NHTSA Complaint #10440323 — 2004 JEEP WRANGLER

MULTIPLE INCIDENTS OF VIOLENT VIBRATION IN THE VEHICLE FRONT END, INCLUDING THE STEERING WHEEL AND FRONT WHEELS, ARE OCCURRING AFTER HITTING A MINOR POT HOLE IN THE ROAD. INCIDENTS OCCUR AT HIGHWAYS SPEEDS, NORMALLY 45 - 55 MPH. THE DRIVER MUST REDUCE SPEED TO NEAR ZERO IN ORDER TO RECOVER SAFE AND EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THIS VEHICLE DEFECT APPEARS TO BE THE WELL-KNOWN AND MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE IN JEEP WRANGLER VEHICLES KNOWN AS "THE DEATH WOBBLE". I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE NEW FROM A JEEP DEALERSHIP AND HAVE HAD IT PROFESSIONALLY MAINTAINED PER THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. MY SPOUSE AND I HAVE BOTH EXPERIENCED THIS DEFECT SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, MOST RECENTLY ON DECEMBER 15, 2011. AT THIS POINT, WE'VE HAD THE VEHICLE INSPECTED SEVERAL TIMES AND REPLACED A NUMBER OF COMPONENTS ON THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING THE STEERING DAMPER, FOUR SHOCK ABSORBERS, AND ALL 4 TIRES., IN ADDITION, THE SUSPENSION HAS BEEN INSPECTED NUMEROUS TIMES IN THE PAST 3 YEARS. GIVEN THE SHEAR NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS BY OTHER OWNERS, I FEEL THAT THIS IS AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURER DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND CORRECTED BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR