Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER BALL JOINT | |||||
| 0200102 | 08/20/2004 | 0200604 | 633476 | Special 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. *tt | 09/23/2002 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 02/01/2010 | 85000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact stated that the vehicle wobbled out control when driven over 45 mph or greater. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the tires were balanced but the failure recurred. the contact also replaced the front universal joints, brake, rotors, track bar, wheel bearings, and the steering stabilizer but was unable to correct the failure. the vin was not available. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 115,000. | |||
| 02/01/2010 | 85000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact stated that the vehicle wobbled out control when driven over 45 mph or greater. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the tires were balanced but the failure recurred. the contact also replaced the front universal joints, brake, rotors, track bar, wheel bearings, and the steering stabilizer but was unable to correct the failure. the vin was not available. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 115,000. mah | |||
| 02/01/2010 | 85000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact stated that the vehicle wobbled out control when driven over 45mph or greater speed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the failure. the dealer balanced the tires; however the failure was not corrected. the contact also replaced the front universal joints, the brake, rotors, the track bar, the wheel bearing, and the steering stabilizer, but was unable to correct the failure. the vin was not available. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 115,000. li | |||
| 11/06/2012 | 90234 | 1 | |
| The first time i had death wobble was while towing my kayaks and kayak trailer after hitting a bump.since then i have stopped driving it till i get some cash to start diving in to find the fix. *tr | |||
| 11/06/2012 | 90234 | ||
| The first time i had death wobble was while towing my kayaks and kayak trailer after hitting a bump.since then i have stopped driving it till i get some cash to start diving in to find the fix. | |||
| 08/19/2012 | 3 | 08/18/2012 | |
| 2004 jeep wrangler. consumer writes in regards to several issues found during inspection after purchase of vehicle *tgw the consumer stated the day she test drove the vehicle, she noticed some play in the steering, the engine seemed to miss a little, and the cd player in the radio seemed to work whenever it wanted to. the next day, the consumer noticed the front differential leaked an oil spot on the concrete driveway. the consumer took the vehicle to a pre-sales establishment and the inspection revealed, the rear axles were leaking on both sides, the pinion seal in the front differential needed to be replaced, the front track bar had play, the transmission needed a new pilot bearing; as there was a noise when accelerating and the rear sway bar links were loose. *jb | |||
| 07/05/2012 | 30000 | 2 | |
| A week after i purchased the vehicle i hit a small, sharp bump in the road and the vehicle front end began to shake and wobble uncontrollably. only by slowing down to 45 mph was i able to gain control of the vehicle again. this has happened numerous times after this. i had the tires balanced, rotated and an alignment done on it. the wobble happened again, sometimes at even higher speeds and sometimes, not at all. i took it to an authorized chrysler jeep dealer and according to their recommendation, had a new steering stabilizer, new sway bar links and tie rod installed and again had the tires balanced and an alignment done on it. the vehicle still exhibits the same behavior. i have had it happen three times on interstate highways and lucky enough each time i was in the right lane and able to pull over onto the shoulder to reduce speed and gain control again. each time on the interstate my speed was between 60 and 65 mph. the last time it happened i drove 20 miles back home on city streets in order to keep my speed below 50 mph. the death wobble does not happen below 50 mph although i can sometimes feel it starting to shake as i approach that speed. as i have had the vehicle inspected by an authorized chrysler dealer, replaced the recommended parts and have done the required maintenance, i feel that there is a safety issue built into some of the vehicles like mine. i think this needs to be investigated as many jeep wrangler owners that i have talked to and authorized dealers also were very familiar with the term death wobble in conjunction with jeep wranglers. in fact, as i was describing the problem to one of the authorized chrysler jeep dealers, he interrupted me by saying, ah, the death wobble. once it happens to you, you know that it is a very apt description of the behavior. | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 68000 | 1 | |
| Turned onto the county highway and as i approached approximately 50 mph, i hit a bump in the road and the front end of the vehicle started to shake violently. had to pull over and stop for it to stop. i then proceeded to drive. asked my mechanic if he could see anything that would cause this and he didn't mention anything. it has happened since then as well one time being on the interstate during rush hour. i will not drive the vehicle as it is completely unsafe. i have researched this online and there are many reports of this death wobble happening on jeeps all over the country. no one seems to know what the problem is or the fix is. | |||
| 10/31/2006 | 27000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2004 jeep wrangler which i purchased from a jeep dealership in 2006. just weeks after i bought it, the jeep shook uncontrollably at speeds of 45 mph or faster. braking did not help. i literally have to let the jeep slow down on its own , so that it can re-adjust itself. driving over any kind of bump in the road also causes this uncontrollable shaking at the same speeds. i have now owned this jeep now for 6 years , and the problem still exists. in this time period, i have replaced the track bar twice. changed the shocks, have had countless wheel balancing and alignments, and have replaced the steering stabilizer. more times than not, the shaking is so bad, i have to pull off the highway. i live in the lake tahoe area and experience this shaking effect often times while driving on winding roads in this area. while im sure the danger factor exists for anyone owning a vehicle that does this, i am very concerned about having my jeep shake relentlessly on these mountain roads. | |||
| 06/14/2012 | 75000 | ||
| Front end shakes violently. violently! this has happened before, usually when the jeep is approaching 50mph on the highway. feels like the jeep is going to explode.. putting on the brakes, and praying, and downshifting from 5th to 4th, and praying, and eventually slowing down to below 40 is the only thing that allows the vehicle to stop shaking. this apparently has been reported many many times, and is known as the death wobble. is therea governmental coverup about this? how is this known issue allowed to go unaddressed? | |||
| 03/09/2010 | 45000 | ||
| Steering wheel shakes, most recently made whole vehicle shake uncontrollably. has not been off road or altered in any way. lady driven only. | |||
| 04/08/2012 | |||
| I own a jeep wrangler x 2004. i have experienced the jeep death wobble on numerous occassions in the past year. this past sunday being the worst. i have had my entire front end replaced with no results. i have been searching the internet for answers and every suggestion that i have found has already been done on my jeep. we have spoken with a jeep mechanic that we know and he stated that it is a known problem and they do not know how to fix it. at this point i am extremely frustrated and i am looking for answers. i have found a website for congresswoman eshoo and i am aware of the request for an investigation into this matter. please, i hope that you are taking this matter very seriously. this is a very scary and dangerous problem that is occuring in jeeps. | |||
| 10/18/2011 | 54279 | 1 | |
| The problem has occurred several times since oct 18, 2011. the jeep experienced the death wobble whereby the jeeps' wheels suddenly began to wobble to the point that one almost must slow down immediately. the condition appears to be quite common with the jeep wrangler. portable received via u.s. mail. a portion of the complaint was illegible. 02/28/12 updated 02/28/12 *bf | |||
| 01/05/2007 | 30 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact was driving approximately 55 mph when the front end of the vehicle began to vibrate violently. the failure recurred whenever driving over a slight road bump at 55 mph or more. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis where the sway bar link and damper were replaced however, the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time but they were unable to locate the malfunction. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 30. | |||
| 01/05/2007 | 30 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact was driving approximately 55 mph when the front end of the vehicle began to vibrate violently. the failure recurred whenever driving over a slight road bump at 55 mph or more. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis where the sway bar link and damper were replaced however, the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time but they were unable to locate the malfunction. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 30. kmj | |||
| 01/05/2007 | 30 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact was driving approximately 55 mph and the front end of the vehicle began to vibrate violently. the failure occurred whenever driving over a slight bump at 55 mph or greater. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. the sway bar link and damper were replaced; however after the repair was performed the failure continued to occur. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a second time and they were unable to locate the malfunction. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 30. js | |||
| 07/15/2009 | 23762 | ||
| Multiple incidents of violent vibration in the vehicle front end, including the steering wheel and front wheels, are occuring after hitting a minor pot hole in the road. incidents occur at highways speeds, normally 45 - 55 mph. the driver must reduce speed to near zero in order to recover safe and effective control of the vehicle. this vehicle defect appears to be the well-known and major safety issue in jeep wrangler vehicles known as the death wobble. i purchased this vehicle new from a jeep dealership and have had it professionally maintained per the manufacturer's instructions since the day i bought it. my spouse and i have both experienced this defect several times in the past few years, most recently on december 15, 2011. at this point, we've had the vehicle inspected several times and replaced a number of components on the vehicle, including the steering damper, four shock absorbers, and all 4 tires., in addition, the suspension has been inspected numerous times in the past 3 years. given the shear number of similar complaints by other owners, i feel that this is an obvious manufacturer defect that should be acknowledged and corrected by the manufacturer. | |||
| 07/01/2011 | 25000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. while driving over 55 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle would begin to shutter violently. the dealer and manufacturer were notified, but denied assistance with repairs to the failure. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccured. the failure mileage was 25,000 and the current mileage was 58,500. nw | |||
| 07/05/2011 | 70000 | ||
| 2004 jeep does a death wobble at 40-60 mph when ever it hits a bump. suspension is defective. jeep has had tons of compalints on this, | |||
| 04/10/2011 | 86000 | ||
| I have a 2004 wrangler rubicon - all stock, and have been experiencing what i've just come to realize is the death wobble for the past 8+ months. i've replaced all 4 tires, had alignment and balancing, just today had steering stabilizer replaced to no avail. the wobbling continued on the way home from the shop. anytime i hit a bump, the front end starts to shake violently and i have to slow down to a near stop before i can proceed. this is very unsafe and should be addressed by jeep. this is my daily ride to work and it is not safe! | |||
| 01/10/2008 | 30000 | ||
| My 2004 jeep wrangler has the death wobble. at approx. 45-50 mph the steering wheel just about shakes out of my hands. the dealership will not even check it out without charging me by the hour with an estimated 2 hr. inspection. it's all over the internet yet jeep refuses to acknoldge it exists. i love my jeep, it's the 3rd one i've owned, but i will never buy another one. the only fix seems to be to pour money in my vehicle until i get the right part taken care of. i can't even trade it in while it's doing this. i'm stuck and i want some action taken by jeep! | |||
| 08/05/2009 | 15000 | 1 | |
| The problem is violent front end vibration when vehicle is operated between 45mph-55mph. the vibration is so intense it causes the steering wheel and front end to vibrate violently. this problem has occurred numerous times over 5 years of operation and especially after tire changes. i have had 2 different sets of tires on this jeep which were balanced and have continued to have this problem. in the past i overcame this problem by rotating the tires until i found the tire orientation that gave the least amount of violent vibration i had thought that i may have had a hairline fracture on one of the rims but after installing new rims and the third set of tires the problem is back and as bad as ever. out of frustration i turned to the internet to find out if their are any other jeep wrangler owners experiencing this problem. to my surprise after reading several internet forums on jeep wranglers many do . this problem even has a name the jeep community has given it the death wobble ! the problem seems to occur in the 96-06 tj body style which includes the sahara,x and sport editions. there are numerous possible causes and repairs that people have come up with but it seems as no one has pinpointed the correct repair. the recommended repairs suggest the traction bar and steering stabilizer are at fault but people have had mixed results replacing these parts. it appears to me that the people at jeep must know about this problem but have failed their customers at remedying this hazardous problem. *tr | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| 2004 jeep wrangler with a violent vibration. customer states that the vibration and shaking began when she went over some uneven pavement on the highway. mechanic determined that the track bar and steering damper need to be replaced. *kb *jb | |||
| 01/05/2007 | 36000 | 20 | 08/25/2006 |
| Vehicle hits a bump while driving and shimmied almost to the point of having to stop vehicle. this was on a jeep sahara 2004 model with 40,000 miles.i had wheels balanced over and over again since january. *ak | |||
| 09/01/2006 | 3 | 10/11/2004 | |
| Vehicle goes into a violent shake (shimmy, vibe, wobble) when there is any change in roadway condition (bump, lip, hole, uneven roadway). my jeep has not been altered in anyway. i have had the tires rotated and balanced. in addition my seat belt on the drivers side and front passenger belt both catch in the door - they do not retract. this has been an ongoing problem for 5 months. *ak | |||
| 07/07/2006 | 25000 | 20 | 11/01/2003 |
| Vehicle will enter into a violent wobble and shake when hitting a bump at highway speed. violent shaking does not stop until speed is reduced to under 20 mph. had wheels rotated and balanced, wheels aligned. checked all tie rods, ball joints, and linkage with no noticeable wear. death wobble still present. *jb | |||
| 05/27/2004 | 5000 | 1 | 05/27/2004 |
| First off you need to do a google search for 'death wobble'. i am not the only one with this problem. it is getting worse and i am afraid for my wife to drive the jeep. death wobble.. the death wobble is basically when you are driving your jeep down the road and the front end starts to shake violently. it can happen at virtually any speed, though mostly above 40 mph or so, and is a frightening experience, especially for those witnessing it for the first time. the only way to stop it is to slow down and pull over. it seems to get more and more out of control. our jeep is a 2004 wrangler with only 17,000 miles. we have had the problem since 5,000 miles or so. jeep needs to address this problem. *nm | |||
| 04/08/2004 | 10 | 100 | 04/08/2004 |
| Just started with power loss from show room floor,cam replaced lifters replaced breaks sticking to the point where the jeep is hard to move says it is because of rust used dayly,timing out 15 degrees front and rear dif leaking with metal shavings inside mechanic says dana problem grinding right front axel noise. *nm | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 07/18/2011 | 45000 | ||
| 2004 jeep wrangler death wobble . occurs at 45-55mph. wheel balance, tire rotation, steering stabilizer/damper-all repaired, adjusted or replaced. this vehicle has 75,000 miles and began around 45,000 miles and is getting progressively worse. this needs to be addressed by jeep! the vehicle begins to wobble at around 45pmh when it strikes a slight bump in hte road or sometimes when no percieved bump in the road. this is very dangerous! | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 31500 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 jeep wrangler. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 to 65 mph, he noticed that the front wheels would wobble violently. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer and they advised him that they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 31,500. the vin was unavailable. | |||
| 02/17/2011 | 60000 | ||
| Bought a 2004 jeep wrangler of august of 2010. the jeep had about 50,000 miles. on february 17 i was coming home at about 52 mph. when i got to 55 had a terrible wobble in the front end. talked to several people who own jeeps and they reffered to it as the death wobble. | |||
| 10/20/2010 | 46400 | ||
| 2004 jeep wrangler sport has an extreme violent shake causing entire front of vehicle to bounce off the ground at speeds between 45 - 60 mph. | |||
| 09/04/2010 | 46192 | ||
| I have what is called death wobble in my 2004 jeep wrangler. after reading about this problem in various forums, i believe it needs to be adressed. i have done everything that has been suggested by experts but still have the problem. the jeep has around 30,000 miles,and it has been off road,but some people have not been offroad at all and have the same problem. with mileage i don't think this jeep should be considered warnout. the problem is still ongoing. | |||
| 06/07/2010 | 35000 | ||
| Violent front end wobbling every time i hit a bump in the road, no mater the size of the bump. to stop the wobbling i hit the brakes and it stops until another bump is hit. balanced and rotated the tires, replaced the stering stabelizer and new tires, this helped for about three months and now it is getting worse. | |||
| 04/15/2010 | 57000 | ||
| I have a 2004 jeep wrangler rubicon. i've been experiencing death wobble, where the whole front end of the vehicle shakes violently and wheels actually wobble.i have replaced shocks, steering stabilizer, rotated and balanced tires and had the front end aligned and checked by a car dealers service dept. the wobble lessens but still persists. it occurs at 40 mph or above. no one has been able to fully explain a sure fix for the problem. my jeep has been very well maintained and has 57,000 miles. jeep/chrysler are no help in fixing this potentially deadly problem. | |||
| 12/01/2008 | 33000 | 1 | |
| 2004 jeep rubicon ball joint failure. *tr | |||
| 06/12/2007 | 18000 | 10 | 03/01/2006 |
| My 2004 jeep wrangler has developed what i later found out is known to jeep drivers as the death wobble. at highway speeds, the front end begins to shake violently. once the oscillations start, the vehicle becomes difficult to steer and must be brought to a full stop for them to go away. very dangerous on the freeway surrounded by other traffic. this is an entirely unmodified, stock suspension with less than 20k miles on the vehicle. i took it to the dealer, who could not find anything wrong, but suggested i replace the power steering pump. i had the vehicle aligned and the tires rotated, but the problem continued. this is a much more violent and uncontrollable shake than what is caused by out of balance tires or warped brake rotors. i took the jeep to a shop specializing in 4x4 suspension. they mentioned that the problem usually occurs when a vehicle is improperly lifted or modified, but they had seen an increased instance of later model stock wranglers experiencing it. they replaced the bushings in the front end components, but the problem is still there. a search of the internet shows that many wrangler drivers are having the same problem on stock vehicles. no mechanic has been able to find anything obviously wrong, which suggests a design defect. i am scared to drive this car on the freeway, and can not in good conscience sell it to another person. *jb | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | |||
| 03/05/2006 | 1 | ||
| I was driving my 2004 jeep liberty when my ball joint broke on passenger side. i took it into dealership and they said the other side had to be replaced also,it was at maximum tolerance. i'm very concerned for others that have this vehicle because i was lucky that my grandchild and i weren't killed. *jb | |||