Trying to accelerate out of a wobble will only make the motorcycle more unstable. Instead: Grip the handlebars firmly, but don't fight the wobble. Close the throttle gradually to slow down. Do not apply the brakes; braking could make the wobble worse.
Sometimes the death wobble begins as mild shaking in the steering wheel or soft rattling of the vehicle. It will often start slow and gradually worsen over time until you have a vehicle that is not driveable. The problem will not resolve itself.
The best way to bring a speed wobble back under control is to close the throttle and hold on tight. Try to grip the tank with your knees so that you aren't thrown off and keep your feet on the footpegs unless you need to put a foot down to balance.
Since 1995, the I-Team found more than 600 complaints about Jeeps wobbling or vibrating -- mostly Wranglers since 1997. No deaths have been reported, but at least five people report being injured.
This is a valuable trade-off, however, since the bike will keep moving in the direction it was heading when the wobble began—slowing down is the first step to regaining control. However, if it looks like you're heading towards a crash, your best bet is most likely to bail, so long as you can land relatively safely.
It will shake your entire vehicle and can easily cause an accident. As long as you stay calm when it happens and get the problem fixed as soon as possible, there's a good chance you and your vehicle will come out unscathed. If you experience the dreaded death wobble, stay calm and get your vehicle fixed right away.
If the tires and wheels spin true and you still have a problem, then you should have a mechanic look at the vehicle. The most common cause of vehicle shakes at 50 mph or higher is tire balance. Again, transmission or drive lines can cause this, but the tires should be the first thing to have checked.
If you experience death wobble, let off the accelerator and allow the truck to slow down until the vibration stops, then immediately proceed to a safe place where the vehicle can be inspected before continuing on. Even just one death wobble incident can cause permanent—and dangerous—suspension or steering damage.
You want consistent tire pressure in all four tires and you should check them regularly. Tires with low tire pressure can cause several issues, including increasing the chances of the death wobble. Check the tiny print on the sidewall of your tires for the recommended specific PSI for your tires.
There is no reason to live with death wobble. Worn ball joints and unit bearings are also a significant cause of death wobble. Jack up the vehicle and grab the front and back (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock) of the tire and see if there is any play.
Your Tires Could Be the Issue
One common cause that makes vehicles vibrate at 60 miles-per-hour is tires, and this makes perfect sense if you think about it.
To summarize, the four main reasons for your car bouncing or swaying are wheels that are not aligned, excessive or uneven wear on the tires, damaged struts and worn shock absorbers, or a loose steering linkage. If you suspect that you need suspension repair, we invite you to bring your car into our shop today!
The most common reason for a car to shake is related to tires. If the tires are out of balance then the steering wheel can shake. This shaking starts at around 50-55 miles per hour (mph). It gets worse around 60 mph but starts to get better at high speeds.
A-Sometime a steering stabilizer will cure death wobble in some cases, but more often than not death wobble is the result of something more significantly wrong elsewhere, such as in the tire balance, tire wear pattern, ball joints, camber, or suspension pivot points.
“Why is my car shaking?” —This common vehicle issue is often assumed to be the telltale sign of a tire alignment problem. It is true that alignment troubles cause road unsteadiness, shaking, vibrations, and uneven tire wear; however, warped brake rotors and tire imbalance can have similar symptoms.
Do All Jeeps Have the Death Wobble? Jeeps that have been modified and the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator are the most likely Jeeps to experience death wobble. With that said, there have been reports of death wobble in virtually every model and year of Jeep, so it appears that all Jeeps are susceptible to the death wobble.
If your vehicle suffers from the death wobble, you should replace your steering stabilizer and shocks along with the other necessary repairs.
The solid axle and older are the commonalities. You may think you see more Jeeps with death wobble (which I doubt because the owner would immediately stop, not keep driving — continuing to drive with death wobble is a near impossibility), but it doesn't happen to Jeeps any more than any other solid axle vehicle.
We generally recommend having your front tires toed in about 1⁄8- to 1⁄4-inch, but one recommended course of action to cure death wobble in JKs is to toe the tires out 1⁄8-inch.
When your car starts shaking excessively, the most common reason for car shaking is an issue with your tires! The steering wheel of your vehicle will begin to shake if your tires are out of balance. You will begin to notice that it starts shaking at 50-55 mph.
Your car's front-end alignment could be way out of whack. Your car's steering might suffer from a loose control arm or damaged knuckle. You might have a damaged axle shaft that's acting up. You might even have a case of loose lug nuts, giving the wheel a chance to wobble that becomes especially noticeable as you slow ...
Generally, death wobble is caused by several worn-out steering or suspension parts, although out-of-balance tires, bent wheels, loose wheel bearings, a bad alignment, low tire pressure, a bent tie rod, and more can all contribute to or cause death wobble.