Illustration2004 JEEP RUBICON BALL JOINT FAILURE. *TR
2004 Jeep Wrangler
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2004 Jeep Wrangler do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 265.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Wrangler years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
470–25K
4525–50K
3450–75K
1875–100K
17100–150K
3150K+
164 reports with mileage · 28 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 67 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 59 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 26 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
17 crash reports7 fire reports9 injury reports
Suspension complaints
59 reports2004 JEEP WRANGLER WITH A VIOLENT VIBRATION. CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE VIBRATION AND SHAKING BEGAN WHEN SHE WENT OVER SOME UNEVEN PAVEMENT ON THE HIGHWAY. MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE TRACK BAR AND STEERING DAMPER NEED TO BE REPLACED. *KB *JB
MY 2004 JEEP WRANGLER HAS DEVELOPED WHAT I LATER FOUND OUT IS KNOWN TO JEEP DRIVERS AS THE "DEATH WOBBLE." AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE FRONT END BEGINS TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. ONCE THE OSCILLATIONS START, THE VEHICLE BECOMES DIFFICULT TO STEER AND MUST BE BROUGHT TO A FULL STOP FOR THEM TO GO AWAY. VERY DANGEROUS ON THE FREEWAY SURR…
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MY 2004 JEEP WRANGLER HAS DEVELOPED WHAT I LATER FOUND OUT IS KNOWN TO JEEP DRIVERS AS THE "DEATH WOBBLE." AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE FRONT END BEGINS TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. ONCE THE OSCILLATIONS START, THE VEHICLE BECOMES DIFFICULT TO STEER AND MUST BE BROUGHT TO A FULL STOP FOR THEM TO GO AWAY. VERY DANGEROUS ON THE FREEWAY SURROUNDED BY OTHER TRAFFIC. THIS IS AN ENTIRELY UNMODIFIED, STOCK SUSPENSION WITH LESS THAN 20K MILES ON THE VEHICLE. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, WHO COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, BUT SUGGESTED I REPLACE THE POWER STEERING PUMP. I HAD THE VEHICLE ALIGNED AND THE TIRES ROTATED, BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUED. THIS IS A MUCH MORE VIOLENT AND UNCONTROLLABLE SHAKE THAN WHAT IS CAUSED BY OUT OF BALANCE TIRES OR WARPED BRAKE ROTORS. I TOOK THE JEEP TO A SHOP SPECIALIZING IN 4X4 SUSPENSION. THEY MENTIONED THAT THE PROBLEM USUALLY OCCURS WHEN A VEHICLE IS IMPROPERLY LIFTED OR MODIFIED, BUT THEY HAD SEEN AN INCREASED INSTANCE OF LATER MODEL STOCK WRANGLERS EXPERIENCING IT. THEY REPLACED THE BUSHINGS IN THE FRONT END COMPONENTS, BUT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THERE. A SEARCH OF THE INTERNET SHOWS THAT MANY WRANGLER DRIVERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM ON STOCK VEHICLES. NO MECHANIC HAS BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING OBVIOUSLY WRONG, WHICH SUGGESTS A DESIGN DEFECT. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE THIS CAR ON THE FREEWAY, AND CAN NOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SELL IT TO ANOTHER PERSON. *JB
VEHICLE HITS A BUMP WHILE DRIVING AND SHIMMIED ALMOST TO THE POINT OF HAVING TO STOP VEHICLE. THIS WAS ON A JEEP SAHARA 2004 MODEL WITH 40,000 MILES.I HAD WHEELS BALANCED OVER AND OVER AGAIN SINCE JANUARY. *AK
VEHICLE GOES INTO A VIOLENT SHAKE (SHIMMY, VIBE, WOBBLE) WHEN THERE IS ANY CHANGE IN ROADWAY CONDITION (BUMP, LIP, HOLE, UNEVEN ROADWAY). MY JEEP HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED IN ANYWAY. I HAVE HAD THE TIRES ROTATED AND BALANCED. IN ADDITION MY SEAT BELT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE AND FRONT PASSENGER BELT BOTH CATCH IN THE DOOR - THEY DO NOT…
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VEHICLE GOES INTO A VIOLENT SHAKE (SHIMMY, VIBE, WOBBLE) WHEN THERE IS ANY CHANGE IN ROADWAY CONDITION (BUMP, LIP, HOLE, UNEVEN ROADWAY). MY JEEP HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED IN ANYWAY. I HAVE HAD THE TIRES ROTATED AND BALANCED. IN ADDITION MY SEAT BELT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE AND FRONT PASSENGER BELT BOTH CATCH IN THE DOOR - THEY DO NOT RETRACT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM FOR 5 MONTHS. *AK
VEHICLE WILL ENTER INTO A VIOLENT WOBBLE AND SHAKE WHEN HITTING A BUMP AT HIGHWAY SPEED. VIOLENT SHAKING DOES NOT STOP UNTIL SPEED IS REDUCED TO UNDER 20 MPH. HAD WHEELS ROTATED AND BALANCED, WHEELS ALIGNED. CHECKED ALL TIE RODS, BALL JOINTS, AND LINKAGE WITH NO NOTICEABLE WEAR. DEATH WOBBLE STILL PRESENT. *JB
FIRST OFF YOU NEED TO DO A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR 'DEATH WOBBLE'. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM. IT IS GETTING WORSE AND I AM AFRAID FOR MY WIFE TO DRIVE THE JEEP. "DEATH WOBBLE".. THE DEATH WOBBLE IS BASICALLY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING YOUR JEEP DOWN THE ROAD AND THE FRONT END STARTS TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. IT CAN HAPPEN AT VIRT…
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FIRST OFF YOU NEED TO DO A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR 'DEATH WOBBLE'. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM. IT IS GETTING WORSE AND I AM AFRAID FOR MY WIFE TO DRIVE THE JEEP. "DEATH WOBBLE".. THE DEATH WOBBLE IS BASICALLY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING YOUR JEEP DOWN THE ROAD AND THE FRONT END STARTS TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. IT CAN HAPPEN AT VIRTUALLY ANY SPEED, THOUGH MOSTLY ABOVE 40 MPH OR SO, AND IS A FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITNESSING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT IS TO SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER. IT SEEMS TO GET MORE AND MORE OUT OF CONTROL. OUR JEEP IS A 2004 WRANGLER WITH ONLY 17,000 MILES. WE HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM SINCE 5,000 MILES OR SO. JEEP NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. *NM
I WAS DRIVING MY 2004 JEEP LIBERTY WHEN MY BALL JOINT BROKE ON PASSENGER SIDE. I TOOK IT INTO DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE OTHER SIDE HAD TO BE REPLACED ALSO,IT WAS AT MAXIMUM TOLERANCE. I'M VERY CONCERNED FOR OTHERS THAT HAVE THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE I WAS LUCKY THAT MY GRANDCHILD AND I WEREN'T KILLED. *JB
JUST STARTED WITH POWER LOSS FROM SHOW ROOM FLOOR,CAM REPLACED LIFTERS REPLACED BREAKS STICKING TO THE POINT WHERE THE JEEP IS HARD TO MOVE SAYS IT IS BECAUSE OF RUST USED DAYLY,TIMING OUT 15 DEGREES FRONT AND REAR DIF LEAKING WITH METAL SHAVINGS INSIDE MECHANIC SAYS DANA PROBLEM GRINDING RIGHT FRONT AXEL NOISE. *NM
Official recalls
104V048000 · Equipment:other:labels
Feb 3, 2004
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, DUE TO A RECENT SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING ERROR, THE TIRE, WHEEL, AND INFLATION PRESSURE INFORMATION WAS INADVERTENTLY OMITTED FROM THE VEHICLE CERTIFICATION LABEL.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THE VEHICLE OWNER WOULD NOT BE AWARE OF THE TIRE, WHEEL, AND INFLATION PRESSURE INFORMATION FOR THEIR VEHICLE.
Remedy: OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A CORRECTED TIRE CERTIFICATION LABEL. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON MARCH 1, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.