http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/05/16/bc-dodgeproblem.html
The "death wobble" has been happening for at least eight years now, though I believe the tie rod failures are a new feature. CBC is overstating the problem a bit with their "Vehicle Can't Be Controlled" sub-heading. It is somewhat difficult to control, and it's a little scary even when you're used to it, but you can still steer and slowing alleviates the problem. I've even been a passenger when it happened at the end of a sub-14 second quarter mile at a drag strip.
When it first started happening to a buddy with an '04 3500, we went out on the highway, induced it by hitting some bumps at highway speed, and I leaned out the window to observe what was happening. The front tire was bouncing rapidly; a crazy sight. On his '06 2500, he recently installed the newer, beefed-up front end from the current trucks that is supposed to prevent this from happening. I believe it has helped, but he had a failure of one of the new tie rods within a few months that put him into the ditch. He was fortunate that it steered him off the road at an opportune moment instead of into oncoming traffic or a solid object. He used all OEM Dodge components, but Dodge would not warranty anything because it was not the OEM design, even though those same components are installed on similar trucks when owners complain about the problem within the warranty period, and those trucks have also experienced tie rod failures.
Another buddy had an '03 that he grew to hate so much that he would sometimes accelerate when it happened in a enraged attempt to destroy the truck. Fortunately, he ended up trading it in on an '06 GMC 2500 Duramax before any serious failure occurred. He prefers to sell his vehicles privately, but he couldn't bring himself to sell this vehicle directly to another person so he took a bath on the trade in.
These trucks all had oversized tires - 285/70R17 and 315/70R17 compared to the OE 265/70R17 - which certainly contributed to the problem through the increase in unsprung weight and sidewall springiness, but apparently it's an issue even with the stock tire size.
This is the only other BITOG thread I found relating to the problem:
Very Dangerous Tire Bounce
The "death wobble" has been happening for at least eight years now, though I believe the tie rod failures are a new feature. CBC is overstating the problem a bit with their "Vehicle Can't Be Controlled" sub-heading. It is somewhat difficult to control, and it's a little scary even when you're used to it, but you can still steer and slowing alleviates the problem. I've even been a passenger when it happened at the end of a sub-14 second quarter mile at a drag strip.
When it first started happening to a buddy with an '04 3500, we went out on the highway, induced it by hitting some bumps at highway speed, and I leaned out the window to observe what was happening. The front tire was bouncing rapidly; a crazy sight. On his '06 2500, he recently installed the newer, beefed-up front end from the current trucks that is supposed to prevent this from happening. I believe it has helped, but he had a failure of one of the new tie rods within a few months that put him into the ditch. He was fortunate that it steered him off the road at an opportune moment instead of into oncoming traffic or a solid object. He used all OEM Dodge components, but Dodge would not warranty anything because it was not the OEM design, even though those same components are installed on similar trucks when owners complain about the problem within the warranty period, and those trucks have also experienced tie rod failures.
Another buddy had an '03 that he grew to hate so much that he would sometimes accelerate when it happened in a enraged attempt to destroy the truck. Fortunately, he ended up trading it in on an '06 GMC 2500 Duramax before any serious failure occurred. He prefers to sell his vehicles privately, but he couldn't bring himself to sell this vehicle directly to another person so he took a bath on the trade in.
These trucks all had oversized tires - 285/70R17 and 315/70R17 compared to the OE 265/70R17 - which certainly contributed to the problem through the increase in unsprung weight and sidewall springiness, but apparently it's an issue even with the stock tire size.
This is the only other BITOG thread I found relating to the problem:
Very Dangerous Tire Bounce