Love our Jeep Rubicon 07. In the last two weeks however, I (the female in the family!) have been driving at about 45 mph on one of our pretty bumpy roads and have experienced what I can only describe as an out of control violent shaking. I haven’t figured out why it has only does this sporadically thus far (2 times only). The first time, after going over a couple of common or garden bumps the Rubi steering wheel started to shake uncontrollably and the whole vehicle was shaking - felt like I was off the ground actually. I pulled over which was a little difficult, thinking I had a flat. No flat. Took to our mechanic - checked it and said all looked good underneath and the shocks might be starting to wear (at 55,000 miles) altho that’s a “comfort” issue right now… The shaking happened again today so I know it’s NOT my imagination. I’ve been on a few forums and found some footage on youtube so just wondering if anyone out there has any experience with this, or suggestions!!!
Your “tags” said it all.
This is apparently the infamous Jeep Death Wobble.
I would suggest that you take the vehicle to a mechanic who specializes in Jeeps, as he would likely be more familiar with the unique problems of Jeeps, as compared to your regular mechanic.
Most likely, you need to have the steering damper replaced, and possibly you need other front end parts replaced. Since your mechanic seems to think that only the shocks are involved, that tells me that he is not really qualified to work on these finicky machines.
A Jeep specialist will probably be able to home in on the actual cause of the Death Wobble, rather than focusing strictly on the shocks.
THANKS so much for your response. We will be taking it to the dealership along with a lot of research material we’ve found online (hope you don’t mind if I take your response also?) so that they can assess what’s going on.
I’ll let you know! 