Sensitivity analysis of chaotic vibrations of a full vehicle model with magnetorheological damper

•The probability of occurrence of chaos in 7-DOF vehicle model is demonstrated.•We demonstrate nonlinear behavior of vehicle model with modified Bouc–Wen MR damper.•Poincare maps, bifurcation diagrams and frequency plots are presented.•Sensitivity analysis shows the effect of various parameters on vehicle response.•Influence of MR damper on vehicle system response is compared with nonlinear damper.