NHTSA complaint #11509292

Owner complaint summary

On January 2, 2023, at about 4:00 PM I encountered the ‘Death Wobble’ while driving in my 2020 Jeep Wrangler (2-door) VIN: [XXX], purchased from Dave Smith Motors, Kellogg, ID on about 7/17/2020. I was driving North on I-15 about 10 miles South of Nephi, UT. I was traveling in the left lane at Freeway speeds (75-80 mph) when the front of the vehicle commenced to shake violently. My first thought was that both front tires had blown, although I did not observe any obstacles on the wet driving lanes. My second thought was, how do I get out of these mess without causing a major accident on that very busy stretch of Freeway holiday traffic? I, of course, braked and pulled to the left in an attempt to avoid getting rear-ended and immediately encountered snow and ice on the left shoulder and then on the ground adjacent to the Freeway. I managed to get off the Freeway, but continued to fishtail, almost losing control on the snow and ice. Eventually the vehicle ended up in a sideways slide perpendicular to the Freeway with the front of the vehicle aimed at the Freeway and heavy TRAFFIC! At that point I had no control over the vehicle as it continued to slide sideways headed for a huge drainage ditch. Luckily, we stopped before the precipice. I scrambled out of the vehicle as soon as it stopped sliding to see what had happened to the front end of the Jeep. There was no obvious damage, the tires were not flat, and I couldn’t figure out what had happened. I have now received a NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS SETTLEMNT, that upon further research informs me that 2020 Jeep Wranglers have a manufacture defect that causes the ‘Death Wobble’ in precisely the conditions that existed with me. “…2020 Jeep Wranglers …have a front suspension steering damper defect that causes the steering wheel and front suspension of the vehicle to shake after contact with a bumpy road surface at highway speed.” I was not aware of the Manufacturer's defect. The JEEP is unsafe!! INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).