Death wobble in suspension while driving. Has happened since owning vehicle. The vehicle will begin to uncontrollably shake in a violent manner at a speeds at or near 60 MPH. The wobble is persistent and well documented on the internet. Jeep refuses to officially accept a problem exists even though wrangler owners have complained in thousands of posts viewable online. I have had my jeep in multiple times for this and the problem still persists.
2009 Jeep Wrangler suspension complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 63, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep wrangler. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle struck a bump in the road and wobbled violently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the stabilizer bar, pittman bar, and stabilizing shock absorbers failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired again. A dealer (advantage dodge ram chrysler jeep 3200 e. Main street, farmington, nm 87402) was contacted, but did not provide any assistance. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency. The contact did not file a complaint with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
When driving the jeep on the expressway, the entire front end started shimmying from side to side, threatening to pull the steering wheel out of my hands. It stopped when I reduced speed to under 55 MPH. Whenever I tried to go over 55 MPH, the jeep resumed it's death wobble. This is not a safe condition to be driving a vehicle in.
Experienced "death wobble" twice in past month - uncontrollable shaking of front end at speed after hitting minor bump in highway. Almost caused accident. Had to slow to near stop on highway for shaking to subside.
Violent shaking of the steering wheel when the jeep goes over a bump in the road. This is a regular occurrence. The last incident, the hazard lights on the dash panel came on and have not been able to turn off since then. Happens mostly on the highway or when the vehicle is traveling at 45-55 MPH.
My jeep has the death wobble. I have had it in the shop twice to get it fixed and spent over $3,000 so far to fix the problem and it has not be resolved! New parts and new tires have not helped. Someone is going to get hurt or killed. It happens all the time.
Usually after hitting a bump, the tire(s) begin to shake violently and do not stop until slowing down significantly or coming to a complete stop. From what I've researched, this appears to be a common problem with jeep owners and can be very dangerous. This started a few months ago on my jeep and appears to happen more frequently.
Driving north bound on interstate 89 in new hampshire approximately 65 MPH, drove over a bridge abutment and the front end of my 2009 jeep wrangler start to violently shake. The violent shaking didn't stop until I slowed to 30 MPH.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep wrangler. While driving various speeds over a bump in the road, the front of the vehicle began to shake tremendously. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that tie rod end bolts, trac bar bolts, and the ball joints needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 42,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Known as the "death wobble." this has occurred four times to me on the interstate traveling approximately 50-70 miles per hour. Had to come to complete stop before the severe shaking from the front end and steering wheel would cease. Very dangerous and it is a huge safety issue that the manufacturer must address and stop denying happens. They should also repair the car free of charge. This has happened to me on sept. 12, 2015, oct. 4th, 2015, oct. 13th, 2015, and october 25, 2015. All incidents occurred on the highway except for the first incidence which was on a regular road going about 25 miles per hour.
Travelling on a straight road at approximately 50-60mph, hit a small bump in the road. The steering wheel began to shake a little then violently and almost lost control of the jeep. I had to come to a compete stop in the middle of the road before the shaking would stop. I was scared too death. I had the jeep checked over and nothing was broken or worn. Now afraid to drive the vehicle. There are many complaints on this site as well as the internet for the same issue. When will this be addressed before someone gets killed?
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle shook violently. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle. The contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the stabilizing bar needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,300. The VIN was not available. Updated 11/19/15
Bought a used 2009 jeep didn't know anything about a death wobble. I was going down the interstate at about 60 MPH hit a bump and the jeep started shaking violently. Almost got hit trying to get off the interstate and stop. It does it every time I hit a bump in the road. Now I don't know what to do becasue we bought it used.
The front axel is week and bent during off road use. Jeeps are designed and sold for off road use. When I drove down a road with some ruts and dips the front axel bent causing the wheel alignment to be permanently off.
As the jeep was brought up to speed it began shaking violently and out of control as the speed approached 50 MPH. The shaking continued as I braked to a stop. The vehicle is unsafe to operate with this "death wobble". The problem is repeatable and happens at the same speed occasionally when bumps are hit.
I own a 2009 jeep wrangler. Over the past year and a half, I have experienced increasing issues with my wrangler in that it begins to shake uncontrollably when I am driving above 50 MPH and hit even small bumps in the road. This past summer I had it worked on twice in order to address the issue. My car has been in storage since september and I drove it for the first time this past weekend. Today (12/23/14), I was driving on the freeway and in less than 30 miles, the car began shaking 3 different times. Each time this happens, I have to bring the car to a complete stop (obviously, this is difficult, and sometimes impossible, on the freeway). The situation becomes very dangerous to myself and the drivers around me. I have made no modifications to my wrangler.
Three times in the past week, driving on highway at about 55, started the jeep death wobble. Had to stop in traffic to stop wobble. Still looking for issue. Tires were rebalanced, still getting death wobble.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH over a road bump, the front passenger wheel shook abnormally. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the mechanic diagnosed that the steering stabilizer shock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.
Death wobble, the front wheels will shake violently at around 55 MPH or lower speeds when I hit a bump or anything on the road that makes the tires wobble. This happens at least 4 times a week.
I purchased a 2009 jeep wrangler new. I have not modified my car in any way, nor have I ever taken it "off-road or four-wheeling". ' in march 2014 I experienced my first "death wobble",' an extremely violent, shaking of the front wheels. Since then, it has happened numerous times, resulting in repairs (that still haven't solved the problem) totaling over $2000.00. I'm hesitant to take it in for repairs 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. Chrysler/jeep needs to recognize this as being a safety hazard. I've researched this extensively and I am not the only one experiencing this problem. The only time it happens is when I'm going 40 MPH or more, primarily on the highway. The only way to re-gain control is to slow down quickly and pull over or come to a complete stop (which could result in an accident on the highway). Chrysler/jeep must recognize that this is a serious safety issue and provide a remedy/recall and monetary compensation for this problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the steering wheel suddenly began to violently shake causing the driver to nearly lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering stabilizer bar was defective. The vehicle was repaired. Also, the contact indicated that while driving the front driver side tire suddenly deflated. After inspecting the vehicle the contact discovered that the tire air valve was fractured. The contact indicated that the defect recurred multiple times. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 68,000.
Death wobble, uncontrollable violent shaking between 30 & 50 MPH. Serious safety issue at highway speeds being unable to control the vehicle's steering out of harms way. I have had it to two different dealerships three different times and I'm told that there is nothing wrong with it. It's obvious that there is a problem and I'm not the only one with this issue. A quick internet search on jeep death wobble will confirm this. Chrysler needs to be held accountable and fix this problem before someone gets killed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cpsc: i1440019a. 2009 jeep wrangler xl. Consumer stated that around 32,000 miles, his vehicle developed what is called the "death wobble", uncontrolled shimmy at highway speeds which only resolves by braking and coming to a near stop. After great effort, chrysler reimbursed the consumer $849.07 of the $ 1793.47 he paid to have the entire front end rebuilt. *ln the dealer replaced the steering damper with an updated assembly which required different hardware, to fix the problem. The consumer filed a complaint with chrysler for reimbursement, for $336.67. They reimbursement him for the parts only. The consumer continued to experience problems, so the dealer did a complete examination of the vehicle, and found all 4 ball joints and drag link were out of specifications.
Around 30,000 miles I would notice a slight shimmy in the front end at freeway speeds when a small bump was hit. This would usually last a few seconds and then drive normal. I read some thing online about this and it seemed like it was a normal thing for this 4dr jeep model. In early march 2014 about 39000 miles I hit a big bump on the freeway and the front end shimmy was so intense I thought the front passenger tire was flat at first it seemed like it was coming off. A few hours later this happened again before I made it home. I did research and found the references to the "death wobble" and knew that's what it was. I was thankful no one else was in the car with me. Another jeep owner I know knew the term and had heard about these problems. Then april 1st hit a bump I could not avoid on the pot hole infested milwaukee streets and it happened again the tire felt like it was coming off and almost had accident in the construction zone I was in. Called dealer and they knew exactly what I was talking about. Apparently chrysler switched the dampener/brackets after the 2009 yr models when they noticed problems. Funny how that replacement I had to have done cost me $ 400+. You would think if they know there was a problem this wouldn't cost the consumer a penny. Especially since it is my life in jeopardy.
I got what is describe as the death wobble its what the mechanics say.its all over the internet. I want to know if this problem is this big why hasnt there been a recall. Ive been told this very common. Is jeep/chrysler waiting till people die to admit theres a problem or just covering it up.
In august 2013 my jeep wrangler began to develop an unpredictable, uncontrollable, violent shimmy at highway speeds. Sometimes a small bump or a lane change would set an event off. Shimmy did not stop without hard braking and coming to a near stop. Commonly referred to as "death wobble". The first attempt at repair, mileage 30,381, was to replace the factory installed steering damper with a upgraded steering damper. The new steering damper required different hardware to install. My cost, $366.77 which chrysler reimbursed the cost of parts @ $266.77. I am $100.00 out of pocket for labor costs to replace this defective part which was installed at the factory! The problem of uncontrolled shimmy was not fixed! The second attempt to repair my vehicle, mileage 32,982, was to balance and rotate all tires. The problem was not fixed! The third attempt to repair my vehicle, mileage 33,902, involved replacing all four defective ball joints and a defective drag link assembly. Cost to me, $1793.47. Chrysler eventually reimbursed the cost of parts @ $849.07. On this repair I am out of pocket $944.40 labor costs to replace defective parts as installed at the factory! I have filed a complaint with the better business bureau (case #9919310) and the case is still ongoing. No vehicle operated under normal conditions should have to have major components, which affect vehicle control and safety, fail and need replacement at less than 34,000 highway driven miles! I do not read anywhere on my service receipts stating the parts that have been replaced carry any warranty. I am very concerned that genuine jeep parts are of the same quality as originally used by jeep to manufacture my vehicle, and will fail again within the next 30,000 to 35,000 miles, if not sooner!
Vehicle would occasionally experience a violent shaking from the front wheels when traveling approximately 50-60 MPH. Seemed to typically be initiated by small bump in the road. Only way to stop the shaking was to almost come to a complete stop . Less than 10 MPH. Took vehicle to mechanic who determined the steering stabilizer was defective.
At highway speed (50-70 MPH) vehicle would shake violently after hitting a bump. Vehicle needs to come to a complete stop to correct the wobble. After a little on line research, I discovered "death wobble." service writers at both milosch palace jeep and al deeby jeep knew right away what I was talking about. I cannot believe there is not a safety recall for this. It seems everyone with knowledge of jeeps is aware of the issue. This is very dangerous on highways\interstates, especially for inexperienced drivers, because the vehicle needs to come to a stop to in order to stop the wobble. I am sure no one really cares what I have to say, but jeep is very dirty on this one. I am a 45 year mechanical engineer in the automotive field. Can someone please tell me why there has not been a safety recall for this?
Driving at 50 MPH and faster, when the vehicle hits a bump the steering starts to shake uncontrollably. The wheels shimmy from side to side and only stops when the vehicle slows to below 40 MPH, and in some instances only stops when the vehicle comes to a complete stop. This is extremely scary and dangerous especially when it occurs on the highway, as you need to weave through traffic at a high speed to find a safe place to pull over. This issue is well known throughout the jeep community, as it has it's own nickname the "death wobble". Chrysler has acknowledged that this has become a common issue among their vehicles; however, has done nothing in the form of recalls or service to help customers fix the issue. In a report by abc news, they stated that there have been over 600 reports of the same issue I have experienced. I brought my vehicle to a chrysler certified auto shop to get it fixed and they could not identify the problem. They did a front end alignment on my car saying that might fix the problem; however, it did not. The "death wobble" has occurred in my vehicle 5 times since the initial incident in april.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle began to shake violently and caused the contact to lose control of the vehicle until the speed was reduced to 5 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was informed that some front end parts needed to be replaced. The contact was not aware of the specific parts that needed replacing. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was returned to the mechanic but the cause for the failure was not determined. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 103,000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 Jeep Wrangler?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history