13 problems related to front suspension have been reported for the 2009 Jeep Wrangler. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While entering highway at 60 mph, while merging I crossed over a roadway lane seam which seemed to actuate a harmonic vibration in the front suspention which increased to a dangerous uncontrollable and violent shaking making control of the vehicle extremely difficult. This shaking continued while I slowed and crossed 2 lanes of traffic to the shoulder and stopped only after I came to a full stop. Inspected front suspention for damage and saw none. I continued on my trip with no other incident. This condition is inherent in Wranglers and often referred to in Jeep message boards as the "wrangler death wobble". Dealer rotated and rebalanced tires and installed new steering damper in hopes that might solve the issue. The potential for causing an accident is very real.
Violent shaking of front end at highway speed vehicle is all oem not modified alignment and tires ok started to shake sterring wheel moving 1/2" up/down difficult to hold and steer to side of road needed to stop to get the vibrations to end has occured on two other ocassions still under warranty dealer claims no knowledge of "death wobble" problems refered to in several Jeep blogs.
2009 Jeep Wrangler x-unlimited (completely stock) with 20k miles. This is a notorious problem that has been labeled the "death wobble" by many other Jeep owners after a simple google search, as well as horrific youtube videos. At highway speeds, a pot hole or bridge joint initiates a horrific wobble in the front end. Countless incidents over the last 3k miles where the steering wheel begins jerking left and right and tires begin hopping on the road. The wobble forces you to have to immediately slow down as low as 30 mph or even almost stop to eliminate the wobble. Although we have not been involved in an accident due to the wobble, it is extremely likely to happen someday. Slowing or stopping suddenly on a three lane highway when other motorists are not anticipating any need to stop or slow will result in a rear end collision. If unable to safely slow down, continuing driving with the wobble will likely result in loss of control of the vehicle. Extensive research on this topic concluded that there is no known fix. Many have experienced temporary improvement by changing various front end components but the wobble returns. A Jeep engineer stated "it is not a Jeep issue it is more of an issue related to the fundamental architecture of a solid front axle suspension systems". A very common problem, onset at 17k miles on our Jeep and as low as 6k miles on other Jeeps, is a Jeep problem. Based on accounts of many other owners, dealing with a Jeep dealership is a very long process of many expensive repairs, with no end result and the problem still exists. This is a serious problem that I feel needs the attention of a higher entity before the number of property damage or worse, personal injury accidents climb as a result of this 'non-Jeep' problem.
I have recently been experiencing the "death wobble" that a lot of Jeeps have experienced. I have not had time to take it into the dealership to get repaired but this is the 2nd 4dr Jeep Wrangler that I have experienced this in. The first Jeep was my fathers 2007 and his ended up being repaired by replacing the steering stabilizer. My Jeep recently has been doing this whenever I am on the highway going over 60 mph. The steering wheel turns back and fourth violently and the whole front end of the Jeep shakes so hard I feel like I can hardly control it. I have to reduce my speed to about 35 mph for it to finally recover, which is not an easy task on a busy highway. My wife has become frightful to drive the vehicle and I am not that comfortable myself since it is certainly lack of control of a massive amount of weight at such a high speed. This is defiantly a safety concern and it will be awful when someone’s life will be the cost to have this brought to attention.
The contact owns a 2009 Jeep Wrangler. The contact was driving 50 mph when the front suspension failed, causing the contact to momentarily lose control of the vehicle. The contact called the dealer and the dealer advised him to bring the vehicle in for inspection. The vehicle was replace the front passenger side damper. The dealer replaced the same exact damper six days prior to it going out. The contact stated the dampers are poorly manufacturer and does not feel safe driving the vehicle after it's repaired. The failure mileage was 54,000.
2009 Jeep Wrangler unlimited x 4 door 4x4 stock: experienced "death wobble" while traveling anywhere between 40-65 mph front end shakes violently especially when hitting small or large bumps or pot holes. Has happened for the past 10,000 miles and the car has just under 30k now. Shaking was so violent that vehicle had to be brought to a completed stop even in the lane of travel on the highway. Very dangerous as a car slammed on its brakes behind me on the left lane of the NJ garden state parkway nearly setting off a chain reaction accident. Steering damper replaced by dealer claiming that should fix the problem. After picking the vehicle up it happened again. Next time the dealer replaced ruined ball bearings due to the death wobble and realigned & wheels balanced and rotated. A few days later the vehicle has the same problem. My wife is afraid to drive the car. Please don't wait until someone is hurt or dies to intervene. Clearly this is a big problem for these Jeeps, just google and you will see many complaints not formally lodged here! manufacture needs to come out with a viable resolution as the dealers seem stumped.
Driving vehicle at speeds above 45 mph, vehicle begins to shake violently. Commonly called "death wobble" on Jeep forums. Wife is now afraid to drive the Jeep.
The contact owns a 2009 Jeep Wrangler 4x4. The contact was driving 45 mph when the front end of the vehicle began to wobble excessively. The vehicle was taken to the dealer many times and they were unable to resolve the failure. The tires were changed and balanced but to no avail. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 34,000.
2009 Jeep Wrangler unlimited x 4 door 4x4 stock: experienced "death wobble" while traveling anywhere between 50-65 mph front end would shake violently especially when hitting a bump or pot hole. Shaking was so violent that vehicle had to be brought to a completed stop even in the lane of travel on the highway. Vehicle was brought to Jeep dealer who replaced steering damper, claiming that should fix the problem. After picking the vehicle up it happened aprox 10 times vehicle was brought back to dealer the next day, where damper, as well as two other pieces were replaced and wheels balanced and rotated. Once it was picked up to days after it was brought in, the vehicle did the same thing again. However now it does it at random times without hitting a bump. Dealer claim they will open a case with Jeep to investigate. Vehicle is unsafe.
October 30 2010 I purchased a second hand Jeep Wrangler year model 2009. In the span on one week I have twice experienced what is referred on many forums and web pages on the internet as "death wobble". My first experience with this was at 55mph while crossing railroad tracks. After crossing the railroad tracks the front end of my motor vehicle began to shake from left to right in a very violent manner this forced me to pull to the side of the road out of concerns for safety. The second incident occurred three days later while traveling at 65 mph on the highway. I hit a bump in the road which again caused the front of my vehicle to shake in such a violent manner that the tires were chirping and I was forced to come to almost a complete stop to bring the vehicle safely under my control. This vehicle is not modified in any way,tracks straight going down the road and has tires on it which would be consistent with the 21,500 miles reflected on the odometer.
The contact owns a 2009 Jeep Wrangler unlimited x. The contact was driving approximately 40 mph and drove over a road bump. The front end of the vehicle began to shake and vibrate violently, causing difficulty in maintaining control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the front end damper shock was replaced. The failure mileage was 14,000.
I experienced the"death wobble" in a 2009 4dr Jeep Wrangler last week. Shortly after hitting a small bump in the road,we experienced very erratic shaking of the steering wheel and the front wheels were shaking as if they were going to fall off. When we slowed down to a slow speed of about 25 mph,the shaking stopped. We proceeded to our destination and two more times this action happened after hitting small bumps in the road. One time on a three lane highway in new jersey,we had a tractor trailer driver pull up next to us and tell us to pull over,because it looked like our front wheel was falling off. We had the vehicle taken to a nearby Chrysler dealer where they diagnosed the problem as the Jeep death wobble which happens when something goes wrong in the front suspension. He made it out to be a common problem and I just wonder why I've never heard of this anywhere before. I searched death wobble" on my web browser and got thousands of hits and video on u-tube. Could you please check into this and find out why this so secret ,but yet so common.
While traveling at 75 mph in the left lane I wandered over the yellow line and the left front tire ran over the indented 'wake up' impressions in the asphalt at which time my front end began violently shaking like I was driving a jack hammer. I began to brake and made it across 6 lanes of traffic before I could come to a stop. The shaking did not stop until I came to a stop. I inspected the front end components and all were fine. I slowly drove off and the problem no longer existed. This problem is 'death wobble' and is all over Jeep message forums on the internet.