2008 JEEP WRANGLER Complaints

IN MAY 2014 I PURCHASES A USED JEEP FROM A DEALER IN KERNERSVILLE, NC AND EXPERIENCED ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS ARE MANUFACTURE ISSUES: -LIGHTING: WE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TAILLIGHT BULBS ON BOTH SIDES TWICE SINCE PURCHASE (LESS THAN A YEAR AGO). THESE LIGHTS CONSTANTLY HOLD WATER AND WE HAVE TO EMPTY THEM REPEATEDLY AND THE WATER NEVER SEEMS TO EMPTY COMPLETELY. THESE LIGHTS ALSO SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY WIRING AS THEY DO NOT ALWAYS ILLUMINATE DESPITE AN EFFECTIVE BULB. WE TOOK IT IN FOR REPAIRS UNDER OUR PURCHASED WARRANTY AND THE DEALERSHIP STATES THERE IS WATER DAMAGE DUE TO INSUFFICIENT WIRE PROTECTION. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING AS WATER IS AN EXCELLENT CONDUCTOR OF ELECTRICITY. REGARDLESS OF THE USED CONDITION OF THE CAR I SEE NO REASON WHY THIS SHOULD BE THE CASE AS WIRING SEEMS VERY MUCH LIKE A MANUFACTURE ONLY RESPONSIBILITY. -WHEELS: THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED WITH ALL ORIGINAL WHEELS (NOT TIRES) AND THE VALVE STEMS ON EACH WHEEL HAVE DISINTEGRATED COMPLETELY AND CRUMBLED APART. WE REALIZED THIS WHEN THE LOW AIR LIGHT CAME ON AND WE WENT TO FILL THE TIRES THIS ISSUE SEEMS TO EFFECT HOW WELL THE TIRES CAN HOLD AIR. -SPEEDOMETER: ORIGINALLY WHEN WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE THE SPEEDOMETER WAS OFF BY ABOUT 10MPH (WE DID NOT KNOW THIS UNTIL DRIVING TWO SEPARATE CARS AND THINKING "HMM IS THE OTHER DRIVER REALLY SPEEDING THAT MUCH?" CALL ONE ANOTHER ON THE PHONE AND DETERMINED THE SUBARU WOULD DRIVE 60MPH AND SEE WHAT SPEED THE JEEP CLAIMED TO BE DRIVING WHEN MATCHED. WE HAD THIS ISSUE "FIXED" ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO AND NOW IT IS EVEN WORSE. UPON DOING THE SAME SPEED TEST THE JEEP WAS NOW 12MPH OVER WHAT IT SHOULD BE. OTHER ISSUES NON-RESOLVED BY DEALERSHIP: RATTLING SOUND NEAR CLUTCH, LESS THAN AWESOME BRAKING, AND A TIRE LIGHT THAT WILL NOT GO OFF NO MATTER WHAT ACTIONS ARE TAKEN. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK ON A STATE HIGHWAY, EVEN THOUGH POSTED SPEED LIMIT WAS 65MPH, TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AND I WAS FORCED TO SLOW DOWN TO AROUND 50 TO 53 MPH. WHEN SPEEDING BACK UP TO 55 MPH MY JEEP SAHARA SHOOK VIOLENTLY AND UNCONTROLLABLY, I THOUGHT MY VEHICLE WAS GOING TO SHAKE APART, I HIT THE BRAKES AND WENT DOWN TO 50 MPH (THANK GOD NO ONE WAS CLOSE BEHIND ME AND DID NOT HIT ME) AND THE SHAKING/WOBBLE STOPPED. AS TRAFFIC PICKED BACK UP AND I WAS ABLE TO SPEED UP TO 60 MPH, THERE WAS NO REAL PROBLEM (A SLIGHT SHAKE AS I PAST 55 MPH), BUT AS SOON AS I HAD TO SLOW DOWN TO 55 MPH THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE/WOBBLE UNCONTROLLABLY AGAIN. IT APPEARS IF I ACCELERATE FROM 0 TO 55 MPH I GET THE VIOLENT SHAKING/WOBBLING BUT IF I GO FROM 0 TO 60-65 MPH, I DO NOT REALLY EXPERIENCE THE VIOLENT UNCONTROLLABLY SHAKING, JUST A SLIGHT SHAKE AT THE 55 MPH GOING TO 60-65 MPH. IF I SLOW DOWN FROM 60-65 MPH TO 55 MPH I GET THAT SAME VIOLENT UNCONTROLLABLE SHAKING/WOBBLING. THIS HAPPENS EVERYDAY - NOT RANDOMLY! I FOUND EVEN ON NON-HIGHWAYS, WHERE SPEED LIMITS THAT ALLOW 55 MPH, I GET THE SAME VIOLENT SHAKING. THIS IS MY ONLY VEHICLE AND I DEPEND ON IT TO GET TO AND FROM WORK EVERY WEEKDAY. I HAVE READ THE FORUMS AND I HAVE CHECKED THE TIRE PRESSURE, IT HAS NO EFFECT ON THE SHAKING/WOBBLING. I HAVE NEVER TAKEN IT OFF-ROAD, I DON'T EVEN PUT IT IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE. MY SON HAS HIS OWN JEEP THAT HE HAS WORK ON FOR YEARS AND HE LOOKED AT MY JEEP (THINGS LIKE STEERING COMPONENTS, BALL JOINTS, TIRES, STEERING DAMPER, ETC.) ALL THE THINGS JEEP OWNERS HAVE POSTED ON THESE FORUMS AND HAVE PAID DEARLY FOR AT THE DEALERSHIP AND EVERYTHING SEEMS OK. I RECENTLY FOUND FROM A JEEP FORUM THAT THIS IS CALLED THE 'DEATH WOBBLE'. *TR

TYPICAL "DEATH WOBBLE" THAT I WAS UNAWARE OF UNTIL RESEARCHING THIS MORNING. VERY SCARY AND WITH ONLY 25,000 MILES AN NO OFF ROADING ON THIS JEEP, THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AND CERTAINLY NOT SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY TO REPAIR! *TR

MY JEEP WILL RANDOMLY SQUIRT WIPER FLUID, LOCK AND UNLOCK DOORS, HONK HORN, TURN OFF AND ON HEADLIGHTS, ETC. ALL THINGS THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY THE ELECTRONIC SYSTEM. I NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN AND IT DIFFERS EACH TIME, BUT I AM WORRIED THAT IT IS BEGINNING TO HAPPEN MORE FREQUENTLY AND WILL HAPPEN WHEN I AM ON A HIGHWAY - IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE DANGEROUS. DUE TO ALL OF THE OTHER COMPLAINTS I HAVE SEEN ABOUT IT FROM JEEP OWNERS OF MY YEAR AND THE RECALL ON PREVIOUS CHRYSLER'S DUE TO THE TIPM, A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ISSUED FOR THESE. *TR

VARIOUS DASH LIGHTS TURN ON AND BACK OFF AFTER A COUPLE OF SECONDS. I HAD THE PROBLEM IN AUG. 2013, AND THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE CLOCK SPRING FOR $550. LESS THAN TWO YEARS LATER, AND THE PROBLEM HAS RESURFACED. VERY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE THAT ONLY THE 2008 RHD WERE RECALLED.

I HAVE HAD MY BRAKE LINES, AND CALIPERS REPLACED TWICE DUE TO THE FRONT TIRES RUBBING THE BRAKE LINES WHEN TIRES ARE TURNED TO MAX CAPACITY. THE BRAKE LINES WEAR THOUGH AND LEAK FLUID ONTO CALIPERS, PADS, ROTORS, ETC. CAUSING THEM DAMAGE. MY TIRES ARE THE STOCK SIZE AND NO MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN DONE BESIDES REPLACING TIRES DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR, BUT AGAIN, TIRES ARE STOCK SIZE. I HAVE SPENT OVER $1200 DUE TO THIS ISSUE. *TR

AIR BAG WARMING LIGHT IS CONSTANTLY ON AND FLASHES AND CHIMES WHILE BEGIN DRIVEN. I WAS TOLD IT WAS A MALFUNCTIONING AIRBAG SENSOR IN THE STEERING COLUMN AND THAT THEY HAVE SEEN MANY OF THESE CASES IN THE JEEP WRANGLER "JK" AND THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THE MODEL YEAR 2007 BUT NOT FOR ANY OF THE NEWER MODEL YEARS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 JEEP WRANGLER. WHILE DRIVING 45 TO 65 MPH, THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE SHOOK VIOLENTLY OUT OF CONTROL AND CAUSED THE SUSPENSION TO BECOME UNSTABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIRES NEEDED TO BE BALANCED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO REPLACED THE STEERING DAMPER, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED TWO DAYS AFTER THE REPAIR WAS PERFORMED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

ON THE 2008 JEEP WRANGLER (LHD) DASHBOARD, THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT FLASHES ON EVERY OTHER MINUTE WITH A CHIME, AN INDICATION THAT THERE IS SOMETHING MALFUNCTIONING OR INTERFERING WITH THE VEHICLE'S AIRBAGS.THIS HAS BEEN A RECURRING ISSUE AND CONCERN FOR MANY 2008 JEEP WRANGLER (LHD) OWNERS, INCLUDING MYSELF, AND HAS BEEN SHOWN TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO BE CAUSED BY A FAULTY CLOCKSPRING WITHIN THE VEHICLE'S STEERING WHEEL. THIS FAULTY CLOCKSPRING IS THE CULPRIT FOR POTENTIAL AIRBAG FAILURE IN THE 2008 JEEP WRANGLER (LHD) DURING AN ACCIDENT OR PREMATURE DEPLOYMENT WHEN SIMPLY DRIVING AROUND. DAIMLER CHRYSLER HAS REFUSED TO ADDRESS THE SAFETY CONCERN OF THEIR FAULTY CLOCKSPRING THAT CAN CAUSE FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE'S AIRBAGS FROM PROPERLY DEPLOYING. *JS

HIT A SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THIS CAUSED VIOLENT VIBRATIONS IN THE FRONT END THAT WOULDN'T STOP UNTIL I ALMOST STOPPED. IF I HADN'T HAD A GOOD GRIP ON THE WHEEL I WOULD HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THIS HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES SINCE AND AT SPEEDS AS LOW AS 55MPH. CHECKED WITH DEALER AND THEY SAID IT WOULD REQUIRE REPLACING ONE PART AT A TIME TILL THE PROBLEM IS CORRECTED. THIS WOULD BE VERY EXPENSIVE AND YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW IF IT WAS FIXED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. TWICE I WAS GOING 70 WITH A TRACTOR TRAILER CLOSE BEHIND. YESTERDAY I WAS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC IN THE MIDDLE LANE GOING 70 WITH A TRACTOR TRAILER BEHIND ME WHEN THE FRONT END STARTED TO VIBRATE AND BOUNCE. I COULDN'T GET OVER SO I HAD TO ALMOST STOP IN THE MIDDLE LANE IN RUSH HOUR ON I-10. THIS PROBLEMIS REFERRED TO AS THE DEATH WOBBLE. IT IS VERY SCARY AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT OR EVEN A ROLL OVER IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GOOD GRIP ON THE WHEEL. (VEHICLE IS NOT LIFTED & FRONT END HAD JUST BEEN ALIGNED BEFORE FIRST INCIDENT). *TR