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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. No more shaking? We'll see. Jeep |
By Sean Szymkowski, Roadshow
After numerous complaints, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles believes it has a fix for the Jeep Wrangler's
"death wobble" issue. The term, which owners use to describe steering
wheel vibrations at highway speeds, has been on the company's radar for
years, but it's since been the subject of a new lawsuit.
While the litigation is ongoing, FCA thinks it's traced the problem back to a stabilizer. The Detroit Free Press
reported last Saturday that the automaker will offer up a new steering
damper, known as a stabilizer, to remedy the problem. The newspaper
reported owners began receiving notices for the replacement part
campaign this past Friday.
Owners have long argued the "death wobble" is a major safety issue.
At highway speeds, should a driver hit a bump, the steering wheel will
reportedly shake violently. Despite the alarming owner-coined term, Jeep told the newspaper it's not aware of any deaths or injuries due to the problem.
The
automaker also maintains the issue can occur in any vehicle that boasts
a solid-front axle and the problem isn't necessarily due to a defective
part. Per Mark Chernoby, FCA's chief technical compliance officer, the
issue comes from a "combination of [the] design and manufacturing
process."
While owners will likely cheer a fix, the ongoing
lawsuit has already raised concerns about installing a new stabilizer
and called the practice a "band-aid fix." Instead, the lawsuit called on
FCA to make major revisions and repairs to the suspension. Surely,
we'll hear more about how the Wranglers behave after the first customers
receive the FCA-condoned fix.
