Heyspike

Wow, I had the death wobble today! I was driving to my brothers for Easter dinner and was going across 287 in White Plains (a real rough road) slightly downhill and to the right in the middle lane doing about 50. All of a sudden the road gets real rough and the wobble starts. I tried slowing down and pulling over to the shoulder, when I made it to the slow lane it seemed worse! At that point I thought I blew a tire. My wife and kid were scared , so I pulled over and checked the wheels and tires. PERFECT. I remember reading about the death wobble here, so i told my wife it was the death wobble. She didn't like that anwser. After i crossed the Throgs Neck Bridge, I thought I felt it again, but I drove out of that one. I'll read the old post to find some fixes, but if anyone knows for sure let me know.
Thanks,
John
Stock 17" wheels and tires, no lift.

fastboat

Thank God you and your family are OK.

KCTW

That's crazy for that to happen to a stock JK. I'm glad you and your family are ok.

Jeepingjohnny

I would rotate your tires and have them ballanced just for safety.

sgmrock

My friend had it happen on a stock Dodge truck. Four links suspension are prone to it. BALANCE and rotate your tires and you will be good...

scononie

I'm sorry guys.. but rotate and balance to solve something serious like this doesn't seem to be the most settling answer for me. Especially when we are talking about a stock setup. There must be some kind of geometry/design that isn't correct. This potentially could have had a devastating outcome had the driver not been able to bring the vehicle under control.

necros

Glad you guys are alright.

so what exactly is this death wobble? I've heard folks mention it but never really say what it is exactly.. does your jeep suddenly wobble all over the road, or just shake a little? how serious can it be? And if it's this well known why hasn't Jeep corrected it?

I'm still in my 03 Element, and I've always noticed when I drive real fast, like as soon as I hit 80 mph, the whole thing starts to shake. I always figured it was just wind sheer or whatever due to the box shape it has and use it as my warning system to tell me to slow down when I'm not paying attention to the speedometer But it never really felt unsafe in any way... so I'm guessing it's no the same thing?

RedneckJeep

My suggestion would be to inspect the steering stabilizer. Since a lot of them seem to leak from the factory, they are probably el cheapo units. If yours even looks damp, I'd upgrade it with something better. That's why it's there. To absorb steering oscillations. You can rotate and balance to your heart's content, but that ain't helpin a thing.

derff96963

I have to ask are your sure it is "Death Wobble" and not just your ABS and ESP kicking it. The first time I have mine kick in it scared the crap out of me.

Mine will also kick in without a light comming on in the dash. Almost every time I pull in my driveway it will set off the ABS with no light. There is a slight dip in the road and it is just as I turn in my driveway. It must be just enough of a difference in wheel speed to set it off.

To be sure I would check the torque of all the suspension components. especially the steering kinkage and sway bar.

j&k'sjk

sounds like road conditions played a big role in this. Did it settle down after you got back on the road? How did it act on a smooth road?