Problems with 2018 Jeep Wrangler STEERING

Intermittent loss of power steering and/or seizing. upon driving to exit highway and get to dealership engine indicator light came on and eventually jeep stopped dead while driving. could not be put in neutral to move off of road and would not restart at all.*dt consumer stated auto windows would not work although the child locks were disengaged. received recalled oct. 5th 2018 just after consumer purchased the vehicle with milage of less than 1200. updated 1/30/18*jb

Loose steering all the time. and then at high speeds on the highway the steering wheel locks and the straight position.

Vehicles tires begin to shake violently at speeds in the 70-75 mph range on the highway. condition occurs after hitting a small bump on the highway. the condition becomes so violent, i have to slow the vehicle from 70+ mph to about 40 mph to stop the shaking. this condition occurred during rush hour in heavy traffic on i-696. my wife took the vehicle to the dealership on thursday october 25th. the dealer told her they would have to replace the steering damper and that the part was on back order. they said it could take a month to get the part and that the vehicle was "safe" to drive. i drove the jeep to work on friday oct 26th. on the way home, to condition occurred on i-696 while i was traveling 70+ mph in rush hour traffic. i had to slow the vehicle to approximately 40 mph in the center lane on the highway before the shaking ended. i almost caused an accident on the highway. i am an engineer and have worked in the auto industry for about 30 years. i have been involved in field actions, campaigns and recalls. this vehicle is not safe and should be grounded and fixed. i did some research over the weekend and the condition is known as "death wobble". it is fairly common. our vehicle is a stock 2018 jeep wrangler with no modifications to the suspension. the dealership is suburban jeep located in farmington hills, mi on grand river & 10 mile. the dealer should not have sent my wife home telling her the vehicle is safe. this vehicle is not safe and should be grounded immediately. looking for support from nhtsa to correct this issue. this condition has occurred twice while i was driving and once with my wife driving our 9 year old son. please help.

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 jeep wrangler. while driving over 60 mph, the front end of the vehicle and the steering wheel shook and vibrated violently. the failure occurred after the vehicle was driven over a bump in the road or when there was a change in the road surface. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer (auto world chrysler jeep, 1370 auto center dr, petaluna, ca) where it was diagnosed that the tires were faulty. the tires were replaced, but the failure continued to occur. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who then diagnosed that the steering damper was faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 2,800.

When driving above 50 mpg, the jeep would shake violently after hitting pothole. the steering wheel, and front end rattle, and the wheel wobble, feeling like they are going to fall off the car. it only stops when you slow the vehicle down below 40-50mps.

When driving on the highway at speeds around 70-75 mph the vehicle will hit a bump and the steering and jeep will start shaking violently for 3-6 seconds or until vehicle slows down. at highway speeds this is a long distance. driving is unsafe when this occurs. one place in particular is extremely dangerous is a bridge transition on pellissippi parkway the bridge transition is on an uphill turn and it is hard to keep the steering wheel in the correct placement to stay in the lane. there is a barrier on one side and traffic on the other. the steering wheel is shaking and the entire jeep is shaking. the problem started occurring with 14,000 miles on the jeep

Upon hitting bumps in the road i experienced a vibration in the steering wheel. it got worse and became a violent shake. i took it to the dealership, where i bought it a month prior and they said they couldn't find anything. this is occurring more frequently. the dealership told me that the new jl haven't had any reports of this like previous models having the ' the death wobble.'

On three separate occasions i have experienced what is known as the "death wobble" where the jeep feels like it is off balance and shifting from side to side; almost like you are sliding on ice. this happens at a rate of speed of 45 mph or less. my jeep has 5,400 miles on it and has never been modified.

Purchased new in july 2018. currently has 5,800 miles traveled. i have experienced the severe "death wobble" three times. once at 65mph when i hit a rough expansion joint in a bridge. the other two at roughly the same speed, and i hit bumps in the highway. in reading the problems other owners have experienced, i did try lowering air pressure in the tires. they were all inflated at the high end of their range for winter. i lowered each about 10% - and i have not had any wobbles since. this may be a coincidence obviously. what is bad about all this is that my wife will not drive the jeep since she was a passenger during a death wobble. i do not feel any problems with alignment. i have not had the jeep off road yet, so no stress on the suspension outside of normal driving conditions. and i have not even driven more than around the block in full 4 wheel drive.

While driving on highway at highway speed and changing lanes jeep hit small bump in the road and started shaking violently. steering wheel had to be held firmly to maintain control. the problem was resolved by slowing down to below 40 mph. prior to this incident jeep was being flat towed by a motor home. we thought a back tire of the mh had blown. we pulled off at the next exit, upon inspection no issues with the motor home. we suspect it was the shaking of the jeep that was shaking the motor home.

My jeep wrangler jl with under 7000 miles begins to shake violently at hwy speeds between 50 -65. this violent front end shaking, shakes the whole jeep making it difficult to steer and control. shaking will stop once you slow down to a slow speed or come to a complete stop. it was so bad my children, who were in jeep for one instance, were scared and visablely shaken from the experience. this had now happen 5 times in a the span of a week. *dt consumer stated tire was replaced but vehicle was still shaking. updated 12/13/18*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 jeep wrangler. while driving approximately 65 mph over a bump in the road, the steering wheel wobbled and vibrated without warning. the vehicle was taken to ray price mt pocono chevrolet (570-839-0810, located at 2969 pa-940, mt pocono, pa 18344) where it was diagnosed that the steering dampener needed to be replaced. the dealer stated that the part was on backorder and would not become available until april of 2019. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not provided. the failure mileage was approximately 100. the consumer stated the problem persists and feels its a defect in the ball joint or wheels. *tr consumer stated as per my complaint or year ago my jeep had a terrible waba have to bring it back three times i thought it to be corrected now almost a year later it is starting again it is actually a killer wobble with the wheel vibrating terrible. due to this wobble i feel there is an inherent problem in the ball joints and wheels therefore i'm not sure how to apply for the lemon law but it appears my car is a lemon. *jb

Wandering vehicle, unstable steering correction required, loose steering requiring constant input from driver to maintain lane and vehicle stability. chrysler opened a star case on 10/10/18 s1819000003 to tighten ball joints and related components specifically related to this issue for all jl owners and specifically called out jl adjustments are different from the jk wrangler. this service was performed on my vehicle 10/22/18 with no benefit, was also informed all bolts/torque adjustments were in spec upon inspection and test. technicians then loosened and tightened bolts per star case specifications for the jl. jeep had changed the psb specifications/adjustments mid (may) 2018 to alleviate jl steering lock up issues owners were experiencing and it resulted in the loose steering, lane wandering on vehicles manufactured after this date/change. my jlu rubicon was manufactured 7/27/18. i've been informed by the dealership and chrysler engineering that chrysler is aware of this issue and no resolution exists. the chrysler engineer also stated he "would rather have a vehicle with loose steering than one that locks up."

This vehicle has "death wobble" as it has been called. when driving at highway speeds and hitting a bump, bridge joint, or imperfection in the road, the front end violently shakes. if loosen grip on wheel it gets worse. it will continue for miles shaking the vehicle excessively. only way to stop the shaking is to slow to about 50 mph. started at about 12, 400 miles. took to shop and their guy called it death wobble.the more you drive the worse it gets, and in nov about 14th or so they had me come in and put a aftermarket hd steering stabilizer on it.it worked for about 1500 miles then the wobble returned.i reported it and on the 17th dec they had me come in and put factory stabilizer bar on and toed in my front alignment. that worked for two days. wobble came back and i reported it. the more i drive the worse it gets. i went to shop on 31 dec to see what we are doing. they said they would get back to me. problem is not stabilizers and toe alignment. geometric and something is wearing out causing all this.the effectiveness of stabilizers are lasting less each time. band aid for the bigger issue.i have owned 18 jeeps and have 4 currently, all wrangler/tj/cj. none have done this or do this.modified or not. and this new 2018 jl is stock.

On september 14, 2018, i leased my brand new jeep jl sahara 2018. i signed up for jeep app and immediately noticed a recall for my car - 2018 jl track bar weld, raising concern. on october 21, 2018, with less than 1000 miles, i was driving on local highway at @ 60mph, hit a bump and my entire steering/front of car began violently shaking. i immed. slowed down to hope re-align and gain control of steering/car. it was the most frightening experience as i was going 60, had to slow to 35, while others were speeding up behind me, in addition to being scared & feeling unsafe in an out of control car. i called jeep downingtown immed. on 10/22 to bring car in that week - 10/26. i looked it up and clearly is the known issue called the "death wobble". on 10/25, again on highway @ 65-70 mph, i hit a bump, experienced a yet worse violent shaking/out of control steering of my car. i pulled over as could not gain control slowing down. i got back on highway only to experience it yet again! i was shaking, scared as i could have been killed in addition to others!! i immed. called jeep dt and brought car into service. it is now 28 days and my car is still in service!!!. my experience with the dealer has been nothing but a nightmare. they tried 1) recall, 2) service software bulletin update, 3) steering stabilzer part and 4) tie rod part, none fixed problem. i last heard from them on 11/9 when they ordered tie rod - 13 days ago, unacceptable! i filed a case with jeep chrysler fca on 11/3- #57311328 and have had poor response. i have documented every day. i filed complaint with pa attorney general, no response. i have contacted lemon law lawyer and will be pursing action. all i want/deserve is to drive a safe car, as i'm paying for that! as nhtsa i hope you can ensure jeep takes these cars off the road and refunds us to ensure no one gets killed!

While driving the steering wheel has a deal spot and the truck wonders all of the road. on cold days during initial start up, below 40 degrees, the truck loses its power steering function and it doesnt return till after truck has warmed up.

The steering is not firm.there is a play in steering wheel (1 inch more or less) you notice the problem the most when driving over 50mph.this problem make it had to stay strait on your lane when driving fast. the dealer said there is no problem.

Steering wanders terribly since the day i brought it home. been back to dealer 2x and contacted fca 2x. dealer recommended adding dual steering stabilizer so i did- no difference. i have changed the drag link - no difference. you simply cannot stay in your lane with this vehicle.

When driving on the highway on an overpass or any bump my jeep shakes uncontrollably and feels as though all four wheels are going to fall off, have to put hazards on and reduce speed quickly, has been at dealership multiple times for steering damper which has not fixed the problem, very unsafe to drive

Steering seems to lose power assist and almost lock up at highway speeds has happened repeatedly. extremely dangerous. there seems to be lots of reference to this on the internet from other 2018 jl wrangler owners.

Jeep will start death wobble when driving over 60 mph if vehicle drives over uneven road, bumps, dip in roads. entire front end shakes violently and will not stop until speed is decreased below 45 mph.

While operating the vehicle, the power steering appears to stop working and the vehicles steering wheel gets harder to turn and requires more effort to turn the wheel. then it unexpectedly gets free or loose and causes the operator to suddenly over correct the steering.

While trying to merge into a highway the power steering turned of and i was unable to turn the wheel left to merge. i had to force it to get into the driving lane and then the power steering started to work again. then on the curve 1/4 mile after i got on the highway the road curves to the right and the steering wheel locked up again for about 2 to 3 seconds. speed was about 50 to 60 both times.. i tried later when driving home and was unable to duplicate.

While driving at speed the steering would not turn right, only left. i was able to pull off the road to the left (across opposing traffic). once off the road the situation resolved, i was able to idle home where i had the vehicle towed to the dealer.

While operating the vehicle, i encountered severe tightness from the steering wheel. disabling me to turn left or right, typically on the highway while accelerating. if i was to turn the vehicle's steering wheel for a slight curve or turn the vehicle would remain straight making the vehicle impossible to make the appropriate adjustment. vehicle was pulled to safety for a reset ( turning off the engine for 5 mins before restarting). upon accelerating the tightness of the steering wheel began, eventually causing the engine to stall.

When turning on curves steering will randomly lock and than unlock causing over steering. also when going in curves with bumps steering shakes uncomfortable until you slow done. does not do all the time just random times. i almost lost control on freeway when this happened. also when steering locked up on curve almost went into ditch than when unlocked almost went into other lane i have brought into dealership and they said nothing was wrong. but it has done this again to my husband and he almost had an accident. this has happened to both of us.*dt consumer stated she had a steering problem. 'parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).' updated 12/13/18*jb

Front end wobbles violently at speeds over 45 miles an hour, continual steering wheel input to keep the jeep in lane

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 jeep wrangler. while driving approximately 60 mph and making a right turn, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned and ceased to turn momentarily, which nearly caused a crash. the vehicle was taken to yark jeep(6019 west central ave, toledo, oh) where a step-by-step configuration of the steering column was performed. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 6,776.

Jeep shakes violently any time it hits a bump above 60mph so badly i have to come to a complete stop. multiple times i've nearly been rear ended trying stop to regain control of the vehicle. this is not my first wrangler i have owned 5. i know how a jeep rides. this is not a safe vehicle at all. this jeeps has nothing after market on it. i've taken to the dealer and they can't find the problem. i can't afford to trade it in. but i don't want my kids in. please investigate this before someone gets killed. others have already reported this and nothing has been done. *dt updated 11/29/18*jb

I picked my new vehicle up 18 hours ago with 5 miles on the odometer. i can report unsafe highway driving under dry and calm driving conditions. driver is required to provide excessive steering wheel input to offset the continous unexpected change in direction of the vehicle.

On 10-10-18 (15000miles) i started to experience a death wobble that was getting worse very quickly. i took it to my dealership and they had it for 31 days. they said it was a problem in one of my tires. i drove it 200 more miles and it started again. i called them back and they told me that crystler said there was no fix for it and it was still safe. as it continued to get worse, i called crystler, and they had their tech reach out to my dealership (took 3 weeks). they said they needed to install an after market stabalizer bar, which they did - and as i drove away and on to the interstate the jeep went violently out of control and i was almost hit by 4-5 other vehicles on the interstate. i was almost killled. i drove right back to the dealership and explained as i was shaking with tears from fear. this has been almost 2 months and they are refusing to give me a loaner. my responses and lack of urgency on this is beyond legal. i am not safe in a $50k brand new vehicle. please someone do something about this very soon, it isn't just jeep owners, it is whomever might be driving around them on interstates and highways.

I have approximately 6,000 miles on my brand new 2018 jl wrangler rubicon that has the mopar factory 2" lift, installed by the dealer. the mopar lift was installed appropriately, but yet the springs are curved, bent, and not straight. chrysler put out a statement that this is normal, as basically all mopar lift installed on the new jl wrangler has bent springs. this is only the beginning, because now my brand new jl wrangler has death wobble. if you are in a vehicle that has death wobble, you would know why they call it death wobble. at varying speeds, mostly in the 35 to 45mph range, a small bump on the road causes the steering wheel and the tires to violently and uncontrollably go back and forth. the only way to stop this is to brake and slow down quickly. as you can imagine, if someone in front of you brakes suddenly, it can be very dangerous. the dealership will not fix the lift as they say curved springs are normal. they diagnosed the main problem to be a steering stabilizer, which is no back order. so, a company makes a defective product that puts the general public in danger, and their part to fix the problem is on back order. the steering stabilizer, according to mechanics is a band aid fix and really doesn't fix the main problem. even the "jeep guy" at the dealership indicated that it isn't a steering stabilizer.

At 11,500 miles my 2018 jl has a lot of play in the steering wheel where it feels i drift a lot and have to make multiple correcting to stay in the center of the lane. also while driving at highway speeds and hitting a bump, the steering wheel shakes for up to 15 seconds long. it appears to be called the "death wobble." this is my wife's vehicle and she does not want to drive it anymore as it is unsafe. the issue is easy to recreate.

At about 2400 miles my unlimited sahara has begun doing the jeep death wobble when speeds are over 50 mph and a small bump is hit i have taken it to the dealership twice and they told me it is safe to drive and they replaced the steering damper. the problem is still happening and there is so much play in the steering wheel that i do not feel safe driving my brand new jeep ... it is all over the road at highway speeds requires constant correction in steering when a small bump is hit on side roads at low speeds car feels like it is going to fall apart i have owned wranglers in the past and have never had this happen and never felt unsafe *dt *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 jeep wrangler. shortly after owning the vehicle, it experienced the "death wobble". hemet chrysler dodge jeep ram (240 carriage cir, hemet, ca 92545, (951) 225-4217)indicated that this was a normal condition and test drove the vehicle more than once. the vehicle was supposed to be repaired per nhtsa campaign number: 18v675000 (structure), but the dealer could not locate a failure and declined the repair. the contact later received another notice for the same recall campaign. the dealer indicated that they were waiting for the manufacturer's guidelines to service the vehicle. the contact had been waiting for the repair for weeks. the contact was provided a loaner vehicle. the manufacturer was contacted. the failure mileage was not available. parts distribution disconnect.

My jl currently has 11,500 miles. everything was fine driving highway speeds up to 75 mph until i hit 11k miles. one day, i went over a bridge seam at 75 and the steering began to violently shake back and forth to the point it was hard to control. i let up on the gas, and it didn't go away until i was down to around 30 mph. as i was in the middle of a busy morning commute i put on my flashers to slow down as i watched all of the cars behind me almost crash trying to slow down. when it stopped i pulled over one lane with everyone passing me really upset. like i said, i drove 11k miles with no problems at all. now since that happened it happens every time i hit a bump doing 65 mph. i brought it to the dealer and they checked the tire pressure but found nothing else wrong. i had read about the 'death wobble" and asked about that but all played dumb. also, since that has happened i am feeling the drifting in the steering wheel that other are complaining about. this is extremely upsetting after paying good money to not be able to drive safely over 60 mph. i am not letting my wife or anyone drive the vehicle and would love to just bring it back.

I have had the steering dampener replaced 3 times, and the fix has not corrected the shimmy in the steering on the highway. this is very dangerous when it happens, as i have to slow down completely on the interstate.

At highway speeds my steering will shimmy violently, until slowed down tremendously or completely stopped

Vehicle shakes uncontrollably back and forth after hitting bump or change in pavement height at highway speed (60 to 70 mph). this started after roughly 2800 miles (6 weeks of ownership). this causes a loss of steering control and feeling that driver will lose control of vehicle. this has happened 4 times in last six days. vehicle was taken to dealer who says they cannot find problem or recreate this loss of steering control. after hitting bump yesterday the only thing that stopped back and forth shaking was to pull to side of interstate highway. this situation is extremely dangerous. while this loss of steering control and shaking does not occur at slower speeds (yet), i believe this vehicle is completely unsafe to drive and will eventually cause a serious crash if it cannot be fixed.

When traveling at speeds above 60 mph and a bump is hit or a bridge is crossed, the steering wheel, front tires, and front of the truck vibrates violently. two steering dampers have been put on the jeep which reduces the shaking for a short period of time before it returns.

The steering has a dead spot in the center which causes wandering in the lane and over correction at 40 mph and up to highway speeds. this causes unsafe lane keeping on country roads as well as highway and interstate travel. both my wife and i have nearly side swiped vehicles and close calls in oncoming traffic. the dealer in my location says it's normal behavior but the ability to stay in my lane is not safe in any way.

Vehicle is impossible to keep on the road. steering has so much play i have almost struck the guard rails and/or other adjacent vehicles. especially acute at highway speeds. fca has refused to admit a severe safety issue exists despite thousands of complaints on blogs and online forums. there is 1 - 2 inches or more of play in steering that requires fatiguing attention while driving to keep the vehicle in its lane. shocking fca has not had a recall despite online posts with fixes / adjustments to the steering box that have solved the issue. dealers refuse to make the adjustment because it i not authorized by fca. please get involved before serious accidents occur. i just saw a recall was issued for steering on this model due to poor factory welds to the track bar. this is a separate but still serious safety control issue. this happens (noticeable) traveling above 30 miles per hour. fca is in denial -help!!! they will not make the adjustment at the dealer.

While in motion at up to 50 mph, on city streets, esc warning light and contact dealer message lit up on dashboard. steering requires numerous corrections to stay on path in lane.

The steering has too much play and does not respond well. it becomes worse at highway speeds. it is very hard to control because it will drift then may over correct when you steer to maintain your lane. it has done this since day one.

Extremely loose steering which makes it nearly impossible to control. at highway speeds, it's absolutely dangerous. my wife is so scared she won't even drive it. there is constant correcting and if the road isn't perfectly flat, you'll have to hold the steering wheel at the 10:00 or 2:00 to keep the vehicle straight. imagine doing this on the interstate at 70mph. i'm a 10yr plus wrangler owner and i love them, but i'm getting rid of this thing if jeep doesn't address it.

I have not had an issue with the faulty track bar weld as of yet, but i am absolutely not driving until a fix/replacement has occurred. i have 3 children and i have to think about their safety and mine. i cannot imagine how this problem can be satisfactorily fixed. obviously cannot put a band aid on it

My vin is listed under ua5 recall about the track bar welds. i feel very uncomfortable about the possibility the welds are weak or not done properly and possibly break off. i have not heard back from jeep/chrysler/fca at all. after contacting the dealership, they had not idea this was an issue. i'm not concerned about the steering wheel feeling 'loose' as others say. the play doesn't bother me. but the weld issue is a concern. i looked at them visually but i'm no expert. while they don't look clean i don't know if they're structurally sound.

Recently purchased a new 2018 jeep wrangler jl unlimited sport 4 door. lately, i have been drifting off lane to the right. i have to correct my lane adjustments and i am not exactly sure why. vehicle has less than 600 miles and already drifting?! there has to be an issue with the vehicle.

Got a recall notice (ua5) for a brand new 2018 jeep wrangler jl regarding possible bad frame welds. dealerships do not have instructions about how to inspect the welds or what to do if an issue is found. no clear way to determine if the vehicle is safe to drive without an inspection that the dealerships don't seem capable of performing.

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 jeep wrangler. while driving 65 mph, the steering seized. the vehicle was taken to liberty chrysler dodge jeep ram fiat (1101 e omaha st, rapid city, sd 57701, 605-343-1000) where it was diagnosed that the steering column failed. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 6,200. the vin was not available.