Tacoma > Wrangler for offroading, YOU READ THAT RIGHT

I love this post, I have a 2016 tacoma and my best friend has a 2015 rubicon. He just took it to the dealership for maintenance and they said it had a DEATH RATTLE. Hmm. Ok apparently it so common they have a name for it. So they figure out its not this Death rattle but he had 6 things wrong with it. 6. Would've cost him thousands if he didn't have the warranty and they kept it for 2 days. Also never buy something that can develop something called a death rattle. Convinced me 100% to never get a jeep. Toyota over everything

 

The death wobble? The last thing I bought that was known for a death wobble was a skateboard.


It’s a Jeep thing

 

Death wobble used to be a common thing. But since America became pussified and stopped buying sold front axle vehicles it's almost exclusively a Jeep thing.

 

I’ve never heard of the death wobble happening in any solid axle trucks. Just jeeps.

 

Luckily for me I’ve never experienced it in a non Jeep solid axle. Didn’t think it could happen. But I guess anything is possible.

 

Exactly this - it can happen to any solid front axle vehicle. 9 times out of 10 it's because bushings have worn out for components that do the stabilizing. My buddy's F250 had it happen as did another friend's Power Wagon.

OA

 

Lol check this out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EuQ6f8rgT4

 

Death wobble is a real thing....in built jeeps w/ solid axles.

I don’t understand how a totally stock jeep from the factory could have it??

Yea...I’ve felt it and it’ll scare the shit out of you. Traveling down the highway and you hit a bump in the road - the jeep starts swaying back-n-forth like a trailer would do (waggin). You try to correct for it, and it gets worse. It starts this oscillation that you have to slow down A LOT to stop it.

It has a lot to do with steering geometry, suspension, alignment, etc. Needless to say, to correct it - we had the knuckles turned (D44 swap), a whole new tie-rod, draglink setup.

 

Lol nice. I guess I’d never heard it happen in anything other than a Jeep.

 

Yep. Any solid front axle with bad geometry (screwed up with modifications and lift), worn bushings, etc. I'm not surprised it happened to a nearly new JK. A friend of mine bought one brand new in 2007 or 2008 and the front axle fell out from under the damn thing within a few weeks of him taking delivery. And it burnt a HUGE amount of oil. Don't remember how much but it was a lot. Jeep claimed the rate was within spec. Total bullshit. He eventually had to drain some oil out before going to the dealer. Turns out the motor had been assembled wrong. Like without rings or something absurd.

 

Jeep is what I always associate with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncTgYl7P_TE

Stay for the last 10 seconds.

 

There's a gazillion variations of what people think death wobble is and what it represents. Unless you've experienced it first hand...... And I'm sorry to say.....but Soft bushings on a totally stock Jeep from the factory won't cause the Jeep to oscillate uncontrollably after hitting a bump. Our government entities won't allow such UNSAFE engineering to exist. Now - if the factory quality control isn't monitoring installation practices and these stock jeeps are going out with loose parts, improperly setup alignments, and improper parts/steering/suspension setups....that's a different story.

Doesn't matter what type of vehicle you have - true death wobble will never be NORMAL in any vehicle.

 

If it makes you feel any better I have driven my 2017 Tacoma to scorpion bay and back. Twice. Via the north road. From Montana. It is a 2.7 5-speed though

 

I saw that too.

I think it's because the Rubicon has slightly different fenders to allow the bigger tires. I think he said they sit 2" higher on the Rubicon models. Kind of like the current Mopar hi top flares.

 

99% of the time, the infamous Jeep Death Wobble is caused by a loose track bar bolt. It’s insanely easy to get to, and tighten. It’s a crappy design by Jeep though, as they use the wrong size bolt for it, which causes it to loosen. Should it happen? No. Is it a major deal? No.

That said, I traded in my JKU on a 2017 Taco.

 

The great minds at NASA knew the O-rings on the SRB’s were a flawed design YEARS before Challenger. It was the bureaucracy and management that allowed it to persist despite that.

 

My personal experience says, unlike that jeep, that Tacoma wouldn’t ever let you down! But don’t ever say that in front of a jeep owner!

 

Well that settles it......I’m selling my taco and buying a Jeep:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6P11carYKOw

 

But a Toyota is so much more adaptive!

 

You got that right brutha.