37 inch tires Warranty Warning.

[bigcheeshead]

So my Gladiator finally developed a Death Wobble after about a year of use . I took it to my dealer who immediately determined using "visual inspection" that the death wooble issue is caused by "oversized" tires and the only solution is to downgrade to stock tires!!! I ended up replacing the Tie Rod and Draglink with RPM steering to stop the death wobble. Just beware if you get bigger tires, your dealer may not fix steering issues.

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[JD101]

Honestly it's reasonable to expect . It sucks , but steering and suspension are wear items . 37s are going to wear stuff out faster . Good news is the aftermarket is here to help( as you already know) . So they can keep the 35s . I'm going to be right behind you pretty soon . Lol.

 

[rharr]

 

[Geoarch]

So my Gladiator finally developed a Death Wobble after about a year of use . I took it to my dealer who immediately determined using "visual inspection" that the death wooble issue is caused by "oversized" tires and the only solution is to downgrade to stock tires!!! I ended up replacing the Tie Rod and Draglink with RPM steering to stop the death wobble. Just beware if you get bigger tires, your dealer may not fix steering issues.

What dealer? I assume it's not a dealer in your "living room".

 

[Jeeperjamie]

So my Gladiator finally developed a Death Wobble after about a year of use . I took it to my dealer who immediately determined using "visual inspection" that the death wooble issue is caused by "oversized" tires and the only solution is to downgrade to stock tires!!! I ended up replacing the Tie Rod and Draglink with RPM steering to stop the death wobble. Just beware if you get bigger tires, your dealer may not fix steering issues.

Your dealer obviously don't know what they were talking about. 37 inch tires are definitely not going to cause death wobble unless you have a out of round tire or they are out of balance or wearing unevenly. Even then it's going to be a rough ride and more than likely not death wobble. I have 37's on my jeep and have had them for over a year and I can remove my steering stabilizer and ride around without it installed and not have death wobble. You have or had something else going on.

 

[JD101]

Your dealer obviously don't know what they were talking about. 37 inch tires are definitely not going to cause death wobble unless you have a out of round tire or they are out of balance or wearing unevenly. Even then it's going to be a rough ride and more than likely not death wobble. I have 37's on my jeep and have had them for over a year and I can remove my steering stabilizer and ride around without it installed and not have death wobble. You have or had something else going on.

True story . As I have done so on 38s . Get the suspension and steering setup correctly , tight and rite . Problems will be gone . Doesn't mean the dealer will or has to warranty a damn thing tho.

 

[dcmdon]

I don't think its unreasonable for the dealer to refuse to warrant something like that if you roll in on ofatermarket wheels and 37s.

You've got balance issues, roundness issues and front end wear issues that could be caused by this change. Any of which could cause a death wobble.

I write this as someone who has worked as a service writer at a car dealer when I was younger.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

True story . As I have done so on 38s . Get the suspension and steering setup correctly , tight and rite . Problems will be gone . Doesn't mean the dealer will or has to warranty a damn thing tho.

True but they would have to prove that the tires would be the problem. That would be hard to do and just saying 37's are the problem wouldn't fly. I'd get @JeepCares involved.

 

[JD101]

Agree the diagnosis is ignorant. But trying to argue a point that the a 37" tire didn't contribute to worn steering would be a hard fought battle in my eyes . But the question really is how many miles on the rig ? How many with the 37s . Because if it was really early on then you may have a fair argument . Me, I'd just upgrade the faulty item with aftermarket and call it the cost of doing business on 37s .The trouble is dealer to dealer nothing is consistent . I also feel that if everyone just replaced faulty factory pieces with no protest then it becomes a slippery slope of warranty denial . Maybe my previous statement implicates me as part of the problem ??

 

[bleda2002]

True but they would have to prove that the tires would be the problem. That would be hard to do and just saying 37's are the problem wouldn't fly. I'd get @JeepCares involved.

They don't have to prove it unless you took them to court and you'd lose. All the causes of death wobble, loose items, worn bushings, loose steering box that wasn't loose before, would all be taxed by the 37s. As long as the 37s reasonably contributed to the failure of the wear items you're screwed.

The downside is that this isn't to say you wouldn't have gotten death wobble on stock tires but since you made the change that's a question the dealer doesn't have to answer

 

[dcmdon]

Agree the diagnosis is ignorant. But trying to argue a point that the a 37" tire didn't contribute to warn steering would be a hard fought battle in my eyes . But the question really is how many miles on the rig ? How many with the 37s . Because if it was really early on then you may have a fair argument . Me, I'd just upgrade the faulty item with aftermarket and call it the cost of doing business on 37s .The trouble is dealer to dealer nothing is consistent . I also feel that if everyone just replaced faulty factory pieces with no protest then it becomes a slippery slope of warranty denial . Maybe my previous statement implicates me as part of the problem ??

So you are honestly saying that 37s don't put any more stress on any steering or suspension components than 33s?? Seriously??

 

[dcmdon]

True but they would have to prove that the tires would be the problem. That would be hard to do and just saying 37's are the problem wouldn't fly. I'd get @JeepCares involved.

They don't have to prove anything. All they have to do is deny the claim. Then its up to you to decide how you want to escalate. Jeep cares? Court? How much are you willing to spend to get them to warranty a $500 problem?

 

[dcmdon]

The downside is that this isn't to say you wouldn't have gotten death wobble on stock tires but since you made the change that's a question the dealer doesn't have to answer

You might have gotten the wobble on the stock tires. But its also reasonable to believe that the 37s contributed to it.

Bottom line. If you don't want a warranty claim denied on a system on your Jeep, don't modify in a way that COULD tax that system in excess of the stress it would experience on a stock vehicle.

 

[JD101]

So you are honestly saying that 37s don't put any more stress on any steering or suspension components than 33s?? Seriously??

That's absolutely the opposite of what I'm saying.

 

[JD101]

They don't have to prove anything. All they have to do is deny the claim. Then its up to you to decide how you want to escalate. Jeep cares? Court? How much are you willing to spend to get them to warranty a $500 problem?

This is exactly what I'm trying to convey. They hold all the cards .

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