Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
SUSPENSION
02019903/16/2004020020410007591Suspension squeak/squawk - stabilizer bushing. *mj07/02/2004
020030308/29/200310003530Front end shimmy after striking a bump or pothole. *tt10/22/2003
SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER BALL JOINT
020010208/20/20040200604633476Special ball joint, allows adjustment to caster and camber angles. *slc this bulletin replaces 02-001-02 dated 06/10/02. also to include 2005 jeep wrangler. *tt09/23/2002

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
SUSPENSION
12/11/20101
 2001 jeep cherokee, the left rear wheel/tire broke free from hub rolling off the left side of road. unit 1 coasted to outside berm. *bf according to the police report, 1 of 5 bolts were missing from the right front hub, 1 of 5 stud bolts were missing from the right rear hub and the right rear tire was bald and exposing steel belts. the five stud bolt holes in the rim were severely worn. it was also noticed that the front ball joint was bad. (ohio traffic crash report # 10-0864-90)
11/15/2004215001006/06/2003
 Had problems w/ front end shaking violently when i hit a bump, changed lanes or put on the brakes at freeway speeds. thought it was a brakes or alignment problem, but after having brakes replaced and the alignment checked, i resorted to going to the jeep dealership. after dealer replicated the symptoms, informed me of a technical service bulletin from last year and then replaced the entire suspension system under warranty. (note: the car had 18,000 miles on it at the time.) the symptoms are returning less than a year later. this should be covered under a recall.*ak
05/07/2003
 While driving the vehicle 55 mph the vehicle had a heavy vibration. the dealer inspected the vehicle and replaced the drive shaft yet the vibration still occurred. *nlm
05/01/200358000105/01/2001
 Front end of vehicle shakes violently at highway speeds, causing a loss of steering control. driver must come to a nearly complete stop in order to gain control of the vehicle. it's been brought back to several dealers, undergoing over $1,000 in repairs, but nothing has solved this problem. began at 18,000 miles and continuing now at 58,000 miles. *jb
01/11/2002
 The axles make noise while traveling on the highway. please provide additional information dealer is aware of the problem. ts
09/10/2002
 The consumer has a up lift suspension package causing the front end to bounce back and forth. and the vehicle vibrates please fill in additional information. dealer is aware of the problem. ts
01/01/2001407/07/2000
 Consumer states front rotors continue to warp after (2) replacements. when ever the truck hits a bump while traveling 50 mph or above will shake violently. owner is concerned about controlling the truck when this happens. *jb also the upper and lower ball joint was loose which was causing the steering wheel to shake, the transfer case was loose, the gasket and thermostat was replaced due to a coolant leak, cruise control was inoperative, the air condition and heater only blows at defrost vents, the rear luggage rail came out.*jb
06/12/2002
 At high speeds steering wheelvibrates and loses steering control. cause unknown. dealer notified.*ak
09/20/20011108/02/2001
 There is vibration in the steering wheel. gears are stuck when trying to change gears. dealership is aware of problem.*ak steering wheel does not lock. consumer feels vibration in steering wheel, gas pedal, passenger door, gear shift, and passenger seat, consumer hears a noise that sounds like it is coming from the rims. air conditioner switch needed reset. hood is out of line, drivers side door panel needs replacing and there is a gap at the top of the outside. engine light is illuminated. glove box light went out. upper ball joint was replaced. *jb
411/11/2000
 Jeep pulls to the left and right. it doesn't drive right and vibrates. mechanic said it was not right. check by mechanic at dealership. nothing could be done. jeep is hazardous on the road with the way it drives and pulls. another mechanic said a belt was broke in the right tire
03/06/2001102/17/2001
 Structure underneath is rusting out. also, brake line is corroded/ exhaust is pitted, and steering spindle rusted and corroded. front and rear suspension are corroded also. *slc
SUSPENSION - AUTOMATIC STABILITY CONTROL (ASC)
08/02/200594500309/30/2001
 As i was driving my 2001 jeep cherokee sport down the interstate at 72 mph the vehicles began to shake violently the death wobble. what had happened is i hit a small bump in the road causing the vibration. the only way to stop it was to finish passing the semi and pull over on the shoulder and stop( with out getting killed or killing anyone else.) this has happened 3 times over the course of a year. the first time i was told it was my tires. i changed them with goodyear (like the factory had). the second time it happened they told me it was the sway bar. this still did not correct the problem. on the third time they told me it was my control arms. the control arms were replaced and i still notice a small vibration but it has not had the (death wobble yet). i am writing this complaint to officially inform the public of this problem. i want to ensure that i am the only one with this problem. thanks *jb
SUSPENSION - FRONT
06/22/2011107000
 This is another complaint for 'death wobble'. i have had my jeep taken in several times and have had to live with it because mechanics didn't believe me or just didn't solve my problem. i should have used the la lemon law statutes to return my car but didn't know that back then. driving down the road 45-70 mph and either hitting a bump or going around 70 mph your whole front end will shimmy/shake/wobble making it feel like a giant earthquake. i have tried to find a class action suit against this as i find several websites/forums/customers complaining about it. right when it shakes you have to slow down below 40 mph - sometimes on the interstate and have had close calls for a collison! if you want just search for 'death wobble' and you will see a whole new world. i don't know what would happen if you didn't slow down as your immediate response is to hit the brakes. parts replaced have been brake rotors/pads, steering dampener, upper and lower control arms, and tires. it still does it to this day.
06/18/200534975711/20/2004
 Purchased a 2001 jeep cherokee sport in november, 2004. in the past 3 months, i experienced a severe shaking of the vehicle; most often after hitting a small bump in the road. it was extremely difficult to get the vehicle under control. took it to dealership where purchased and was told there was nothing wrong with it. kept happening, at speeds of 35-45 mph. diagnosed at belle tire as a bad track bar.took iit to another jeep dealership; track bar lower control arms replaced. said problem was fixed but 2 days later, while on freeway (65 mph) in right-hand lane, extremely violent shaking occurred. i barely got the car to the side, because the steering wass uncontrollable. i have no doubt that had i been in any but the right hand lane, i would have hit another car. i was able to re-enter the right hand lane but kept my speed at 35 mph and exited immediately. car went back to the dealer who said they didn't know what was wrong with it. they said it could be caused by 10-15 different things and the only way to fix it would be to replace everything, starting with steering dampner (not covered under warranty) but had no idea if that would fix it. i have only owned the car for 6 months and have already spent almost $1,000 on trying to have it fixed (including new tires and a wheel alignment). the dealer was completely indifferent to the problem. the service director said it would cost me a lot of money to have everything replaced, and even then, could not guarantee the problem would be fixed. needless to say, these experiences, especially the one on the freeway, which i would rate a 10 on a scale of 1-10 (the others ranging from 1-4), have shaken me to the very core; i could have been killed. i can never again drive that car and feel safe, especially when the dealer has no idea what the problem is or how to fix it. i checked the internet and found 38,000 websites dealing with this problem; prevalent in jeeps. the problem is aptly dubbed death wobble.
08/01/20002
 Front rotors and the pads are wearing excessively. front rotors were turned twice, and replaced once. brake pads were replaced on three occasions from 15.000 miles to present. dealer notified. *ak consumer stated that while driving the steering and front end shakes. *yh
07/01/200105/01/2001
 The shaking is getting worst everytime i drive the car, it is going to the car dealer in my area to have it fix, i want this to be covered under the warranty since i have only owe the car for 5 months.
0
 Front end problems causing vehicle to pull at any speeds slightly to right or hard to the left, possibly due to out of alignment which dealer has attempted to fix 3-4 times, but cannot fix defect. *ak
01/18/20015
 While driving on highway at 70 mph and without warning, headlights went completely out causing poor visibility which resulted in an accident, consumer rearended another vehicle causing one injury, upon impact the airbags did not experience deployment, consumer had been to dealer several times due to taillights inoperable and headlamps inoperable prior to accident, dealer replaced fuses and found connector's loose. consumer states front end pulled to the left while driving, dealer found no problems. consumer states on normal braking, pedal goes to the floor and during above mentioned accident brakes locked causing a block of skid marks, prior to accident when dealer could find no problems with abs or hydraulic brake system. vehicle had stalled on 2 occasions at stops, dealer found no problem and 3000 miles later the stalling occurred again, however dealer still could not find problem, possible engine problem. *slc
02/22/200102/01/2001
 Vehicle will not track, constantly pulls right, dealer addressed and it still pulls right. vibration felt between 35-50 mph from rear, dealer replaced many axle parts, vibration still felt*ak
10/23/20000
 While driving about 20 mph vehicle started wandering side to side until losing control of vehicle, went off, and avoided crashing. then, dealer had checked brakes, but did not found the cause. *ak
SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM
09/20/20021
 The vehicle front end was vibrating, due to the upper and lower control arms being faulty.*yh
SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER ARM
09/20/20021
 The vehicle front end was vibrating, due to the upper and lower control arms being faulty.*yh
SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER BALL JOINT
09/20/20011108/02/2001
 There is vibration in the steering wheel. gears are stuck when trying to change gears. dealership is aware of problem.*ak steering wheel does not lock. consumer feels vibration in steering wheel, gas pedal, passenger door, gear shift, and passenger seat, consumer hears a noise that sounds like it is coming from the rims. air conditioner switch needed reset. hood is out of line, drivers side door panel needs replacing and there is a gap at the top of the outside. engine light is illuminated. glove box light went out. upper ball joint was replaced. *jb
SUSPENSION - REAR
06/11/200842000
 Tl*the contact owns a 2001 jeep cherokee. while driving 30 mph uphill, the vehicle shook drastically. the rear passenger side wheel axle sheared and the wheel detached from the vehicle. the vehicle flipped over. the contact was injured. the current and failure mileages were 42,000.