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Death Wobble on 2018 JL

OldBackpacker

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First Name
Dennis
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North Logan, UT
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler JL - Sport
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Retired
Felt the DW four years ago twice in one day and then disappeared for three years. Yesterday, got DW 7X on interstate at 70MPH.. Not good. Took to dealer and was informed that the front dampers were bad and that caused damage to the track bar Needs replacement $500 est. Factory remarked on extended warranty created to hadle the dampers. However, the track bar would be at my expense. Service guy was familiar with the DW and it occurs on 90% of affected vehicles b/c the suspension was modified. Mine (sadly) not off-roaded (wife's mall crawler). Made formal complaint to Mfg and a case agent will review and (hopefully) respond. Not optimistic. Note: MFG neither created a recall nor did they notify vehicle owners. This is probably b/c the DW was not wide spread enough.

If anyone has been successful in receiving whole or partial compensation, would like to hear. Thanks.
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Reinen

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Ugh, that dealer knows nothing. DW is caused by loose suspension components and/or worn suspension bushings, not because the suspension was modified. It's not a defect or a recall because it's a normal result of normal wear of a solid front axle.

First of all, the steering damper is absolutely not the cause of the DW. It may have been damaged by the DW (it would try and fail to dampen it) but don't replace it until the cause of the DW is found and confirmed resolved. You'll just break the replacement too.

You or a mechanic who knows what they're doing (not this dealer) will need to go through the front suspension components and look for any sort of play. That's the cause of it. This dealer seems to be only interested in replacing things damaged by the DW but not interested in fixing what is causing the DW.

The cheap, quick & easy method is the wiggle test. While parked and engine off, have someone quickly wiggle the steering wheel back and forth while you look under the Jeep at the steering components. Look at all the joints of the moving components. All of them should be moving solidly with no play. If a joint has any sort of play to it it's likely the source of the DW. That joint or bushing is worn and needs to be replaced.

I see you're in UT. If you need a real Jeep mechanic to find the source of the DW try reaching out to the UTAH JEEPCREW COMMUNITY group on FB for a local recommendation. They'll know who gets results, and it sure isn't the dealer.
 
 







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