First time buyer. Concerned about death wobble. Need advice.

Hi guys,

I have my eyes set on a 2009 limited edition Rock Am Ring Jimny model. I am a first time car buyer and don't know much about cars but I've been doing my research into Jimny and realized there is this nasty death wobble issue.

I checked out the comprehensive wiki page and read the Suzuki Service Bulletin that explains how to remedy this issue for select models.

I really would love to buy this car but the death wobble is a serious deal breaker.

So, I was wondering if this problem happens with just 2009 models or rather all Jimnies?

Since many people here actually modify their Jimnies I was also wondering what are the chances of experiencing a death wobble when using a stock Jimny?

I was really surprised to discover this issue by an accident. I saw many car owner's reviews on YouTube. Read dozens of Jimny owner's review in text online. Mostly people are happy and say the car is pretty reliable. All of its shortcomings and limitations are always mentioned and I was mentally prepared to deal with all of that but nobody mentioned the death wobble issues. My impression is that many people do not experience it yet when I read this forum many do.

I feel like buying this car is going to be a gamble. I would hate to spend the money on a car with a serious issue like this. I was hoping to get some more clarity on what I would be getting into buying a 2009 Jimny. My intention is to keep it pretty in much in stock condition. Maybe a little more off-road oriented tires but nothing crazy like larger size or extremely knobby tires, which I learned exacerbates the death wobble issue tremendously.

I really like the car and its off-road capabilities. It seems just perfect for our purposes of going to mountains on weekends. But the death wobble... it's just a deal breaker.

Am I misreading all the information? Or is the problem quite real and there's a high chance that it will affect my possible future 2009 Jimny as well?

PS: I attached a picture of the car that I'm considering. You can see the fitted wheels and tires. Do they look okay, in terms of avoiding/causing a death wobble, to you?

I always see "death wobble" as a way to get a bargain price. But you have to be prepared to put the work in to cure it.

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Firstly and most importantly, "death wobble" is only an indication that there are problems with the hardware around the font of the car. It is not an inherent problem with the car, it can be resolved.

There are so many factors that can contribute to steering wobble, if you've read the wiki article, you'll see that all of them are relatively small and routine maintenance jobs. Rod ends, bearings, tyre balance and so on...... all bits that wear and deteriorate and should be replaced if worn.

If the car has a severe wobble between 40-50mph, don't buy it, move on and view the next one.

I would recommend a steering damper on all Jimnys, it tightens the steering up and stops it being so twitchy, even Suzuki have decided to fit them on the new model as standard equipment. They really do make that much difference. £75 and no time at all to fit, maybe 15mins....

The year of the car is not an issue, mileage and service history can hint towards a well kept car. Off roading is harder on all the failure points, so a pavement princess inner city car, might be a better choice.....

sniper

I'm a farmer and I use my Jimny off road every day and I look at a service life on the kingpin bearings of about 2 years. My other Jimny is essentially a road car and I expect to get around 4 years to a set of the bearings. This is based on me being particularly sensitive to steering wobble and changing components at the slightest hint of wear. What I'm trying to say is that death wobble isn't a massive problem and once fixed tends to stay fixed for a goodly amount of time. Also don't forget that forum's are a focal point of any little thing that can affect any car and they also attract people looking for solutions not necessarily the vast majority of owners who are having a fault free ownership.

Death wobble is not as common as the internet would have you believe. The chassis design of the Jimny of and other similar 4x4s is more sensitive to imbalances than other designs, so a *slight* steering wobble is fairly common and is often confused with death wobble. Death wobble, where the wheel shakes so violently it makes it almost impossible to continue driving, is not actually that common, and normally easy to remedy as the cause of such sever wobble is normally obvious.
The proliferation of talk about 'death wobble' is mostly made up of people trying to iron out absolutely any movement in the steering, however minor, and I believe this is why it's made out to be such a big issue.

mlines wrote: I always see "death wobble" as a way to get a bargain price. But you have to be prepared to put the work in to cure it.

Well, you would have to prove that it exists at the time of buying a car in the first place. Which makes me wonder, how do you reliably verify if a Jimny suffers from the DW? From what I have read, in some cases it goes away and reappears. That is, it is not consistent.