Rented a JL today, Death Wobble occurred at least 12 times!

Hwycycle

New member
I've been tossing around buying a new JL. I noticed the local Avis/Budget had a few JL's in their fleet. Using Costco's travel site, I was able to rent the JL for 8 days for $175 plus taxes and fees for a total of $230.

I felt it was a good investment to get some real world miles in the JL before committing to buying a new one.

My rental is a 2019 JL Sahara V6 with 21k miles.

I picked up the JL and we went to grab some food. With in the first 20 minutes of driving, I was greeted by the confidence inspiring Death Wobble (DW) at 70 mph. The DW seems to present itself at most all junctions between asphalt roadway and concrete over passes.

I passed by the rental location, which was then closed, and found a 2020 Sahara 4cyl that was just returned. I'll return tomorrow morning and exchanged the Jeep in hopes the 2020 will be better.

I understand there is a TSB for DW which is remedied by replacing the track bar.... but how many owners of stock Jeep are plagued by the DW?
 

JTCO

Meme King
I've been tossing around buying a new JL. I noticed the local Avis/Budget had a few JL's in their fleet. Using Costco's travel site, I was able to rent the JL for 8 days for $175 plus taxes and fees for a total of $230.

I felt it was a good investment to get some real world miles in the JL before committing to buying a new one.

My rental is a 2019 JL Sahara V6 with 21k miles.

I picked up the JL and we went to grab some food. With in the first 20 minutes of driving, I was greeted by the confidence inspiring Death Wobble (DW) at 70 mph. The DW seems to present itself at most all junctions between asphalt roadway and concrete over passes.

I passed by the rental location, which was then closed, and found a 2020 Sahara 4cyl that was just returned. I'll return tomorrow morning and exchanged the Jeep in hopes the 2020 will be better.

I understand there is a TSB for DW which is remedied by replacing the track bar.... but how many owners of stock Jeep are plagued by the DW?

Are you sure it was death wobble as opposed to a steering wheel shimmy? Big difference.
 

Camelot

New member
I have a 2019 JLUR. No issues stock and I did not screw it up when I lifted it and added 35”s. Runs great and no issues even hitting bumps and potholes around 80 mph. As solid as a Jeep can be. Not like it’s a great handling vehicle to start with.
 

MrGiant

New member
I dont have problems as well. Hitting harsh bumps on a highway at about 80 mph makes the JL shake hard but this is over in the next second

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Full throttle DW is pretty violent (trust me, I know). If it happened to me at 70 mph my Jeep would rip in half. I'm wondering if you're experiencing bump steer or shimmy, rather than DW
 

JTCO

Meme King
When the JL was first released, tons of people and news outlets were saying the new Wrangler had 'death wobble.' After seeing a few video clips online of people that claimed to have 'death wobble,' it most certainly wasn't. It was a shimmy for most people or a dead spot in the steering.

Anyone who truly has experienced death wobble definitely knows what it is.
 

Hwycycle

New member
I’m 99% it’s DW.

I was able to swap out for the 2020 JL and the wandering steering is much better and I haven’t had DW or what I’m referring to as DW.

I tried to attach the video last light, but didn’t have any luck. I get an error of invalid file. The video was made on an iPhone and has a .mov extension.

I’ll keep trying.
 

JTCO

Meme King
I’m 99% it’s DW.

I was able to swap out for the 2020 JL and the wandering steering is much better and I haven’t had DW or what I’m referring to as DW.

I tried to attach the video last light, but didn’t have any luck. I get an error of invalid file. The video was made on an iPhone and has a .mov extension.

I’ll keep trying.

This is Death Wobble:

 

Hwycycle

New member

Excuse the goat like noise.... that is my girlfriend attempting to demonstrate the effect on the passengers speech during this experience. lol

Im not sure how to post the video directly in the thread. Is there a quick way to post the actual video as JTCO did?

What do you think?
 

Last edited by a moderator:

JTCO

Meme King

Excuse the goat like noise.... that is my girlfriend attempting to demonstrate the effect on the passengers speech during this experience. lol

Im not sure how to post the video directly in the thread. Is there a quick way to post the actual video as JTCO did?

What do you think?

I embedded it for you. It's definitely the start of DW. My guess is that what ever is causing it isn't fully worn out yet. But it will be soon. That's more than just a shimmy.
 

Hwycycle

New member
Yes, definitely more than a shimmy. I took the video to show the rental agency in the event they gave me hard time. After speaking to the rental agent, it was clear to me they had been informed of the issue with this specific Wrangler.

This video wasn't the most severe occurrence... there were others that required pulling into the shoulder to slow down enough for there wobble to stop.

Keep in mind, that rental Wrangler has NY registration & 21k+ miles, so who knows where its been before it came to NJ.

The 2020 JL I have now is MUCH better. The 4cyl is a little more noisy than the V6, but seems to have about the same power. If I decide to buy, it'll be the V6.
 

Camelot

New member
Wonder how many incidents that are actually on stock vehicles compared to people that fucked up their own vehicles with aftermarket parts or shoddy workmanship.

Clearly if this happens on stock vehicles it’s a huge issue. But if it’s mainly amateur modified units it’s a completely different deal.
 

Last edited:

Hwycycle

New member
So, the 2020 has been a much better driving experience. Surprisingly, the 4 cylinder is no slouch. I haven’t been driving hard... but I’ve done some heavy accelerations, heavier loads (3 guys & gear), city driving and 150 highway miles today. I’m currently showing 22 MPGs since I’ve been driving.

One thing I’ve noticed, the climate control seems to be wonky at times. Today, the climate control was set at 74° (non-auto) but the air temp was much cooler than 74°. We cycled through some heat settings and suddenly the air was warmer.

Just my observations so far.
 

MRichaud

New member
Per your observations: pretty much the same here with our '18 JLU Sport 2.0, the wife's transportation, but she prefers that I drive whenever we're in it together. Really liking this thing! Tanked up yesterday and mileage was 25 mpg; this a combination of short hops and weekly trips of 15 or 20 miles one way. Odometer has just passed 7650 (this was a dealer loaner we bought a few months ago) and the change engine oil soon notice just popped up. I'll be doing that little task this week.

The only complaint the wife has is that the running boards jut out a bit far and if wet or muddy, she has to be careful getting in or out.

Mickey
 

In the 90s for a short time I had a website called “grabtheebrake.com” where I hooned rentals and rated them. I guarantee someone whooped that JL & returned it. I definitely would have jumped it over some railroad tracks at a minimum.
 

I wish. We’re talking 98/99. My favorite was j-turning a Ford astrovan with my uncle in the parking lot of the Santa Monica pier. Definitely thought I was gonna die.
 

Top