by them at the factory! this might have been something they considered at any of the prior 7 times it was in the shop while under warranty. Someone has to hold Chrysler accountable for this, get a recall, a buy back, whatever. Any of us owners who have any decency can't even sell the car given the safety concern. So I am stuck with a very dangerous car that I won't let my wife or kids drive and that I have to drive, reluctantly. This problem has nothing to do with bad tires, alignments, owner modifications or wheels. It is a design defect, Chrysler knows it, and is playing for time hoping we all go away.

The Jeep shakes violently when it hits a bump in the road. It sems 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 extrmely scary and dangerous. The car has been in numerous times and nothing seems to fix the problem.

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.