2008 Jeep Wrangler 4-DR 4X4 wheel problems

WHEELS

DRIVING 40 MPH OR OVER WILL CAUSE CAR TO HARSHLY SHAKE UNCONTROLLABLY MAKING IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STEER AND CONTROL THE VEHICLE. COMPLETELY UNSAFE TO DRIVE ON A FREEWAY AS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE CAR TO STOP SHAKING IS TO COMPLETELY STOP. BECAUSE OF ALL THE SHAKING CAUSES OTHER SUSPENSION AND WHEEL PROBLEMS. BOLTS ON SUSPENSION AND WHEEL START TO LOOSEN UP CAUSING ANOTHER SAFETY ISSUE. VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR JEEP WRANGLERS FROM 2006 TO PRESENT.

NHTSA complaint #11219850 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

MY ISSUE IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO ON THE INTERNET AS THE JEEP "DEATH WOBBLE". AT AROUND 50-60MPH THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE, WHEELS AND STEERING BEGIN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY AND UNCONTROLLABLY. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT IS TO BRAKE TO A COMPLETE STOP. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS AND DISCONCERTING WEN THIS HAPPENS IN BUSY TRAFFIC ON THE FREEWAY. HAVE HAD WHEELS BALANCED AND TRACKING DONE SEVERAL TIMES, BUT ISSUE STILL OCCURS - STARTING AROUND 3 OR 4 YEAR AGO.

NHTSA complaint #10907420 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS OF 60 MPH AND ABOVE, WHEN BRAKING OR HITTING A BUMP IN THE ROAD THE WHEELS WOBBLE, STEERING IS UNCONTROLLABLE AND YOU CANNOT ACCELERATE OR STOP COMPLETELY UNTIL THE WOBBLING SUBSIDES. I WAS PASSING A SEMI TRUCK WHEN A SLOWER VEHICLE PULLED IN FRONT OF ME, I GENTLY BRAKED TO SLOW DOWN AND THE WOBBLING WAS SO BAD I COULD NOT STEER, BRAKE FURTHER OR ACCELERATE TO STOP THE WOBBLING OR MOVE OUT OF THE WAY OF CARS BEHIND ME. I ENDED UP IN THE MEDIAN SINCE I COULD NOT FOLLOW THE CURVE OF THE ROAD AND WAS LUCKY TO NOT BE HIT BY OTHER CARS OR THE SEMI-TRUCK.

NHTSA complaint #10860652 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I HAVE HAD MY BRAKE LINES, AND CALIPERS REPLACED TWICE DUE TO THE FRONT TIRES RUBBING THE BRAKE LINES WHEN TIRES ARE TURNED TO MAX CAPACITY. THE BRAKE LINES WEAR THOUGH AND LEAK FLUID ONTO CALIPERS, PADS, ROTORS, ETC. CAUSING THEM DAMAGE. MY TIRES ARE THE STOCK SIZE AND NO MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN DONE BESIDES REPLACING TIRES DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR, BUT AGAIN, TIRES ARE STOCK SIZE. I HAVE SPENT OVER $1200 DUE TO THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA complaint #10690124 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL ON AN IMPROVED MULTI-LANE HIGHWAY, AND BRAKING AS NEEDED, THE FRONT END OF THE JEEP BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THIS IS THE THIRD EPISODE OF THIS EXTREMELY UNSAFE BEHAVIOR. THE FIRST TWO EPISODES INVOLVED ACCELERATING BETWEEN 50 AND 55 ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY ON-RAMP. ALL INSTANCES REQUIRED IMMEDIATE DECELERATION AND/OR MODEST BRAKING AND/OR NEEDING TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP TO ARREST THE VIOLENT SHAKING AND REGAIN NORMAL STEERING CONTROL. RESEARCH YIELDS INFORMATION THAT THIS IS A KNOWN OCCURRENCE WITH JEEP WRANGLERS AND MAY BE THE RESULT OF SUBSTANDARD ENGINEERING AND DESIGN. SEE "JEEP WRANGLER -DEATH WOBBLE".

NHTSA complaint #10608247 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I'M NOT SURE WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM THE FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES BUT WHEN IT STARTED TO OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY I STARTED TO NOTICE MY SPEED AND THE ROAD CONDITIONS WHEN IT HAPPENED. IT WAS A COMBINATION OF DRIVING OVER 50 MILES/ HOUR AND ROLLING OVER A POTHOLE, BUMP OR SIMPLY UNEVEN PAVEMENT THAT WOULD CAUSE THE FRONT END OF THE JEEP TO WOBBLE AND SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES AND SHAKES WHICH MAKES IT VERY HARD TO STEER THE VEHICLE AND IT BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN HIGHWAY SPEED WHILE THIS IS HAPPENING. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE VIOLENT SHAKING IS TO QUICKLY SLOW THE CAR DOWN, WHICH IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ON THE BUSY INTERSTATE WHICH I TRAVEL EVERYDAY TO GET TO AND FROM WORK. RECENTLY I NARROWLY AVOIDED GETTING REAR-ENDED BY A TRACTOR TRAILER WHICH WAS BARRELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY BEHIND ME WHEN THE SHAKING OCCURRED. I HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES TO STOP THE VIBRATIONS. LUCKILY THE TRUCK DRIVER CHANGED LANES JUST IN TIME. THIS CONDITION IS UNPREDICTABLE AND PRESENTS A SERIOUS SAFETY THREAT BECAUSE IT GENERALLY HAPPENS AT HIGH SPEEDS.

NHTSA complaint #10594696 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I PURCHASED A 2008 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED NEW. I HAVE NOT MODIFIED MY CAR IN ANY WAY, NOR HAVE EVER TAKEN IT "FOUR-WHEELING." IN JUNE 2011 I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST "DEATH WOBBLE," AN EXTREMELY VIOLENT, SHAKING OF THE FRONT WHEELS. SINCE THEN, IT HAS SINCE HAPPENED FIVE TIMES, RESULTING IN REPAIRS (THAT STILL HAVEN'T SOLVED THE PROBLEM) TOTALING $1644.24 (NOT INCLUDING TAX). I MOST RECENTLY EXPERIENCED THE DEATH WOBBLE ABOUT FOUR DAYS AGO ON THE HIGHWAY (4/9/2014). I HAD IT IN TO THE SHOP TO BE "FIXED" IN EARLY MARCH WITH "REPAIRS" COSTING OVER $950. I'M HESITANT TO TAKE IT IN AGAIN BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO FIX THIS PROBLEM AND I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO KEEP MAKING REPAIRS FOR AN UNKNOWN PROBLEM. I AM NOT BLAMING THE REPAIR SHOP THAT THE WOBBLING HASN'T BEEN FIXED; I AM BLAMING CHRYSLER/JEEP BECAUSE THEY DON'T SEEM TO RECOGNIZE THIS AS BEING A SAFETY HAZARD. I'VE RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM EXTENSIVELY AND I AM DEFINITELY NOT THE ONLY ONE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING WHEN I SAY THAT WHEN THE "DEATH WOBBLE" HAPPENS, I FEEL LIKE I AM GOING TO DIE. THE ONLY TIME IT HAPPENS IS WHEN I'M GOING 45 MPH OR MORE, SO IT HAS HAPPENED PRIMARILY ON THE HIGHWAY. THE ONLY WAY TO RE-GAIN CONTROL IS TO SLOW DOWN QUICKLY AND PULL OVER (WHICH COULD RESULT IN A MAJOR PILE-UP ON THE HIGHWAY). ALL I WANT IS TO HAVE CHRYSLER/JEEP RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND PROVIDE A REMEDY/RECALL AND MONETARY COMPENSATION FOR THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint #10579423 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE, I HIT A SMALL BUMP WHILE MAKING SLIGHT TURN TO THE LEFT. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY OUT OF CONTROL. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW VIOLENT THE SHAKING WAS... IT FELT AS IF THE VEHICLE MIGHT ACTUALLY COME APART. I HAD TO PULL OF THE ROAD TO GET IT TO STOP. THIS HAS HAPPENED FOUR TIMES IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS. I HAVE ONLY OWNED THE JEEP FOR A YEAR.

NHTSA complaint #10505247 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD IF THE VEHICLE HITS A BIG ENOUGH BUMP IT WILL BEGIN AN INCREASING WOBBLE IN THE SUSPENSION, KNOWN AROUND THE COMMUNITY AS THE "DEATH WOBBLE", IT WILL CONTINUE TO GET WORSE UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS SLOWED TO A SPEED WHERE IT CAN RECOVER. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES. NOT ONLY WHEN TRAVELING THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT BUT SOMETIMES 5 TO 10 MILES AND HOUR SLOWER, CAUSING A DISRUPT IN TRAFFIC. MADE SURE TIRES WERE PROPERLY INFLATED, BALANCED AND THE FRONT END ALIGNED AND THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS.

NHTSA complaint #10485362 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

DRIVING EASTBOUND ON I-40 AT APPROXIMATELY 65MPH, BUMP WHERE BRIDGE MEETS RD, FRONT AXLE STARTED VIBRATING TREMENDOUSLY AND HAD TO PULL OFF RD TO STOP VIBRATION. HAVE HAD THIS OCCURRENCE HAPPEN NUMEROUS TIMES AT 60-70MPH AND AT 40-50MPH AT DIFFERENT PLACES IN NC. RECENT OCCURRENCE HAPPENED 7-12-2012 AT 40-50MPH ON REGULAR RD. I HAVE 2 SMALL KIDS RIDING IN JEEP WITH ME. AT 60-70MPH, IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS DUE TO WANTING TO SLOW DOWN QUICKLY ON HIGHWAYS WITH TRAFFIC...

NHTSA complaint #10465497 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

IT WAS A DRY SUNNY LATE MORNING WHEN I WAS DRIVING ON A COLORADO INTERSTATE AT APPROX. 65MPH. I WENT OVER A ROUGH PATCH OF ROAD AND THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO SHAKE FROM SIDE TO SIDE. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST THE ROUGH ROAD BUT IT DID NOT SUBSIDE AFTER PASSING BACK ONTO SMOOTH ROAD, IN FACT IT GOT WORSE. THE SHAKING DID NOT STOP UNTIL I SLOWED DOWN UNDER 10MPH. THIS HAPPENED FOUR MORE TIMES ON THIS TRIP, ALWAYS AFTER HITTING A BUMP AT 50MPH OR FASTER. AFTER A LITTLE RESEARCH I DETERMINED THE SYMPTOMS WERE CONSISTENT WITH A WELL KNOW PROBLEM, "DEATH WOBBLE". MY 2008 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED X IS 4 YEARS OLD, HAS 30K MILES ON IT AND IS COMPLETELY STOCK AND WELL MAINTAINED. IT HAS THE STOCK 32" GOODYEAR SRA TIRES ON 17" RIMS, FILLED TO 35 PSI. I CHECKED THE TORQUE ON THE TRACK BAR AND THE BOLTS WERE TO SPEC AT 125 LB/FT. I TOOK THE JEEP TO A LOCAL SHOP WHERE THEY DETERMINED THE BALL JOINTS WERE BAD AS WELL AS THE STEERING STABILIZER. THOSE HAVE BEEN REPLACED WITH AFTERMARKET COMPONENTS AND SO FAR THERE HAVE BEEN NO FURTHER OCCURRENCES. THAT WAS ABOUT 3K MILES AGO AND I HAVE TESTED THE JEEP AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITH A SEVERE BUMP WHICH DID NOT INDUCE DEATH WOBBLE. MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH DEATH WOBBLE WAS IN THE LEFT LANE ON A CROWDED HIGHWAY; IT IS AMAZING THAT I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL AND DID NOT CAUSE A MAJOR ACCIDENT JUST BY HAVING TO SLOW DOWN TO SUCH A SLOW SPEED IN THE LEFT LANE. I HAVE SEEN CHRYSLER'S COMMENTS ON THE NON-EXISTENCE OF DEATH WOBBLE DUE TO INFERIOR ENGINEERING/DESIGN OF THE STEERING COMPONENTS AND CAN TELL YOU THEY ARE WRONG WHEN THEY SAY IT HAPPENS ONLY ON LIFTED VEHICLES. THIS IS HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE OF THEM TO NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY WHEN IT IS SO EASY TO FIND SO MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint #10459006 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I STARTED EXPERIENCING THE JEEP "DEATH WOBBLE" IN FEBRUARY OF 2012. WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS OF 50MPH OR FASTER AND DRIVING OVER ANY SMALL BUMP OR POT HOLE ON THE ROAD, IT CAUSES THE JEEP TO "WOBBLE" OUT OF CONTROL. THERE WAS A FEW TIMES I ACTUALLY LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND SWAYED ONTO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE JEEP FROM WOBBLING IS TO SLOW THE JEEP DOWN TO ABOUT 10-15MPH AND WHICH IS VERY UNSAFE WHEN YOU ARE ON A HIGHWAY. I SPENT $1500 TO HAVE THIS FIXED COVERING EVERYTHING JEEP SAID TO DO (SUSPENSION, SHOCKS, TORSION BAR, BUSHINGS, TIRE PRESSURE, TIRE BALANCE, STEERING STABILIZER, CASTER ANGLE, DRAGLINK AND TIEROD) AND IT STILL HAS NOT BEEN FIXED. I AM NOW LEFT WITH A VEHICLE I OWE $17,000 WITH ONLY 44,000 MILES THAT IS TOO UNSAFE TO DRIVE.

NHTSA complaint #10458563 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

MY 2008 WRANGLER 4 DOOR HAS HAD A CONSISTENT AND UNREPAIRED CASE OF FRONT END WOBBLE THAT FIRST OCCURRED AT 8000 MILES. THIS A DEALER SHOW ROOM MODEL, EVERYTHING IS STOCK, THERE ARE NO MODIFICATIONS AT ALL. THREE YEARS AND 60,000 MILES LATER THE DEALERSHIP HAS TRIED 9 TIMES TO FIX THIS WITH NO SUCCESS AND NOTHING BUT STONEWALLING FROM CHRYSLER CORP. THEY HAVE CHANGED THE TRACK BAR THREE TIMES, AND DONE NUMEROUS OTHER "FIXES" WHICH IN SOME CASES WORKED FOR A FEW WEEKS THEN I AM BACK TO WOBBLING. NOW AFTER THREE YEARS OF WAITING AND NOW BEING OUT OF WARRANTY DUE TO MILEAGE JEEP HAS DECIDED MY CAR HAS BAD WHEELS AND THEY EXPECT ME TO PAY TO REPLACE THE ONES THAT WERE INSTALLED BY THEM AT THE FACTORY! THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THEY CONSIDERED AT ANY OF THE PRIOR 7 TIMES IT WAS IN THE SHOP WHILE UNDER WARRANTY. SOMEONE HAS TO HOLD CHRYSLER ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS, GET A RECALL, A BUY BACK, WHATEVER. ANY OF US OWNERS WHO HAVE ANY DECENCY CAN'T EVEN SELL THE CAR GIVEN THE SAFETY CONCERN. SO I AM STUCK WITH A VERY DANGEROUS CAR THAT I WON'T LET MY WIFE OR KIDS DRIVE AND THAT I HAVE TO DRIVE, RELUCTANTLY. THIS PROBLEM HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BAD TIRES, ALIGNMENTS, OWNER MODIFICATIONS OR WHEELS. IT IS A DESIGN DEFECT, CHRYSLER KNOWS IT, AND IS PLAYING FOR TIME HOPING WE ALL GO AWAY.

NHTSA complaint #10452489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.