Steering Wheel Problems of Jeep Wrangler

Driving westbound on m-59 in hartland, mi I hit a very small bump in the road and the Jeep started to shudder very violently. I had to pull over to the side of the road and stop in order for the shudder to go away. After doing much research on the internet, I have now found out that this is called the death wobble and is a highly common problem that Chrysler is aware of and has not done anything to let the public know of the issue.

See all problems of the 2008 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Severe shaking (coined death wobble) at 55 mph. This has happened (3) times. I have replaced steering dampener, front end alignment, (4) new tires all within last week. There are countless complaints for this same problem, yet no resolution to be found. There seems to be with all of the complaints a "head in sand" mentality hoping that this will go away. I'm shocked, after the experience of trying to get veh off of highway during this event, that there have not been any fatalities.

See all problems of the 2004 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

While driving on highway at approximately 55-60 mph my Jeep has started to violently shake and shudder after hitting a bump. It will only stop shaking after pulling over to the side of the road and slowing down to 15-20 mph or stopping all together. The day it started we were taking a trip to new orleans and it happened 6 or 7 times in less than 100 miles. I will be taking it in to the dealer in the morning, but after a quick search of the NHTSA database it seem this has been a regular occurrence and recurrence with Jeeps for many years. Luckily we were on a secondary highway when this occurred and not on a major interstate at 70-75 mph (yet). The wife is now terrified to drive the vehicle and I'm not to comfortable with it at this point. To make matters worse we're being stationed overseas and planned on letting our son in college use the vehicle which doesn't seem like a great option at this point. We've also noticed, for the past few weeks, the manual transmission will jump out of 1st gear when taking off. I looked forward to owning a Jeep 4-door for some time and this is rather disappointing and I wouldn't have even considered buying it if I had been told this would happen, especially with less than 20,000 miles on it, none of which are off-roading miles. I believe Jeep should have to warn it's potential customers if they do not want to bother fixing an obvious design flaw and should have to remove all their "trail rated" badges from all vehicles. It's no wonder Chrysler is having financial troubles since they can't make a 4x4 that can handle a bump.

See all problems of the 2009 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

We were driving on a limited access highway when I hit a section of rough a rough road about 6 feet long. The front end, steering wheel & transmission shook violently! once I got below 45 mph it stopped. I could not steer the vehicle. This has happened 6 times now at speeds as low as 50 mph. It would happen a lot more if I did not slow down when I come across patched spots in the road or where overpasses and bridges meet the solid road bed. On smooth roads, there is no vibration that I can feel. I talked to the previous owner and he never had a problem. It has never been off road, lifted or wrecked. The garage replaced the steering gear box under warranty and I paid for the alignment check and tire balance. I rotated the tired and then put a new tire on the right front. I checked for play in all the suspension and steering and found very little. The garage said they found none. I then installed a heavy duty steering stabilizer. It did not help. The garage said there was nothing more they could do. When I asked Jeep was their a problem called death wobble, because there are a lot of postings, they did not answer. Instead, the service manager suggested I buy 4 new tires and get a road force balance. A friend sent me to another Jeep dealer to talk to his friend, who was well aware of the problem and had not been able to fix it on other Jeeps. There was no remedy or help from Chrysler Jeep. He has had it happen to him and will not ride in or drive one again. He suggested not driving interstates and below 55 mph on the highway. I am 68 year old retired car, truck, heavy equipment and industrial mechanic supervisor. The Jeep is unsafe to drive on the highway. Bf.

Severe wobble in front end where control of vehicle is hard to maintain. It began intermittently and briefly and now is repetitive and sustained. My Wrangler is now being evaluated for the fourth time and needs a steering dampener replaced (which was the recall) along with replacing upper and lower ball joints. Chrysler reportedly had 4,000 of these vehicles recalled under service bulletin number: csn-j34 with this same issue. My vehicle is not included in the recall. This vehicle and others like it is going to kill someone. The front end of the vehicle violently shakes/wobbles at normal highway speeds. I was told by the dealer that this was a "known engineering flaw".

See all problems of the 2007 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Driving on the interstate at approximately 65 mph, and the front end began shaking violently. I started pulling over and when I got down to 35 mph, the shaking stopped. I was able to drive for a couple of weeks without incidence, and then it happened again with increasing frequency. This was a stock Jeep bought new without any after-market alterations with only 52k miles. I took it into midas, and they said I needed a new steering stabilizer. They replaced it, and it did not solve the problem. I took it to another mechanic, and they replaced trackbar, but it didn't solve the problem. I took it back to midas, and they put another new stabilizer, still had the problem with ever-increasing frequency. I put new tires on the car, and the problem went away for about 20k miles. At 73k, the problem started again. This time I took it the Jeep dealer. They knew what the "death wobble" was, and they said they would check everything. They reported back that there was nothing wrong with the components, and suggested I get the tires balanced again. I got the tires balanced and took it back a week later to the dealer as the problem was happening with more frequency, and now was occurring at speeds between 45-55 mph. I suggested a particular patch of highway for a test drive. They called me back and said, "there is something seriously wrong. " they then worked with Chrysler to identify and "solve" the problem. They replaced the tire rods and joints. Three days later I experienced the problem again, and then again, and again. I have spent approximately $1400 to "fix" this problem, and it continues to persist. Do an online search of "death wobble" and you'll find entry after entry and even videos. I'm really worried that one of these times when I and forced to quickly slow down and head to the shoulder, I'm going to end up rear ended by a tractor trailer.

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.

Driving a rental Jeep in kauai, hit a small bump in road - the Jeep went into a violent shimmy - would not stop until the vehicle came to a complete stop - then it behaved normal - this happened about 2 times on the 3rd day of the rental period and another 5 times over the 8 day rental period - should have requested a new Jeep the first time it happened - the last day it happened 3 times on the way to the airport - my wife and kids were extremely upset - lost control of vehicle and almost was in a head on collision - ended up parking on the side of the road and called a taxi - I understand this is a common problem in Jeeps - someone is going to get killed if Jeep does not figure out what is going on and how to fix this problem -.

Was towing vehicle behind motorhome. After making 2 sharp turns felt a dragging sensation. Was notified steering locking mechanism had locked up wheels which caused dragging sensation.

See all problems of the 2000 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Column shaft upper bearing fell off, causing car to wobble on the freeway.

See all problems of the 1997 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Ongoing problem with steering column making scraping noiss. Vehicle benn in / out of dealer shop on several occasions before they replaced steering column. Less then three months later, problem reoccurred. Consumer believed that the dealer would replace it with another defective part, and if so, how long would they do this until warranty ran out. If so, what would happen? ! can NHTSA help with this matter before this occur and provide additional information on this matter.

See all problems of the 1998 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

When driving at any speed and going over a bump, the steering wheel is vibrating and there is some knocking noise coming from the vehicle. Consumer feels the design of the steering wheel and column mechanism does not fit correctly causing loose fitting. Ak.

After replacement of air bag, light continued to illuminate due to failure of the clock spring (recall component).

Clock spring in steering column shorted out also, engine controller, and horn failure. Also air bag and cruise control lights came on.

Brake rotors had to be re-finished after only 8000 miles. I question the quality of materials Chrysler is using. Steering wheel rubbing: steering column would make a rubbing noise every time it was turned. Did this even on the initial test drive new off the lot. They said it was a simple lubrication issue. 2 weeks later, the noise was back. I brought it in a total of 6 times before the problem was finally resolved, apparently with some new super slick polymer and only after I personally called the factory to get advice. Other issues: driver's seat creaks like an old tractor. They couldn't fix it. I had the problem with the gauges on my dash going off. They knew what that was and dixed it. Exhaust manifold went after only 12,000 miles (more substandard parts used by Chrysler). This is why I hesitate to buy american.

Consumer was turning on to a side road at approximately5 mph when steering wheel separated from the steering column. Dealer notified.

While driving at highway speeds, the vehicle started pulling to the right, consumer then proceeded to get off interstate, then steering wheel locked up. Dealer replaced steering column. Please provide details.

Steering wheel: driving along at approximately 20mph and the steering wheel locked up, had to work back and forth in order to get steering wheel back in use, took vehicle in for repairs and was told that they can't find any problem. Has happened about six times.

Steering wheel is loose in column , wheel will not stay in place while consumer is driving. Contacted dealer. Please provide further information.

See all problems of the 2001 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Faulty steering column.

Leak on passenger side. Floor gets wet when it rains or air conditioner is on. Maunfacturer said that there may be some clogged vents. If this is happening to so many other Jeep owners, maybe it should be considered more of a design flaw.