I've become disillusioned with my Jeep

[Orange01z28]

After one year? My Jeep has been into the dealer for all service intervals, and been well maintained. So no it is an engineering problem when I get a card from lawyers about it.

How many miles?

Sponsored

 

[Murgatroid]

What does your alignment look like? I had mine done at farm and feet on a Sunday…. Should have gone to a good shop knowledgeable about jeeps. Pulled a hair to the left, turns out it was my stabilizer.

Anyway…the only thing they changed was the toe. Immediately following that it wobbled at 60 mph. Take a look at the video on this thread I put up looking for the answer. Worked for me.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/death-wobble-after-toe-adjustment.67603/

Alignment done last spring when I got the new tires, exact factory replacements, that did stop a wobble that I was starting to feel. It is like if anything is not just perfect, from PSI to alignment, you can have death wobble.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ball joints

Maybe. It is in some cases, but not all.
No one can say without being there and performing a real diagnosis.
Like we've said - sometimes tires, sometimes other worn or loose parts, and sometimes ball joints. It's not always any of the above.

 

[Chance_P]

Maybe. It is in some cases, but not all.
No one can say without being there and performing a real diagnosis.
Like we've said - sometimes tires, sometimes other worn or loose parts, and sometimes ball joints. It's not always any of the above.

Yep. None of us know what the problem is since none of us are hands on the vehicle.

My money is on ball joints.

 

[Jteakus]

Have you balanced your tires?
My bet is they are out a bit and are exaggerating a steering component with some slack in it.

 

[TheGrendel]

Ball joints. Potentially cracked steering knuckle. Loose bolts. Bent axle housing.


What it’s not. Steering stabilizer.

 

[sharpsicle]

So no it is an engineering problem when I get a card from lawyers about it.

That’s…not what that means. You should read more about that suit and how useless it really is before claiming it’s proof Jeep has an “engineering problem”. The steering stabilizer is not the source of death wobble. It’s the band aid you put on to try and hide it.

What’s really going on there is Jeep is not admitting any fault whatsoever, and the steering dampener is offered to pacify the class participants. It’s the definition of a useless settlement, but unfortunately it’s how our legal system works.

As others have said, there is likely an issue with something in your suspension. This is a common trait across any solid front axle vehicle.

 

[TheGrendel]

That’s…not what that means. You should read more about that suit and how useless it really is before claiming it’s proof Jeep has an “engineering problem”. The steering stabilizer is not the source of death wobble. It’s the band aid you put on to try and hide it.

What’s really going on there is Jeep is not admitting any fault whatsoever, and the steering dampener is offered to pacify the class participants. It’s the definition of a useless settlement, but unfortunately it’s how our legal system works.

As others have said, there is likely an issue with something in your suspension. This is a common trait across any solid front axle vehicle.

some lawyers made good money though.

 

[Chaos Theory]

Personally, the day I get death wobble is the day I trade it in. I won't put up with that. Not for a $65k vehicle.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Personally, the day I get death wobble is the day I trade it in. I won't put up with that. Not for a $65k vehicle.

Wow, ok you probably should of done good research on the JT and I suggest staying on top of your maintenance. It's not a IFS front suspension so you have to maintain it and check it from time to time. I check my torque specs about every 2 oil changes and I'm always checking the front for sure making sure everything is good and tight. If you don't you will be trading it in then because it will happen. It's happened on every jeep Wrangler I've ever owned because I didn't keep a check on everything and I'm doing what I can to prevent it on the JT by keeping a good check. It's not the end of the world, it can be fixed and really no way to avoid it without a owner willing to do the proper steps to avoid it.

 

[ShrimpHappens]

What's the saying about opinions?

Nevertheless, I'll state mine as: death wobble shouldn't be happening to @Murgatroid if his Jeep is as stock as he says it is. Yes, we all know it's a solid front axle issue not exclusive to the Jeep brand, but I do not ascribe to the "it's a normal part of SFA life" mantra.

This is my third SFA Jeep, and none of them have death wobbled.

My '96 Cherokee didn't do it stock with el cheapo Walmart Liberator tires, and it still didn't do it with a used Rusty's lift and even cheaper mud terrain tires. I had that Jeep from ~110k miles to ~212K miles and didn't touch a single ball joint or steering stabilizer. Track bar was the only front component I replaced.

My '04 Grand Cherokee didn't death wobble. I never lifted it, and I owned it from ~115K miles to ~155k miles and again never touched anything in the front suspension.

So my anecdotal evidence (that's worth about as much as Monopoly money) makes me think this shouldn't be happening on a stock JT, and it shouldn't be the responsibility of the owner to throw money (or at least, time and effort for warranty work) at it to get it figured out.

 

[Guns_N_Rosaries]

The fact that car companies are allowed to ship vehicles with a known problem like a death wobble is absolutely insane. Despite what the manufacturers say, it's a real thing across pretty much all the brands. I've seen videos of it happening, and complaints from people online. I've personally never experienced it, but my back seats have 2 car seats for two little kids, and if I ever experienced a death wobble in my stock Gladiator I'd be selling it the next day, and never buying a Stellantis product again.

 

[hjdca]

I have a bone stock, 2020 max tow, first year took several long highway trips hitting speeds of 80 maybe even a little more with no complaints about the suspension. Second year, on a trip hit a poorly maintained highway (I69 north out of Indy) and almost every bridge felt like a speed bump in a 70 mph zone and would send the Jeep into a death wobble. On the way home, once on the local highway, I had no problems. Took it in, they replaced the dampener and I had no problems but I didn't go on any bad highways so hard to tell if problem was fixed. Slowly about 6 months later, on one off ramp with a bad bump, the Jeep would get the death wobble. Each time I would have to slow down to an almost stop before it stabilized. Dealer want to replace the replacement dampener but none in stock. While waiting, I got new tires and an alignment, problem fixed so when stabilizer came in, didn't get it replaced. Well the problem has started again and started after I swapped out from my snow tires. The tires I put on were new last year, all at 36 lbs and I can't go on highways with speed limits above 60/65 without living in fear. Happened several times last week when I had to use I65 south of Indy, doing 70 in a 70 with a semi right behind me when I hit a bridge expansion joint and had to come to an almost stop with a semi on my ass. It seems that Jeep engineers, after having made a solid axle vehicle, still can't fix a problem, then maybe they need to go back to the drawing board or Jeep needs to hire new engineers. No modern vehicle, that is well maintained and only a few year and less than 100, 000 miles should have a front end of death.

Have the dealer check the tie rod ball ends and the drag link ball ends play. They usually start getting loose after 30K miles on the stock stuff. When I replaced my stock tie rod and drag link with RPM stuff at approx. 30K miles, the difference in ball joint stiffness was huge. The stock stuff was quite loose.

 

[sharpsicle]

What's the saying about opinions?

Nevertheless, I'll state mine as: death wobble shouldn't be happening to @Murgatroid if his Jeep is as stock as he says it is. Yes, we all know it's a solid front axle issue not exclusive to the Jeep brand, but I do not ascribe to the "it's a normal part of SFA life" mantra.

This is my third SFA Jeep, and none of them have death wobbled.

My '96 Cherokee didn't do it stock with el cheapo Walmart Liberator tires, and it still didn't do it with a used Rusty's lift and even cheaper mud terrain tires. I had that Jeep from ~110k miles to ~212K miles and didn't touch a single ball joint or steering stabilizer. Track bar was the only front component I replaced.

My '04 Grand Cherokee didn't death wobble. I never lifted it, and I owned it from ~115K miles to ~155k miles and again never touched anything in the front suspension.

So my anecdotal evidence (that's worth about as much as Monopoly money) makes me think this shouldn't be happening on a new stock JT, and it shouldn't be the responsibility of the owner to throw money (or at least, time and effort for warranty work) at it to get it sorted.

I tend to agree with you on all points. But I think the issue comes in when it's time to actually solve a problem, like here. Do I think you should be able to not have to deal with death wobble this early? Yes. Does that help me solve the problem if it does come up? No.

I mean we can all talk about what we think should happen with everything on a truck, regardless of the price level or brand, but at the end of the day if work needs to be done it needs to be done. And when that work needs to happen will vary. Some will take longer to manifest problems, others will see them quicker. That's the nature of statistical distribution. No matter the design of something, there's always a chance your particular instance of it will see issues sooner. That's where warranties came from.

Things happen. We need to react accordingly when they do. The unfortunate truth is that saying "I shouldn't have to do this" doesn't change anything. It just makes you angrier. Because clearly, you do have to do it once the problem arises, so why get in your own head over it? It's happened; it won't change. And if it's something you are worried about happening, I see no problem suggesting you get more active in your prevention and keep an eye on it with periodic maintenance or checks.

"Death wobble" is not a new or unique phenomenon. It will always be a risk with all SFA vehicles. What's important is to understand what to do next if it shows up. If someone can't accept that, then perhaps a SFA vehicle isn't for them.

No matter what the vehicle or situation, it's important to get past those initial feelings, focus up, and take care business (whether you do it yourself or take it in for warranty work). There's no benefit to stewing on a situation that isn't going to change.

 

[ShrimpHappens]

I tend to agree with you on all points. But I think the issue comes in when it's time to actually solve a problem, like here. Do I think you should be able to not have to deal with death wobble this early? Yes. Does that help me solve the problem if it does come up? No.

I mean we can all talk about what we think should happen with everything on a truck, regardless of the price level or brand, but at the end of the day if work needs to be done it needs to be done. And when that work needs to happen will vary. Some will take longer to manifest problems, others will see them quicker. That's the nature of statistical distribution. No matter the design of something, there's always a chance your particular instance of it will see issues sooner. That's where warranties came from.

Things happen. We need to react accordingly when they do. The unfortunate truth is that saying "I shouldn't have to do this" doesn't change anything. It just makes you angrier. Because clearly, you do have to do it once the problem arises, so why get in your own head over it? It's happened; it won't change. And if it's something you are worried about happening, I see no problem suggesting you get more active in your prevention and keep an eye on it with periodic maintenance or checks.

"Death wobble" is not a new or unique phenomenon. It will always be a risk with all SFA vehicles. What's important is to understand what to do next if it shows up. If you can't accept that, then perhaps a SFA vehicle isn't for you.

No matter what the vehicle or situation, it's important to get past those initial feelings, focus up, and take care business (whether you do it yourself or take it in for warranty work). There's no benefit to stewing on a situation that isn't going to change.

I agree with you 100%. Captain Hindsight is of no use at this point. Just wanted to document that I 100% disagree with these folks implying it's a normal part of life or somehow @Murgatroid 's fault for not doing enough maintenance.

Sponsored