How bad is my death wobble?

[tommychen]

Was driving on I-80 in New Jersey today and it's not the smoothest of freeways. Hit a couple of bumps and the death wobble started. I had my 4 year old in the back seat and at one point I had to slow to 40mph to get it to stop. I think I've had enough of my Jeep.

I have a 2022 Wrangler 4xe, bought in Dec 2022 and has about 12K miles on it. First time I took it to the dealer was at about 6k miles. They told me the death wobble was 'not reproducible'. Brought the Jeep in again with a check engine light. I showed him a video of the steering wheel wobbling and his response was "that's normal". Funny thing is, it doesn't happen every time I drive. I drove 240 miles 2 days in a row back in Dec and had the death wobble for 40 miles and then it stopped. I drove another 440 miles with no issue. I drive local roads 90% of the time. And when I hit the freeway now, bumps over 55mph cause the wobble.

I've attached two videos of my steering wheel going crazy. Can other chime in. Is my death wobble 'normal'?
thanks in advance for the responses.

Tommy.

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[jludave]

I've attached two videos

Your videos don’t work.

 

[John VonJeep]

Have you done any suspension mods? DW usually starts with improperly torqued front track bars.

 

[mtbjeep]

The videos aren’t loading but death wobble is not normal at all. Just because it happens doesn’t mean it’s normal; it is extremely abnormal. Your dealer sounds like the typical dip-shit dealer we’ve all come to love.

Read the threads on death wobble to get a good feel for some of the causes. Once armed with some knowledge find a reputable shop familiar with solid front axles and start the process. It’s not fun at all but you will learn so much and the next time it happens you will equipped to confidently deal with it.

 

[Ratbert]

I'm not sure it's considered death wobble unless the people in the video are screaming "holy fuck, we're gonna die!"

 

[Flip]

No, I don't think that looks right.

 

[tommychen]

Your videos don’t work.

I used the insert video icon in the thread. Am I doing this wrong?

 

[tommychen]

I'm not sure it's considered death wobble unless the people in the video are screaming "holy fuck, we're gonna die!"

This is pretty much what the dealer tech said. My 4 year old does say "shit", but she thinks we're on a rollercoaster when it happens.

 

[tommychen]

No, I don't think that looks right.

were you able to see the video?

 

[tommychen]

Have you done any suspension mods? DW usually starts with improperly torqued front track bars.

The jeep is completely stock. It's used for mall crawling

 

[Flip]

were you able to see the video?

Yes, both of them. No way is that normal bro. I would want that fixed asap. That shaking could potentially create the real deal (DEATH WOBBLE) trust me, you don't ever want to experience it, it's absolutely terrible!

 

[68Jeepster]

I'm new to the modern Jeeps. My last one was a 69 Jeepster Commando so I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but how can a death wobble come and go on hard pavement at a normal speed? I understand everything is electronic these days so is it usually the power steering pump or something in the suspension?

FWIW, with the old Jeeps you had a death wobble backing out of the driveway. ?

 

[tommychen]

The videos aren’t loading but death wobble is not normal at all. Just because it happens doesn’t mean it’s normal; it is extremely abnormal. Your dealer sounds like the typical dip-shit dealer we’ve all come to love.

Read the threads on death wobble to get a good feel for some of the causes. Once armed with some knowledge find a reputable shop familiar with solid front axles and start the process. It’s not fun at all but you will learn so much and the next time it happens you will equipped to confidently deal with it.

I've read some of the threads. I thought it might be a tire balance issue as it seemed to occur more in cold weather. Its was pretty warm today and still happened. I was hoping this would be fixed at a jeep dealer as the jeep is still under warranty.

 

[GtX]

Death wobble

 

[Ratbert]

were you able to see the video?

It plays fine for me on Chrome / Android. Maybe @JAY has some insight?

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