| Issue ID | 880695 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10424637 |
| Manufacurer | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC |
| Brand | JEEP |
| Model | WRANGLER 4-DR 4X4 |
| Model Year | 2009 |
| File date | 10/09/11 |
| Component | SUSPENSION |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | While driving on interstate 95 in a 2009 jeep wrangler unlimited (stock) approximately 60 miles into a trip the vehicle hit a defect in the roadway at 65mph and we experienced severe death wobble, ie the front of the vehicle started shaking so violently that it was not steerable. When slowed to 30mph the car returned to normal and we stopped to check the front components nothing was broken or appeared to be askew. As we continued our trip we encountered the same condition/problem 5 more times at speeds of anywhere from 55-70 mph and this did not happen everytime we hit a bump/pothole only on some. After this condition happened for the 3rd time i jacked up the front end and checked thelugs again nothing visual showed why this was happening. We had to cancel our trip at that time due to this safety concern. The 4th and 5th times were on what was supposed to be the return home however we eventually had to park the vehicle until it could be looked at again. ( my best guess is that the dealer will again say there is no problem) this vehicle was recently serviced by a dealer and after they were told that we had this problem when going over railroad tracks at 40 mph. They could not recreate the problem and told us that there was no defects in the front suspension. In addition 3 days prior to this trip we also had the tires and wheels rotated and balanced to see if this would fix this condition which i had never experienced ( however owning a jeep vehicles for 24 years i have experienced death wobble before but not like this) but my wife had. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 38000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | HANOVER, PA |
| VIN pattern | XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 65 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |