Chrysler and NHTSA dismiss “Jeep Death Wobble” as a serious defect

Houston Jeep Wrangler injury lawyers remark that two U.S. Congressmen are asking Chrysler to take action on a Jeep Wrangler design flaw after the U.S. NHTSA has already said that the issue does not warrant a full investigation or recall. The issue, dubbed the “Jeep Death Wobble” by vehicle owners and pundits, cause the Jeep to shimmy visibly and vibrate with such force that drivers have difficulty controlling the vehicle. (Source: Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., 7/11/12)

The Jeep Death Wobble is linked to the vehicle’s contact with bumps or irregularities in the road at speeds of 60 mph or more. Considering that the Jeep Wrangler is marketed as something of an “off road” vehicle, the issue seems problematical at best. The whole point of off-roading is to enjoy the adventure of challenging, bumpy, irregular terrain.

The Houston Jeep Wrangler injury lawyers at Denena & Points feel we should point out that while the strong vibration and shimmy has been linked to several injuries and has been the number of more than 400 reports to the NHTSA, the Jeep Death Wobble has not actually killed anyone yet. This is part of the reason why the NHTSA won’t take strong action on the problem and Chrysler hasn’t actually recalled Jeep Wrangler for this flaw yet.

The “Pitman Arms” decision, relating to pitman arms that could break in the 1959-60 Cadillac and cause a loss of steering control, set the standard for the NHTSA on what sort of vehicle safety issue might warrant official designation as a “defect” worthy of thorough investigation and recall. In the Pitman Arms case, the issue led to no known deaths and breakage of the pitman arms mostly occurred in older vehicles at very slow speeds in parking lots. So the vehicle problem was not seen as a substantial safety issue.

Chrysler has issued several Technical Service Bulletins to its dealers telling them how to diagnose and repair the Jeep Wrangler vibration issue. And the company advices drivers that encounter the problem that it has an easy fix: apply the brakes and slow down. Jeep Wranglers point out, and rightly so, that suddenly braking one’s vehicle on the highway can cause accidents and injuries.

But until the Jeep Death Wobble actually causes a death, our Houston Jeep Wrangler injury lawyers point out that the safety problem remains sidelined. It seems unconscionable that a serious safety problem should have to lead to fatal injury before it will be recognized. After all, isn’t it the job of the NHTSA to see to highway and vehicle safety and work to mitigate known hazards?

The name of the Jeep safety problem is reminiscent of the “Harley Death Wobble” linked to a strong shimmy in certain touring bikes as they approach speeds of 70 mph or more. Because the Harley is an inherently less stable two-wheeled vehicle, the Harley Death Wobble actually does present a strong risk of fatal injury should the biker lose control when the wobble occurs. But Harley Davidson largely ignores the problem.

So we suppose it would be surprising to expect Chrysler to jump in with major safety concern where Harley does not. Chrysler chooses to blame the Jeep Death Wobble on after-market axles and doesn’t formally address the issue. So your driving skills remain the primary safety countermeasure for this vehicle defect. Learn what to do after a serious injury accident caused by the Jeep Death Wobble. Download our Houston Jeep Wrangler injury lawyers’ free book on the essential elements of a successful car injury claim from this web page.