Owner-reported complaints naming the suspension system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 Jeep Wrangler submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 18 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The factory weld on the front end driver's side stabilizer was bad and it came apart on the highway while driving , from the severe shaking it caused, and it could've killed us. The weld was not hot enough to penetrate the steel. I am a mechanic so I can attest , and be a witness , to claim it was a certifiably bad weld in the factory, and this should warrant a recall.
AT 55 MPH THE JEEP SHAKES VIOLENTLY, FROM SIDE TO SIDE, UNTIL VEHICLE IS SLOWED TO 35MPH.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
I HAVE BEEN GETTING THE FAMOUS JEEP WRANGLER "DEATH WOBBLE" WHEN I BRING OUR 03 WRANGLER TO 55 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. TODAY, WAS VERY SEVERE AND ALMOST CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. DEALER CLAIMED TO HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM, BUT IT HAS REAPPEARED. *TR
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
DRIVER SIDE FRONT BALL JOINT CAME APART. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 JEEP WRANGLER. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE FRONTEND OF THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO VIBRATE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHEN THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE TRAVELING DOWNHILL. THE FAILURE CONTINUES TO PERSIST UNTIL THE VEHICLE DECELERATES TO APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH. THE DEALER INSTALLED A HEAVY DUTY STEERING DAMPENER ON THE VEHICLE. THERE HAVE BEEN NO OTHER FAILURES SINCE THE REPLACEMENT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 48,000.
BALL JOINT CRACKED WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO A HEAVY TRAFFIC INTERSECTION,AT LOW SPEED. VEHICLE WHEN OUT OF CONTROL SPINNING SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE HITTING MEDIUM. *JB
"DEATH WOBBLE". ON AN INCONSISTENT BASIS THE FRONT END BEGINS TO SHAKE AND WOBBLE UNCONTROLLABLY AT SPEEDS OVER 50 MPH. IT FEELS AS THOUGH ONE OF THE FRONT TIRES IS ABOUT TO FALL OFF THE VEHICLE. THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT TO STOP SHAKING IS TO PULL OFF HIGHWAY AND SLOW DOWN BELOW 30 MPH. DEALER REPLACED STEERING DAMPER BUT DID NOT CORRECT PROBLEM. VEHICLE IS NOW AT A 4WD SUSPENSION SPECIALIST WHO HAS HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM MANY TIMES BUT OVER THE PAST WEEK CANNOT IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM. *JB
I HAVE A 2003 JEEP WRANGLER (UNDER WARRANTY FOR ABOUT 1 MORE WEEK) THAT HAS ONLY BEEN USED TO DRIVE TO WORK AND BACK, AND WHEN I HIT A BUMP, THE FRONT END SHAKES UNCONTROLLABLY, AND I FEEL AS IF I WILL LOSE CONTROL. I TOOK IT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN A TIRE PLACE AND THE JEEP DEALERSHIP SEVERAL TIMES. THE DEALERSHIP SAID I NEEDED TIRES BUT THE TIRE PLACE SAYS I DON'T AND SINCE I AM UNDER WARRANTY THAT I SHOULD TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. I HAD THE TIRES ROTATED AND BALANCED, AND THE ROTORS TURNED, BUT IT STILL SHAKES. THE DEALERSHIP KEPT TELLING ME IT WAS FINE, BUT ON ONE OF MY TRIPS TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE MECHANIC SAID TO ME, "OH, YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE 'DEATH WOBBLE'." THE DEALERSHIP DECIDED IT NEEDED A NEW STABILIZER BAR AND TRIED TO SELL ME A MORE EXPENSIVE ONE, BUT I INSISTED WITH THE WARRANTY THEY SHOULD REPLACE IT WITH A WARRANTED PART, THEY DID AND FOUND A BROKEN BUSHING AND REPLACED IT, BUT IT STILL WOBBLES. I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP THAT LOOKED UP THE HISTORY OF MY CAR AND SAID THAT THE OTHER PLACE REPLACED EVERYTHING THEY WOULD AND SENT ME HOME IN TEARS. IT WOBBLED ALL THE WAY HOME. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE MORE THAN 40 MILES AN HOUR AND CAN'T GET ANYONE TO HELP WITH THIS. I FEEL THAT I AM GETTING THE "RUN AROUND" BECAUSE I AM A GIRL. IT IS NOT SAFE FOR OTHERS OR ME TO HAVE THIS VEHICLE ON THE ROAD. *JB
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY INDICATED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AXLE BROKE. THE AXLE WAS REPLACED. *NLM
JEEP SHAKES AT 40-55 MILE PER HOUR, 16,000 MILES. *AK
WHILE DRIVING ON UNEVEN SURFACE AT ANY SPEED VEHICLE WOULD SHAKE FROM THE FRONT SUSPENSION. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .