I was just driving down a paved residential road on a slight decline about 40 MPH and it started wobbling and shaking the entire car. I felt like I was going to lose control and couldn't swerve over since there was traffic. I applied the brakes lightly, but not too much since there was other vehicles behind me that I didn't want to slam into me from behind if I suddenly braked too hard. Even while applying brakes the jeep was still wobbling violently. Violently! Seriously thought I was going to cause a wreck. Finally the jeep stopped wobbling where I pulled over and checked if my tires were lose or anything. Everything was fine on the outside. When I came home I wanted to see if anyone else had this issue, and turns out it even has a name called the "death wobble". My jeep is a 2008, with 40,000 mile. This jeep is rarely used. This is unacceptable. Not only the wrangler, but many other vehicles as well. Chrysler seems to deny that any issues exist concerning the "death wobble". Please help.
2008 Jeep Wrangler steering complaints
Page 3 of 6: complaints 41 to 70 of 156, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving home from work on a state highway, even though posted speed limit was 65mph, traffic was heavy and I was forced to slow down to around 50 to 53 MPH. When speeding back up to 55 MPH my jeep sahara shook violently and uncontrollably, I thought my vehicle was going to shake apart, I hit the brakes and went down to 50 MPH (thank god no one was close behind me and did not hit me) and the shaking/wobble stopped. As traffic picked back up and I was able to speed up to 60 MPH, there was no real problem (a slight shake as I past 55 MPH), but as soon as I had to slow down to 55 MPH the vehicle started to shake/wobble uncontrollably again. It appears if I accelerate from 0 to 55 MPH I get the violent shaking/wobbling but if I go from 0 to 60-65 MPH, I do not really experience the violent uncontrollably shaking, just a slight shake at the 55 MPH going to 60-65 MPH. If I slow down from 60-65 MPH to 55 MPH I get that same violent uncontrollable shaking/wobbling. This happens everyday - not randomly! I found even on non-highways, where speed limits that allow 55 MPH, I get the same violent shaking. This is my only vehicle and I depend on it to get to and from work every weekday. I have read the forums and I have checked the tire pressure, it has no effect on the shaking/wobbling. I have never taken it off-road, I don't even put it in 4 wheel drive. My son has his own jeep that he has work on for years and he looked at my jeep (things like steering components, ball joints, tires, steering damper, etc.) all the things jeep owners have posted on these forums and have paid dearly for at the dealership and everything seems ok. I recently found from a jeep forum that this is called the 'death wobble'.
Typical "death wobble" that I was unaware of until researching this morning. Very scary and with only 25,000 miles an no off roading on this jeep, this should not happen and certainly not something I should have to pay to repair!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. While driving 45 to 65 MPH, the front end of the vehicle shook violently out of control and caused the suspension to become unstable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the tires needed to be balanced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the steering damper, but the failure recurred two days after the repair was performed. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Hit a small bump in the road while driving 70 MPH, this caused violent vibrations in the front end that wouldn't stop until I almost stopped. If I hadn't had a good grip on the wheel I would have lost control of the vehicle. This has happened 4 times since and at speeds as low as 55mph. Checked with dealer and they said it would require replacing one part at a time till the problem is corrected. This would be very expensive and you would never know if it was fixed. This is very dangerous as you never know when it is going to happen. Twice I was going 70 with a tractor trailer close behind. Yesterday I was in heavy traffic in the middle lane going 70 with a tractor trailer behind me when the front end started to vibrate and bounce. I couldn't get over so I had to almost stop in the middle lane in rush hour on I-10. This problemis referred to as the death wobble. It is very scary and could cause an accident or even a roll over if you don't have a good grip on the wheel. (vehicle is not lifted & front end had just been aligned before first incident).
Turning steering wheel while driving, airbag dash indicator illuminates and warning tone activated. Return steering to center and indicator light extinguishes. Warning light illuminates and tone activates sporadically when steering wheel is turned but with increased frequency over the period of 2011-2012. In 2013, the airbag dash indicator remains illuminated regardless of steering wheel position or vehicle movement. In latter-half of 2014, the horn has failed to work.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle began to shake uncontrollably and the speed independently decreased. The contact also stated that the vehicle very difficult to steer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.
I was driving down us rt. 60 headed back to phoenix arizona. During my time traveling down the road doing approximately 55-60 MPH I ran over train tracks and immediately my jeep began shaking uncontrollably. I was able to pull over my vehicle to stop violent shaking. I have looked into this on the internet and it seems to be a common problem referred to as, " death wobble. "this is the second time this has happened to me. I have owned the vehicle for 5 months. It was purchased at a chrysler dealership.
Upon getting up to speed around 45 miles per hour, front end of vehicle starts shaking uncontrollably if even a slight bump is hit on the roadway. It is the so called "death wobble" so often talked about on the internet and in wrangler forums. Mechanic replaced steering dampener which minimized the problem but it still continues to happen sometimes. Mechanic cannot find anything else that is loose with the suspension.
Was driving around 50 MPH front end started to shake so hard it was hard to hang on to steering wheel,hit the brakes hard, once vehicle almost stopped it stopped shaking, wife was with me and said she would never ride in it again. Seems like jeep would man up, I'm not the only one with this problem.
While driving on the highway, the airbag light goes on and off intermittently. The horn also does not work at all. I took it to the local mechanic to have the horn fixed, and was informed it was a bad clock-spring. Chrysler has extended the warranty for the rh 2008 wranglers and all 2007 wranglers, but the warranty for the lh 2008 wranglers, like mine, has not been extended to be replaced. This is a major safety issue as the horn does not work, and I am unsure if my airbag will deploy, if needed. There is clearly an issue as there are a flood of complaints. It is time for the federal safety agency to step in and get this taken care of. I don't feel I should have to pay $500.00 to have the clock-spring fixed when it is an obvious issue across the line in the 2007 and 2008 models. I should also mention that I have also experienced the "death wobble" which is what was the initial issue which had me take the jeep into the shop. Over this past year, the jeep would just start shaking violently at about 55 MPH every once in a while. This last time, I pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the jeep and tried again, only to have it start shaking violently again. This is a major issue that needs addressed. I could have been killed as there were vehicles on the freeway all around me. I could barely control the vehicle to pull it off the road. The mechanic replaced the steering stabilizer, the calipers, and the rotors to alleviate the problem. Interestingly, when I walked in to talk to them, they knew exactly what it was as they have had similar complaints that needed repairs for the same vehicle and problem from other customers. This was a $350.00 repair. I point this second issue out so other jeep owners will know what to have repaired if chrysler does nothing.
Driving on highway and experienced sever "death wobble" relative to the steering. The jeep was uncontrollable and dangerous to pull over. It has happened on numerous occasions.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. While driving 55 MPH, the entire front end of the vehicle shook violently. The contact decelerated to 40 MPH in an effort to cease the shaking. An independent mechanic replaced the tires; however, the failure recurred when the vehicle was driven more than 55 MPH. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic again and had the steering damper replaced twice, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 42 MPH, they hit a pot hole and the vehicle veered out of control. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the steering damper failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 71,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler sahara. The contact stated that all of the components on the steering wheel failed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 108,000 and the current mileage was 108,179.
Death wobble. The front end vibrates violently that can and will cause accidents.
I have a 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited x with 42,000 miles. The vehicle has been babied except for one off-road weekend last fall. The death wobble just started about two months ago when applying brakes over 55 MPH. Mostly front-end wobble. It happened sporadically and only at speeds around 60 MPH. I took it to my mechanic and he replaced the rotors. Just a few days later, the wobble returned, but much worse, and with no braking applied. The whole car violently shook. I returned the vehicle back to my mechanic. He did some research and eventually installed a new steering damper, a bigger one than the original part. I am hopeful the problem will be fixed. In researching this matter and reviewing the various blogs, including this site, I cannot believe that chrysler jeep is not doing anything about it. While there has been no reports of death, that is just fortuitous. Something needs to be done about it. Not a coincidence that so many operators are experiencing the same problem with the same model.
Driving home on a saturday evening accelerating up to 55 MPH once the vehicle hit 48-50 MPH the front end began to shake/vibrate violently slowing down did not stop the vibrations I needed to pull off the road and come to a complete stop. The above repeated 3-4 times during the course of the trip. Took the vehicle to the dealership the following monday and was told by the dealership that I experienced the "death wobble" they replaced the steering damper and rotated the tires. I have driven approximately 1,000 miles since that service appointment and am now experiencing the "death wobble" again, I am already out $1,200 for the initial repair attempt. The steering damper replacement appears to have only masked the problem for a short amount of time and is not a fix but a patch job which is likely resulting in further damage to other portions of the steering/suspension system. There are several reports of this both in your system and throughout the internet something is clearly wrong with these vehicles and it needs to be addressed. The complete loss of vehicle steering control during the shaking is going to get someone killed and it seems like that is what all the regulators are waiting for before taking any action to get this issue fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that when driving over any road bump or uneven road surface at speeds of 45 MPH or above, the vehicle would shake violently. The contact was not able to regain control of the vehicle until braking to a complete stop. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacture were both made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 65,000. The current mileage was 85,000.
I was driving home from work and when I exited from the highway, my airbag light came on. It proceeded to come on and go off over the next 15 min on the rest of my drive home. This seems to be a faulty clockspring, which leads to a faulty airbag. This should be covered under the extended 10 year/150,000 mile warranty that covers the 2007 lhd and 2008 rhd jeep wranglers. Whether the steering is on the right or left side of a vehicle should not make a difference when it comes to driver safety.
Air bag light came on. Was caused by a defective clock spring. This is a known defect on the wrangler since recall was done on 2007 jeep wrangler and 2008 rhd jeep wrangler.
This morning, march 7, 2014, on the way to work on a very busy road, my jeep started to shake so bad, I had to pull to the side of the road or risk hitting someone. I calmed down, and returned to driving and it started again! It was the "death wobble" that I have experienced before but this is the first time it has happened twice in a row in such a short time. I have changed tires, had 2 different mechanics look at my jeep and they can find nothing wrong, but there is something wrong!! Please help!
Commonly called "jeep death wobble". Driving on a straight road at approximately 45 MPH my steering wheel started to shake slightly, then became worse. Within about 5 seconds my wheel was shaking so badly that I couldn't hold the wheel. I did all I could to slow and pull the vehicle onto the shoulder. I found nothing wrong and went back on my way with no further issues. My vehicle is a stock jeep with the only difference being newer tires (stock size) that are in good condition.
My 2008 jeep wrangler has developed a terrible vibration when I hit road bumps at highway speeds. The whole jeep begins to vibrate to the point I have to pullover and stop the vehicle to gain control. I installed new tires and it is still occurring. I have reported this to chrysler corp customer service dept they advised me to take it to a dealer to document the problem. This issue began at 50000 miles. I replaced the tires and it went away it has stated again now and replacing the tires has not fixed it I am very concerned that chrysler is ignoring this problem as jeep owners know about what they call the "death wobble" . I expect that you will follow up on this as it is totally irresponsible of chrysler to continue to sell jeeps that they know have defective parts.
While driving my 2008 jeep wrangler at speeds of 50 MPH or greater and hitting a pothole, small bump, or when crossing a bridge, the wrangler suddenly shakes violently. It becomes very difficult to steer, and must come to a complete stop in order to stop the shaking. This occurred more than 20 times in a 4 hour period. One incident almost caused an accident, as I tried to slow down and pull over in busy city traffic with a very small berm. I continued my drive at speeds of 40 MPH or less, which reduced the number of incidents, but it still happened. I was fearful to move quickly, be in front of other cars or hit potholes, so driving was stressful and slow. I maintain the vehicle regularly, and have replaced the tires. This has happened before, but today was so often, it was difficult to drive the vehicle. I love my jeep, but am very concerned about this problem. I am now considering purchasing a new vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the front end of the vehicle suddenly began to wobble and shake as the steering wheel began to vibrate. The contact stated that the defect continued until the vehicle decelerated to approximately 20 MPH. The failure recurred whenever the contact was driving between 50-20 MPH on smooth or rough pavements. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure could not be duplicated. No repairs were performed. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 79,000.
From one day to another my jeep turn on the esp bas light also with the esp off light so I thought that I had bad alignment on my tires so then I went to the dealer and he told me that they have to replace the clock spring inside my steering wheel... I was reading that a lot of jeep jk owners are suffering this also jeep already made a recall for right hand drivers but left hand drivers are suffering the same.
Airbag light and chime activate when turning. Was diagnosed as faulty clock spring mechanism. Was told it was not under warranty and if not fixed airbags may not deploy.
I have now experience the "death wobble"!!!!!!!!! This is a safety issue and needs to be addressed!!! This should be a recall!!!! I have now had this happen 3 out of the 5 times I have drove it!!!!!!!!! I am terrified to drive my used unpaid for vehicle!!!!! This needs to be fixed. I would never had bought this jeep if I had know about this issue that jeep knows about. Someone will eventually die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was driving home from work in the slow lane and had to pull off the road to get my vehicle under control. Again!!! I am terrified!!!! Help us poor jeep drives and make jeep fix this issue.
I was entering the freeway and the jeep started to shake so bad I couldn't steer it.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2008 Jeep Wrangler?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history