Just got the Death Wobble on my JT....grrrr. Any advice?

[wesley8808]

I have an Overland, bought in April and have 17k miles on it. Not one issue until I was driving to work the other day on I-95 and went over a bridge section and got the death wobble. I have driven over that road section a thousands times before, I was only going 70 and the wobble was so bad, I could change lanes. I had to slow down to 50ish before it self corrected. Started driving fine, check the front suspension etc when I got to work and it looked fine. The tires were at 34 psi cold (I know they should be at 36). But were all the same pressure.

Then it happened two more times on my way home that night. One of them was when I simply changed lanes. I have an appointment on Tuesday with the dealership I bought it from. Although I am worried. While they are familiar with the DW, they said my JT was not in the recall list.

Any one else have it happen yet to them? What tips do you have for me to deal with the dealer?

Thanks!

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[wbelong]

I have an Overland, bought in April and have 17k miles on it. Not one issue until I was driving to work the other day on I-95 and went over a bridge section and got the death wobble. I have driven over that road section a thousands times before, I was only going 70 and the wobble was so bad, I could change lanes. I had to slow down to 50ish before it self corrected. Started driving fine, check the front suspension etc when I got to work and it looked fine. The tires were at 34 psi cold (I know they should be at 36). But were all the same pressure.

Then it happened two more times on my way home that night. One of them was when I simply changed lanes. I have an appointment on Tuesday with the dealership I bought it from. Although I am worried. While they are familiar with the DW, they said my JT was not in the recall list.

Any one else have it happen yet to them? What tips do you have for me to deal with the dealer?

Thanks!

Looks like a decent video and identification of the reason and what to look at to fix.

https://www.extremeterrain.com/wrangler-jeep-death-wobble.html

 

[wesley8808]

Thanks!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have an Overland, bought in April and have 17k miles on it. Not one issue until I was driving to work the other day on I-95 and went over a bridge section and got the death wobble. I have driven over that road section a thousands times before, I was only going 70 and the wobble was so bad, I could change lanes. I had to slow down to 50ish before it self corrected. Started driving fine, check the front suspension etc when I got to work and it looked fine. The tires were at 34 psi cold (I know they should be at 36). But were all the same pressure.

Then it happened two more times on my way home that night. One of them was when I simply changed lanes. I have an appointment on Tuesday with the dealership I bought it from. Although I am worried. While they are familiar with the DW, they said my JT was not in the recall list.

Any one else have it happen yet to them? What tips do you have for me to deal with the dealer?

Thanks!

Toe-in needs to be checked. The dampener needs to be checked, all bolts need to be checked for proper torque (that really means TORQUE THEM ALL)
Track bar needs to be looked at closely, I believe there's even a bulletin for that item on OTHER models, but they still apply in a way due to the same configuration being used in this vs. the Wrangler, etc.
The track bar is an item that a former steering and suspension engineer even mentioned as a common cause of these issues.
Some dealers have looked at the service bulletins for the other models and used that as a reason to dig into track bar issues.
I've run mine on all sorts of roads, smooth, rough and broken up, crowned, flat, 55 up to 70-75 and run tire pressure at the sticker number - no issues, no wobble. My toe-in is exactly 1/8". It's an Overland. May wander a tad but the steering is good and no wobble.

 

[futzin']

It will help your case if you can get it on video.

 

[ErocksGlad]

Always start with the simplest fixes first. Tire rebalance, alignment might do the trick.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Always start with the simplest fixes first. Tire rebalance, alignment might do the trick.

Weight may have come off.........

 

[Oilburner]

First thing I'd do is check bolts as advised above,
Then rotate the tires - do one side, test drive, then do the other. Free immediate feedback.
Too soon to have anything worn out in the front end, hope it's something obvious/simple.
Let us know how it goes-

 

[wesley8808]

All great advice, I will let you know what the dealership says. I took a video when driving home, but it was too dark to see much and I was really focusing on not crashing. I will take it out this weekend to get a video.

My fear is the mechanic "won't be able to verify" the issue.

 

[HorneyBadger]

I had a wobble on my Overland after going to JL Rubicon tires. Local shop installed TPMS sensors and balanced. Took it to the dealership and they rebalanced while installing lift kit. No more wobble. SO check tire balance first!

 

[futzin']

My fear is the mechanic "won't be able to verify" the issue.

Try to find a place and speed where it is repeatable.

 

[Renegade]

I had a wobble on my Overland after going to JL Rubicon tires. Local shop installed TPMS sensors and balanced. Took it to the dealership and they rebalanced while installing lift kit. No more wobble. SO check tire balance first!

That sounds like a shimmy, and not full blown death wobble. Tire shimmy could lead to DW if there are other factors at play, but it is definitely a different experience. It’s those other factors which need to be identified.

 

[Coyotesong]

Discovered this on my 17 JKUR when I was putting the lift on at 5000 miles. Don't know if the factory failed to torque this bolt or if it backed off. I think it never got torqued at the factory.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Discovered this on my 17 JKUR when I was putting the lift on at 5000 miles. Don't know if the factory failed to torque this bolt or if it backed off. I think it never got torqued at the factory.

YIKES! it backed off but the only reason would be it wasn't properly torqued. They don't just walk out if it's a good bolt and torqued to spec. Not after that few miles unless you drove Illinois highways, then all bets are off.

 

[The Acme Company]

As the suspension is the same as the JL, the steering stabilizer or damper has been an issue since 2018. There has been at least 2 revisions. I had my first one replaced at 13k miles and the second at 34k. I had no alignment issues, no untorqued fasteners. My tires all wore even and were properly inflated. I’m at 43k miles and it drives fantastic.

My JT only has 4K miles since may. I expect that I’ll have the same issue, but perhaps Chrysler has updated the AE series stabilizer to survive past the warranty.

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