At highway speed when hitting even a small bump or road irregularity, the Jeep experienced the notorious "death wobble". Oscillating shimmy and momentary loss of control. I discovered the steering damper was blown out on the track bar. After looking into the technical service bulletins, I found that I have the aluminum steering gear box described in TSB-08-074-20. I took my vehicle to the dealership to have this investigated and they agreed that the aluminum steering box caused the excessive force on the damper and steering components and needs to be replaced. However, since this is not covered under warranty, they are charging me for the repair of a well known and documented FACTORY DEFECT. I applied for goodwill repair and was denied. It is terrible that this should have been a recall and I am stuck paying the bill. But even more so, this is a SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE and is not a matter of if it will happen, but when it will happen. No one should be subject to losing control of their vehicle at highway speed due to a KNOWN DEFECT.
2020 Jeep Wrangler steering problems
240 complaints (39% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 300. 6 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 240
- of this car's complaints
- 39%
- typical mileage
- 300
- crashes
- 6
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Jeep Wrangler steering problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2020 Jeep Wrangler steering
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Underhood fires
On September 6, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE24024 to investigate allegations of engine compartment fires in model year 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles. Most reports described fires starting on the front passenger side of the engine compartment while the vehicle was turned off, with several originating specifically at the electrohydraulic power steering pump's electrical connector. Following the opening of the investigation, ODI sent an information request letter to the vehicle manufacturer to assess the cause, scope, and frequency of the alleged defect. Additionally, ODI continued to receive reports of vehicle fires with a likely origin at or near the power steering pump. Throughout this investigation, ODI continued to discuss these new reports and the information request letter response with the manufacturer. On June 4, 2026, FCA issued recall 26V363 to address power steering fires caused by high electrical resistance at the pump's connector. Recall 26V363 includes the 781,459 vehicles identified in the opening resume of this investigation and expands the population to include all 2021-2025 Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles produced between June 24, 2020, and December 2, 2024.This recall directly covers the vehicles and issues examined in this investigation. Accordingly, ODI is closing this investigation and is not requiring FCA to provide any additional information about this issue at this time. The Agency will continue to monitor field performance and reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to
PE24024
What 2020 Jeep Wrangler owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
A burning smell and an electrical burning smell electrical panel not always working
When driving down the road, 55mph, I drove across some bumps in the road, and my steering, tires and the front of my Jeep started shaking violently. Couldn't hardly control it. Please help.
These new Jeep Wrangles came from the factory with an aluminum steering box and Jeep has made 8 new steering boxes to try to fix the "wondering" steering issue but has not made any recalls. This is a safety issue because while driving down the road if you hit the smallest of bumps the Jeep will be sent into oncoming traffic in cases. They are impossible to drive on little 2 lane roads that has a lot of semi traffic as the semis naturally put low spots on the edge of the road and cause the Jeep to jolt to the right if you don't have death grip on the steering wheel. Something needs to be done to keep Jeep accountable for yet again putting these Wrangles on the road with steering issues.
On July 1,2026 , My 2020 Jeep wrangler jl sport died in the middle of traffic causing a safety issue. I was not able to start my jeep and move out of traffic. I was able to disable the transmission and roll out of the road. But it was very dangerous while cars were passing me and coming towards me. Also before I was able to disable to roll my steering column was locked. The cause of this safety issue is the set up of the batteries. A jeep has 2 batteries a main and underneath an auxillary battery. Without any kind of warning your battery can die caused by the drain of the auxillary battery on the main battery causing the main battery to just stop working without notice. This is the 2nd time this happened.I had to call a tow truck both times. 1st time 4/14/24, then on 07/02/2026 I had it towed to the same dealership as the time before. This is an on going issue with jeeps that have the 2 batteries. Not only is it unsafe but a costly issue.
Death Wobble. Going over 70 or under 30. Violently shakes the steering wheel and causes driver to lose control. More than once have I gone off the roadway.
Driving downhill at 70mph on highway. crossed from #2 lane to #1 lane. I did not hit any potholes, I believe I just drove over the "bot dots". This started the "death wobble", the uncontrolled oscillations in the front suspension/tires. I had to take my foot off the accelerator and let the vehicle come down to about 35mph before the violent shaking stopped. I could reproduce this on my own by hitting potholes at speeds as low as 60mph. There were no warning lights on the dash before, during or after incident. Suspension was subsequently checked at an independent shop but they saw no "smoking gun" in the front end.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle was violently shaking. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred after driving over a bump in the road. The contact stated that the violent shaking felt like a tornado. In addition, the contact stated that the failure was persistent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed steering damper. The contact was informed that the steering damper needed to be replaced. The vehicle ws not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
My steering wheel locked while driving on the interstate during heavy traffic and almost causing me and my children to wreck. It has now done this while driving slow causing me to almost lose control of my jeep.
Steering gear box. Very sloppy while driving . not safe
Questions about the 2020 Jeep Wrangler steering
Does the 2020 Jeep Wrangler have steering problems?
Owners have filed 240 complaints about the steering of the 2020 Jeep Wrangler, 39% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2020 Jeep Wrangler steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 300 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2020 Jeep Wrangler steering?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Jeep Wrangler have bad steering?
The Jeep Wrangler model years with the most steering complaints are 2018 (1,117 complaints), 2019 (448 complaints) and 2021 (255 complaints).
Other 2020 Jeep Wrangler problems
Electrical 183Engine 61Suspension 52Transmission 47Fuel system 43Visibility 33Body 17Brakes 13Wheels 13Acceleration 12Driver assistance 11Lights 9Airbags 6Seats 6Seat belts 2Tires 2
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