Update: The Martinez v. FCA was consolidated with another complaint, Reynolds et al. v. FCA. This Jeep Death Wobble lawsuit has reached settlement.
Multiple Jeep “Death Wobble” class action lawsuits were filed against Fiat Chrysler, each one covering different vehicles and model years. These Jeep lawsuits allege that certain Jeep vehicle models experience the “Death Wobble,” which is “seemingly uncontrollable side-to-side
shaking of a Jeep’s front-end steering components and – by extension – its steering
Wheel.” This presents serious safety problems to Jeep drivers and anyone else on the road.
According to the Jeep Death Wobble lawsuits, this steering shaking defect is mostly likely to occur when the Jeep Wrangler or Jeep Gladiator is driven at highway speeds above 45 miles per hour.
Martinez v. FCA Lawsuit
Melinda Martinez, who owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler, was the main plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging that the 2018–2020 Jeep Wrangler and 2020 Jeep Gladiator SUVs experience the “Death Wobble.”
According to this Jeep Death Wobble lawsuit, the defect allegedly stems from faulty solid front axles and damping systems. This can make the steering wheel vibrate violently at highway speeds.
Martinez said she was driving her 2018 Jeep Wrangler with her child when the steering wheel shook violently. She said this made her fear that she would lose control of the vehicle. She took it to a dealership in January 2020, where an employee allegedly laughed and said “the issue is known as the ‘death shake’ and ‘it happens.’” Martinez got new steering dampers afterward, but this allegedly didn’t solve the “Death Wobble” problem.
Shortly after, Martinez got new steering dampers. This did not resolve the problem.
According to the Death Wobble lawsuit, this is not unusual. Fiat Chrysler issued a Customer Satisfaction Notification V41 (CSN V41) to its dealers. CSN V41 said of the 2018-2019 Jeep Wrangler:
“The front suspension steering damper on about 192,000 of the above vehicles may not effectively damp oscillation of the steering system, resulting in a sustained shake or shimmy in the steering wheel. This can be more noticeable when driving at speeds exceeding 55 Miles Per Hour (MPH) 88 Kilometers Per hour (KPH) after contacting a bumpy road surface and in temperatures below 40° Fahrenheit (5° Celsius).”
Dealers were instructed to replace the front suspension steering damper, but Jeep Wrangler owners allegedly experienced the Death Wobble even after receiving the specified repairs.
The dampers and stabilizers are supposed to reduce vibrations in vehicles equipped with solid front axles. However, the lawsuit alleges that the death wobble causes premature loosening of the dampers, stabilizers, tie rods, control arms, track bars and ball joints.
Reynolds v FCA (Before Consolidation)
Clair Reynolds, who owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler, allegedly experienced the Jeep Death Wobble defect even after multiple attempts were made to repair the vehicle. She was the plaintiff of an old class action lawsuit representing 2015-2018 Jeep Wrangler vehicles.
Just five months after she bought the vehicle, Reynolds returned the Jeep Wrangler to the dealership for repairs. After two weeks of being in the shop, the Jeep Wrangler had its steering damper replaced. The repair records stated that the Jeep Death Wobble issue was caused by a leaking and/or weak steering damper, but even after the repair, the Wrangler experienced the issue again within a few days.
Reynolds tried to obtain an appointment at the Jeep dealership multiple times, finally getting one for February 2019. Six days later, the dealership replaced the steering damper and returned the vehicle. The Jeep Death wobble issue returned within days.
Reynolds gave the dealership a final chance to repair the vehicle, notifying Fiat Chrysler that her vehicle has an issue that “substantially impair[s] the use, value or safety of
[her] vehicle” and can “cause death or serious bodily injury.”
Reynolds had the steering damper replaced again in April 2019, making this the third time she had her steering damper replaced within a span of six months.
This version of the Reynolds v FCA states that the issue comes from the Jeep’s solid front axle design. The Jeep’s solid front axle apparently does not allow the vehicle to “absorb natural vibrations and bumps caused by driving as efficiently as an independent suspension system.” That’s why the steering damper or steering stabilizer is needed; it helps reduce impact of these vibrations and bumps to the operator.
Otherwise, these vibrations and forces could cause steering components to prematurely loosen or become damaged. These steering components include the front track bar, ball joints, tie rods, control arms, and stabilizers.
Jeep Death Wobble Class Action Lawsuit
The consolidated Jeep Death Wobble lawsuit covers owners, lessees and former owners of 2018-2020 Jeep Wrangler and/or 2020 Jeep Gladiator SUVs. According to the lawsuit, the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator owners wanted Fiat Chrysler to repurchase the vehicles. Reynolds and Martinez, the main plaintiffs, said these vehicles were dangerous to drive.
Fiat Chrysler responded by claiming that since Jeep vehicles are used for off-roading, it requires a solid front axle to handle those driving conditions. It claimed that any vibration issues that came from driving at highway speeds could be corrected just by driving slower.
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