Death wobble?

[C4miles]

Is it a death wobble if I can still drive? I've had 2 episodes in the last 2 days where I am driving about 65 and hit a bump or crack in the road and the wheel jerks to the left then the wobble starts. Darn near shakes my teeth out. I break and slow down and it's ok. Last less than a minute but its a violent shaking.

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[IanNubbit]

If you can keep the vehicle under control/in your lane, It's not death wobble, it's a "shimmy" (in correct terms) Death wobble will have you flying towards a wall or median in less then a second and absolutely no way to stabilize it.

1.) check tire pressure
2.) check tires for uneven wear
3.) move the steering wheel back and forth about 10 degrees with way with the help of a second person. then go under the vehicle and feel for any popping or movement at any joints (including the trackbar). most common is the drag link by far. rotation in the drag link and tie rod bars is totally normal, it's a popping away and back to the joint base that is what shows damage/failure

this will basically get you set. with that, REPLACE THE OEM DAMPER. After this shimmy happens once, I have never seen a damper recover, they always permanently get air trapped in the fluid. one of those 3 things likely caused the shimmy, the damper just is no longer able to dampen the issue. With that being said, if your damper is OEM and older then like 22, it may also be the sole cause of the issue, but check the other 3 issues first.

 

[LatteSipper]

Just went through this on my 2021 with 25k miles, same symptoms OP described. Went over everything and saw no obvious issues, but was ready to proactively replace the drag link and tie rod. First, replaced the OEM damper as the least costly option; cured the issue.

I was skeptical reading so many people say otherwise, but my issue was resolved entirely after replacing the damper.

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