Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
STEERING
190030608/30/200610020334Steering shimmy. *tt09/14/2006

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
STEERING
08/02/20111100001
 When the jeep is in the 40 to 50 mph range, a death wobble happens. sometimes by itself and sometimes when i hit a pothole or street patch. i have had auto professionals look at the car and they cannot figure out what the problem is. most of the time the solution is to fix a symptom but not the actual cause. when this happens the brakes must immediately applied hard which has cause near rear end collisions. if auto professionals cannot find the cause then this is not a maintenance issue. this is a design flaw. this is not a remote issue. if you google death wobble wrangler it will return over 110,000 hits! *tr
08/02/2011110000
 When the jeep is in the 40 to 50 mph range, a death wobble happens. sometimes by itself and sometimes when i hit a pothole or street patch. i have had auto professionals look at the car and they cannot figure out what the problem is. most of the time the solution is to fix a symptom but not the actual cause. when this happens the brakes must immediately applied hard which has cause near rear end collisions. if auto professionals cannot find the cause then this is not a maintenance issue. this is a design flaw. this is not a remote issue. if you google death wobble wrangler it will return over 110,000 hits!
03/21/201245370
 Tl - the contact owns a 2003 jeep wrangler. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle started jerking violently. the contact mentioned that the vehicle was extremely hard to maintain control over. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the track bar and steering dampener needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 45,370. kmj
03/21/201245370
 Tl - the contact owns a 2003 jeep wrangler. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph the vehicle started jerking violently. the contact mentioned that it was extremely hard for her to maintained control of the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed that the track bar and steering dampner needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 45,370. pm
04/06/200823500101/22/2003
 Steering wheel shimmy on 2003 jeep wrangler...100% stock equipment...shimmy first noticed summer 2007...had wheel alignment done with no effect...had front tires rebalanced with no effect...performed tsb 19-003-06...while a significant improvement the shimmy is not gone and at times the vehicle feels unsafe to drive. *tr
05/06/200735600310/16/2002
 Steering shimmied at 45 mph unable to control vehicle the same exact scenario as in all the other complaints listed here about the steering shimmy. *ak
STEERING - COLUMN
06/20/20047498110/30/2003
 Driving away from my home in residential subdivision. turned corner at approx. 5 miles per hour and steering went out. wheel just spun round and round. *ak
STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT PITMAN
06/20/20047498110/30/2003
 Driving away from my home in residential subdivision. turned corner at approx. 5 miles per hour and steering went out. wheel just spun round and round. *ak
STEERING - LINKAGES
03/21/200619783305/23/2003
 In july 2005, after hitting a small bump in the highway, i experienced severe shaking of the front end of my 2003 jeep wrangler sahara at about 45-50 mph. the shaking stopped after slowing the vehicle to about 30-35 mph. i took the vehicle to the dealer (frank parra jeep in irving, tx) for investigation and repair. i was informed by the service advisor, john ballard, that this problem occurs frequently in jeeps and that it was due to the steering dampener. frank parra replaced the steering dampener. the problem recurred in march 2006 and i again took the vehicle to the dealer. i was informed by the service advisor, timothy simpson, that the stock steering dampener was not strong enough to withstand the load imposed by the 30 in. wheel group, which comes standard on the sahara model, and that i would need to purchase an upgraded steering dampener, the rancho model, but that it was not covered under the daimler chrysler warranty. we thought we would try the stock steering dampener again. it failed on the drive home from the dealer. i filed a warranty claim with daimler chrysler and checked to see if there were any safety recalls on the steering dampener. daimler chrysler denied my claim and said there were no recalls. the service representative told me that only nhtsa can authorize a recall. it seems that the steering dampener was not designed properly for the loads imposed by the standard wheel configuration and should be upgraded so that it is engineered properly. although this has not caused any accidents or property damage, it could have an impact on the ability to control the vehicle in heavy traffic on the highway and raises the possibility of catastrophic failure. it should be investigated. *nm