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Steering wheel wobble?

Bri_BKT

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I do not have steering issues but only have 125 miles on the Jeep . I would be scared to drive it on Powers if it wobbles like that. Hope you get it fixed soon.
Actually I don't seem to have any steering issues (yet?) and just hit 2K miles. I do a lot of traveling on those hwys (live in Peyton, work at Schriever AFB), and was just offering an area that has slightly less traffic for those in the area that might have issues and want to test out how bad the issues might be. For sure Powers would be a tough (tense) drive with bad steering issues.
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COSJL

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Actually I don't seem to have any steering issues (yet?) and just hit 2K miles. I do a lot of traveling on those hwys (live in Peyton, work at Schriever AFB), and was just offering an area that has slightly less traffic for those in the area that might have issues and want to test out how bad the issues might be. For sure Powers would be a tough (tense) drive with bad steering issues.
I mistook you for xpsruler. Good advice anyway to be on the safe side for those with the issue
 

Boston.Irish

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I have the same issue... 2018 JKU Sport S... completely stock. I've only owned it for 3 weeks.

Started as a slight wobble at 850 miles, got worse by 1,500 miles. The dealer replaced the steering dampener at 1,700 miles. 3 days later, I had death wobble so bad I almost lost control of the vehicle. When I got to the dealership they found that the second dampener failed, the track bar bushings were dried out (it's only 3 weeks old!) and the drivers side rear shock was blown. Oh! yeah, and the rear seat was broken also. Customer care is involved and stated "we're going to try an aftermarket dampener... let's hope that fixes it. if not... we will try something else."
Sorry customer care, but... HOPE IS NOT A GOOD PLAN!
They've had it a week now... no answers.
 

DanW

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I have the same issue... 2018 JKU Sport S... completely stock. I've only owned it for 3 weeks.

Started as a slight wobble at 850 miles, got worse by 1,500 miles. The dealer replaced the steering dampener at 1,700 miles. 3 days later, I had death wobble so bad I almost lost control of the vehicle. When I got to the dealership they found that the second dampener failed, the track bar bushings were dried out (it's only 3 weeks old!) and the drivers side rear shock was blown. Oh! yeah, and the rear seat was broken also. Customer care is involved and stated "we're going to try an aftermarket dampener... let's hope that fixes it. if not... we will try something else."
Sorry customer care, but... HOPE IS NOT A GOOD PLAN!
They've had it a week now... no answers.
Be glad they have acknowledged a problem and are willing to go outside the box to solve it. Sometimes problems are not easy to fix.

Mine hasn't been that bad, but the replacement dampener is worse than the original. I'm going to check the track bar bushings, too. I wonder if there is an aftermarket supplier that has better bushings that are able to be greased, or even urethane?
 

theville87

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I'm getting pretty fed up with dealing with this :-(.
I've had my 2018 JLU Sport since August and it has 13K miles on it and has been in 3 times (most recent time was last week) for the death wobble and they still can't figure it out. They replaced the drag link 1st, then the steering dampener, and then the steering dampener again. The service manager keeps telling me that Chrysler doesn't know what the issue is right now and tells them to only replace the steering dampeners until they find an actual fix. It's ridiculous that there are this many people with this issue and it's been going on for almost a year and still don't have a fix.
 

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jmepk920

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I just picked up my 2018 JL on friday. 35 miles on it. Less than 100 miles jeep wobble as we were driving it home. Chrysler Cares kept telling me no recall. I said I know, but they know this is an issue. Again, there is no recall. Again I know. Scheduled to go in tomorrow morning. Am so sad I gave up my 2015 Willy's for this.
 

DanW

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One thing that can be done is to report it to the NHSTA. I'll find a link when I have time. That usually gets more attention and urgency on things like this. Any issue related to steering, even minor, is a serious safety issue.
 

Dkretden

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One thing that can be done is to report it to the NHSTA. I'll find a link when I have time. That usually gets more attention and urgency on things like this. Any issue related to steering, even minor, is a serious safety issue.
I have been monitoring the NHTSA website. It seems to me that over the last few weeks that the complaints (most of which are for “steering”) have gone up by about 150-ish, to a total (all complaints) of about 620 for the 2018 JLU. The 2019 JLU seems to be holding steady at only 12 complaints .
 

californiajeeping

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Reminder - Mopar has a new drag link inner (the part of the drag link that connects to the pitman arm), new part number is 68258759AD which came out mid February 2019 (old part number is 68258759AB). The track bar old part number is 68317849AA the new part number is 68394087AA which also came out mid February 2019.
 

DanW

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Reminder - Mopar has a new drag link inner (the part of the drag link that connects to the pitman arm), new part number is 68258759AD which came out mid February 2019 (old part number is 68258759AB). The track bar old part number is 68317849AA the new part number is 68394087AA which also came out mid February 2019.
Do we know if these new parts are having success?
 

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xpsruler

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@JeepCares Update: Have been trying to contact my Jeep cares associate multiple times and have left multiple voicemails. I've even provided info for when I could be contacted... Tonight I get an email saying the case will be cancelled if I dont get in touch with them... I've since left a voicemail and will try calling them again... probably to get another voicemail.

The vehicle is unsafe and the issue keeps getting worse.
 

TCogs1

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Keep the pressure on... I agree, an comprehensive solution is in order from FCA - Jeep...

RANT ON:

I know I spent 70K to date on this platform.....

Recalling and replacing steering components is the right thing to do "if" the right dynamic stresses and loads calculations - simulations have been performed to solve the death wobble (limited to the front end suspension systems)...

Or FCA can send us the evidence that these cals - simulations prove to be adequate for a given market - conditions (Rubicon, driving to, on, and from the Rubicon trail). I can appreciate business decisions, but show me the engineering behind it....

Or tell me to pound salt...

At least we will have direction to decide the path we must all go down...

RANT OFF...

Tough day at work today sorry... zero patience for poor engineering (I work at Boeing, we are always pushing super hard for functional excellence, as I am sure so is FCA - JEEP)… And we at Boeing have our own challenges...which is where my time needs to be spent (not on jeeps).

So...

Keep up the great work Jeep!

We are behind you...

Just tell us how to help your engineering be the best it can :)

Sorry team if this is corny.. but I get big business....

Bureaucracy in big companies is not easy...

And we are on a journey together...

Have a great day all..

TC
 

poolman

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This is my first post in this excellent forum and with one exception the JL is my favorite of all the Jeeps I have owned.

My 2018 totally stock, never off-roaded JLU Sahara (purchased June 15) had steering shake when traveling over surface irregularities ever since new. My two previous JKUs never had this issue so I thought it was a quirk of the JL.

On January 15 I was on driving on I-95 in heavy traffic at 70 MPH and the Jeep went into violent, full blown Death Wobble after crossing a bridge expansion joint. The DW did not resolve until I slowed to 50 MPH, which was incredibly dangerous while sandwiched between 18 wheelers. I assume my steering stabilizer failed at that point because the Death Wobble returned after every bump even though I reduced my speed to 55 mph.

The dealer test drove the Jeep and replicated the problem. They emailed pictures of the track bar welds to FCA (my vehicle was included in the recall). They informed me that the welds were good but the steering stabilizer had failed. The steering felt firmer with the new SS but the steering shake was not resolved. It felt as if there was an underlying issue causing wobble, yet the steering stabilizer was barely able to keep it to a shake.

Two weeks ago, traveling through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel in bumper to bumper traffic at 60 MPH the Jeep again went into violent Death Wobble after passing over a small bump. The wobble resolved when I slowed to 50 MPH. Terrifying! This has happened several more times in the past two weeks at speeds between 60 - 70 MPH and I really do not feel safe driving my beloved Jeep on the highway.

@JeepCares I would really like to get this resolved but I am concerned that the dealer will simply install a new steering stabilizer, which is really just a band aid partially covering up a serious underlying problem. With the massive amount of stress Death Wobble places on the steering components I am concerned that a catastrophic failure will occur if the steering system is not properly corrected.
 

xpsruler

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This is my first post in this excellent forum and with one exception the JL is my favorite of all the Jeeps I have owned.

My 2018 totally stock, never off-roaded JLU Sahara (purchased June 15) had steering shake when traveling over surface irregularities ever since new. My two previous JKUs never had this issue so I thought it was a quirk of the JL.

On January 15 I was on driving on I-95 in heavy traffic at 70 MPH and the Jeep went into violent, full blown Death Wobble after crossing a bridge expansion joint. The DW did not resolve until I slowed to 50 MPH, which was incredibly dangerous while sandwiched between 18 wheelers. I assume my steering stabilizer failed at that point because the Death Wobble returned after every bump even though I reduced my speed to 55 mph.

The dealer test drove the Jeep and replicated the problem. They emailed pictures of the track bar welds to FCA (my vehicle was included in the recall). They informed me that the welds were good but the steering stabilizer had failed. The steering felt firmer with the new SS but the steering shake was not resolved. It felt as if there was an underlying issue causing wobble, yet the steering stabilizer was barely able to keep it to a shake.

Two weeks ago, traveling through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel in bumper to bumper traffic at 60 MPH the Jeep again went into violent Death Wobble after passing over a small bump. The wobble resolved when I slowed to 50 MPH. Terrifying! This has happened several more times in the past two weeks at speeds between 60 - 70 MPH and I really do not feel safe driving my beloved Jeep on the highway.

@JeepCares I would really like to get this resolved but I am concerned that the dealer will simply install a new steering stabilizer, which is really just a band aid partially covering up a serious underlying problem. With the massive amount of stress Death Wobble places on the steering components I am concerned that a catastrophic failure will occur if the steering system is not properly corrected.
@JeepCares The shake is exactly how mine started too. I am on my third steering stabilizer and while it will mask it for a bit it doesn't fix it. Mine keeps getting worse and does it until slowed down to 30 mph though :-(.
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