2003 Jeep Wrangler Steering Problems

The contact owns a 2003 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving 30-40 MPH, the vehicle hit a bump in the roadway and the steering wheel started shaking significantly and the vehicle seemed to be at risk of a rollover. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 141,999.

NHTSA ID

11468467

Incident

Jun 9, 2021

Mileage

141,999 mi

Violent shaking after hitting holes in the road during acceleration-less tan 30 MPH. My vehicle has been inspected by my mechanic, who has knowledge of the “Death Wobble”. Safety was at risk due to front end shaking violently and almost losing control of the vehicle. The problem has been confirmed by mechanic. They started to manifest about 8 months ago.

NHTSA ID

11435611

Incident

Feb 17, 2021

TERRIBLE WOBBLE AT 45-55 MPH. TIRES AND FRONT END WOBBLE UNTIL I STOP OR SLOW BELOW 40 MPH. IT CAUSES DRIVER TO SLOW AT HIGHWAY SPEED CAUSING NEAR REAR END COLLISIONS WHEN OTHER DRIVERS ARE FOLLOWING. AT TIMES WOBBLES SO VIOLENTLY HAVE TO EXIT FREEWAY IN ORDER TO GET IT TO STOP.

NHTSA ID

10747172

Incident

Aug 3, 2015

Mileage

112,000 mi

THE WRANGLER "DEATH WOBBLE". VIOLENT SHAKING AFTER REACHING SPEEDS OF APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. MUST SLOW DOWN AND ALMOST COME TO A STOP TO STOP THE SHAKING. FIRST OCCURRED A YEAR AGO. TOOK IT OUR REPAIR SHOP. THEY REPLACED THE STEERING STABILIZATION SHOCK, WHICH SEEMED TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM. IT THEN STARTED TO RE-OCCUR APPROXIMATELY 6 MONTHS LATER. NOW IT IS DOING IT ALL THE TIME, EVEN AT LOW SPEEDS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10694830

Incident

Mar 1, 2014

Mileage

50,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING AT 55MPH - 60 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND HITTING A BRIDGE JOINT, POT HOLE, OR OTHER ROAD SURFACE BUMP, THE VEHICLE STARTS TO VIOLENTLY SHAKE AND BECOME UNCONTROLLABLE. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE SHAKING IS TO SLOW THE VEHICLE TO LESS THAN 30MPH. *TR

NHTSA ID

10552291

Incident

Nov 9, 2013

Mileage

96,000 mi

WHEN I WAS DRIVING AROUND 50 MPH I HIT A POTHOLE AND THE VEHICLE START SHAKING VIOLENTLY. I HAD TO HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL SO HARD IT ALMOST WENT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS HAPPENED ALREADY 5 TIMES, I AM SO SCARED TO TAKE IT ON THE HIGHWAY, BECAUSE I MIGHT GET INTO A WRECK. I HAVE TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP FOR IT TO STOP SHAKING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10535291

Incident

Jun 12, 2013

Mileage

79,732 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10468836

Incident

Aug 2, 2011

Mileage

110,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

10452792

Incident

Mar 21, 2012

Mileage

45,370 mi

WE ARE EXPERIENCING THE "DEATH WOBBLE". HAVE BEEN TO THE REPAIR SHOP SEVERAL TIMES BUT THE WOBBLE RETURNS SHORTLY AFTER WE GET THE JEEP BACK ON THE ROAD. HELP.... *TR

NHTSA ID

10436068

Incident

Jan 1, 2005

INCIDENTS WITH STOCK 2003 JEEP WRANGLER X 35,000 MILES . VEHICLE WILL SHAKE VIOLENTLY OUT OF CONTROL WHEN DRIVING OVER 40 MPH. INCIDENT IS KNOWN AS THE DEATH WOBBLE AND IS VERY DANGEROUS. HAS OCCURRED TO MY VEHICLE ON MANY OCCASIONS. IT IS VERY HARD TO JEEP THE JEEP ON THE ROAD WHEN THIS DEATH WOBBLE HAPPENS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10331217

Incident

May 13, 2010

Mileage

19,000 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10223521

Incident

Apr 6, 2008

Mileage

23,500 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10190720

Incident

May 6, 2007

Mileage

35,600 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10154194

Incident

Mar 21, 2006

Mileage

19,783 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10081192

Incident

Jun 20, 2004

Mileage

7,498 mi