Problems · by component

1999 Jeep Cherokee steering problems

75 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1999 Jeep Cherokee cite steering, 4% of all 2,004 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
75
4% of all complaints
Crashes
8
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
7
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the steering

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“LATELY I BEEN HAVING TROUBLE STARTIMG THE JEEP. AT FIRST IT SEEMS AS IF THE BATTERY IS LOW. SOUNDS LIKE IT WONT START BUT THEN IT SLOWLY PICKS UP AND STARTS IF I PRESS THE GAS. I CHANGED BATTERY BUT STILL HAVING TROUBLE. BUT ONCE ITS ON AND RUNNING IT SEEMS FINE. I ALSO HAVE A STEERING PROBLEM. TRUCK SEEMS TO PULL TO THE LEFT”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 26, 2020Steering, Electrical system, WheelsODI 11322265
“MY JEEP VIOLENTLY SHAKES WHEN I'M DRIVING SPEEDS OF 50+ AND IT IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW HIGHWAYS AND FREEWAYS ARE SPEEDS BETWEEN 55 AND 70 AND I CANNOT DRIVE OVER 50. THE OTHER DAY IT STARTED TO SHAKE SO BAD THAT I HAD TO PULL OVER AND ALMOST HIT THE CEMENT GUARD RAIL. I HAVE TO TRANSPORT MY GRANDCHILDREN FROM TIME TO TIME AND GOD FORBID ANYTHING HAPPEN TO THEM CHRYSLER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE. I HAVE DONE RESEARCH AND THIS ISSUE IS CALLED THE DEATH WOBBLE AND IS THE PERFECT NAME FOR IT. THEY NEED TO DO A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. PLEASE MAKE CHRYSLER DO THE RIGHT THING AND FIX THIS PROBLEM.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 13, 2016Steering, Suspension, WheelsODI 10884590
“OUT OF KNOW WHERE THE ENGINE JUST STARTED KNOCKING, AND THE SMELL OF GAS AND THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED ACTING OUT OF CONTROL. I HAD TO PARK IT AND GET ANOTHER CAR. BUT I STILL HAVE IT BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE MY JEEP!”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 27, 2015Steering, Electronic stability control (esc), EngineODI 10744069
“HIT A BUMP OR POT HOLE OR A MAN COVER AT 45 MPH AND THE CAR STARTS TO SHAKE AND GOES OUT OF CONTROL. ALMOST BEEN HIT OVER 5 TIMES BECAUSE I HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO STOP THE ISSUE. TIRES A NEW AND I'VE BEEN TO THE SHOP THEY SAY EVERYTHING GOOD FOR SAFETY INSPECTIONS BUT IT'S NOT GOOD. IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT JEEP IS JUST TRY TO KILL IT'S CAR DRIVERS I WON'T HAVE BUY THE THING.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 25, 2015SteeringODI 10743434
“MY 1999 JEEP CHEROKEE SHAKES VIOLENTLY AT SPEEDS OVER 50 MPH WHEN I HIT A SLIGHT UNEVENNESS IN THE ROAD. I'VE HAD MY JEEP INSPECTED BY A JEEP DEALER, PAID TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM, AND IT STILL REMAINS. THIS IS A WELL-DOCUMENTED, REPEATED ISSUE, THAT I, AND MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED, DRIVING JEEPS. IT'S BEEN REPORTED ON BY BOTH ABC NEWS (HTTP://ABC7NEWS.COM/ARCHIVE/8768540/) AND FOX NEWS (HTTP://WWW.FOXNEWS.COM/LEISURE/2012/07/09/WHAT-NEED-TO-KNOW-ABOUT-JEEP-DEATH-WOBBLE/) AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY CHRYSLER IN A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN. I WENT TO MY LOCAL JEEP DEALERSHIP, CHRYSLER TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN IN-HAND, SPENT $1,000 TO REPLACE MY ENTIRE STEERING SYSTEM AT THEIR BEHEST TO CORRECT WHAT THEY CLAIMED WAS CAUSING THE VIOLENT SHAKING I EXPERIENCED WHEN DRIVING MY JEEP ON THE HIGHWAY, ONLY TO FIND, POST-REPAIR, AFTER HITTING A MINOR SEAM ON THE HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF 52 MPH, THAT THE "DEATH WOBBLE" WAS WORSE THAN EVER, AND MY JEEP WAS TOTALLY UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THE FACT THAT NO ONE HAS DIED YET FROM LOSING CONTROL WHEN THEIR JEEP STARTS VIOLENTLY SHAKING WHILE THEY'RE SPEEDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY (THAT WE CAN PROVE) DUE TO AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW IN THESE VEHICLES…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 30, 2015Steering, Structure, WheelsODI 10713762
“1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE FRONT END SHAKE "DEATH WOBBLE" HE EXPERIENCED. *SMD THE CONSUMER IS SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT, FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING DAMPER, TIE ROD END, AND THE UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS. *JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 29, 2014SteeringODI 10637911

Showing 6 of 75 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.