FCA Finally Offers Fix to Wrangler’s “Death Wobble”

In 2018, Jeep found itself flooded with customer complaints and facing a lawsuit over the wobbly steering wheel of the Jeep Wrangler. The problem, according to the automaker, is in the solid front axle.

A year later, Fiat Chrysler Automobile has finally found a solution to the problem.

In a report by The Detroit Free Press, the company said it will install a new steering damper or stabilizer to prevent steering vibration in Jeep Wrangler units affected by the issue. However, FCA is insisting it will not issue a manufacturer recall because the problem with the steering wheel is not considered a safety concern.

What the company will do, instead, is conduct a “customer satisfaction note” campaign, where affected Wrangler owners will receive an invitation to visit their local dealership and get a new damper at no cost. The new dampers will also be installed on Jeep Wranglers that haven’t been sold.

Mark Chernoby, FCA’s chief technical compliance officer, said the problem is not unique to the Jeep Wrangler and that the vibration, called the “death wobble,” can happen with any vehicle that has a solid front axle. He also said that the shaking is the equivalent to hitting a tuning fork.

“If you bang it with that frequency it’ll just sit there and keep going forever. It won’t slow down, it won’t dissipate, and that’s essentially what we’re talking about here with the vibration in the new Wrangler,” Chernoby said. “When you hit a bump in the road, if everything is just right, the suspension can set off that resonance and what we started seeing is as soon as it got cold this past fall, early winter, we started seeing complaints,” he added.

Chernoby also said complaints about the Wrangler’s death wobble only represent around two percent of the 370,000 new units built as of June. FCA is seeking the dismissal of the lawsuit.