2017 Jeep Cherokee

[dons2346]

Originally Posted by TwelveVolt

I agree with not relying on the dealership. I stopped in to a Jeep dealership looking for a toad. The salesman did his best and spent a lot of time on his smart phone doing his homework. A few days later I had a call from the dealership's "expert" kid who informed me that only manual transmissions can be towed, and I would have to learn to drive a stick. He was so adamant that any discussion would be futile. I thanked him and said I would get right on that.

I think the "expert" isn't such an expert. He doesn't know what he is talking about

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by TwelveVolt

I agree with not relying on the dealership. I stopped in to a Jeep dealership looking for a toad. The salesman did his best and spent a lot of time on his smart phone doing his homework. A few days later I had a call from the dealership's "expert" kid who informed me that only manual transmissions can be towed, and I would have to learn to drive a stick. He was so adamant that any discussion would be futile. I thanked him and said I would get right on that.

Education is a wonderful thing. You might suggest that the "expert" kid simply read the user guide. He would definitely learn something.

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by TwelveVolt

I agree with not relying on the dealership. I stopped in to a Jeep dealership looking for a toad. The salesman did his best and spent a lot of time on his smart phone doing his homework. A few days later I had a call from the dealership's "expert" kid who informed me that only manual transmissions can be towed, and I would have to learn to drive a stick. He was so adamant that any discussion would be futile. I thanked him and said I would get right on that.

I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee and have not set it up yet for towing. In the glove box there was a wiring harness set up for towing.

When I bought my 2016 Ram Laramie 2500 I found the same wiring harness.

[SuperGewl]

Originally Posted by w6pea

I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee and have not set it up yet for towing. In the glove box there was a wiring harness set up for towing.

When I bought my 2016 Ram Laramie 2500 I found the same wiring harness.

That is the wiring harness for the Brake controller NOT for TOAD wiring. It part of the Trailer Tow setup.

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by w6pea

I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee and have not set it up yet for towing. In the glove box there was a wiring harness set up for towing.

When I bought my 2016 Ram Laramie 2500 I found the same wiring harness.

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

That is the wiring harness for the Brake controller NOT for TOAD wiring. It part of the Trailer Tow setup.

I do not know about that, My Ram Truck has the Brake Controller built in. Also the part number on the one in the Jeep is the same part number as the Wiring Harness that came with the Ram Truck. I'm not sure, but I have talked to a shop that sells the Blue Ox set up so I will ask them about it.

[SuperGewl]

Originally Posted by w6pea

I do not know about that, My Ram Truck has the Brake Controller built in. Also the part number on the one in the Jeep is the same part number as the Wiring Harness that came with the Ram Truck. I'm not sure, but I have talked to a shop that sells the Blue Ox set up so I will ask them about it.

My Ram also came with a Wiring Harness in the glove box; however it was for the removal of the tailgate, due to the electric lock. My Ram also came with the factory Trailer Tow.

Hopefully you will get a correct answer to what it is. My Cherokee now has "The Fix" and the only thing left from the install is a fuse that I am suppose to install and remove every time I Toad it.

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

My Ram also came with a Wiring Harness in the glove box; however it was for the removal of the tailgate, due to the electric lock. My Ram also came with the factory Trailer Tow.

Hopefully you will get a correct answer to what it is. My Cherokee now has "The Fix" and the only thing left from the install is a fuse that I am suppose to install and remove every time I Toad it.

I called the Service Department where I purchased my JGC from. The service writer said he did not know and would ask a electriction, and call me back. I called at about 1430hrs. never got a call back. I called my salesman on his home phone, he said that he would find out for me on Monday. This is the third time I called the dealership where I bought my Jeep. I called my service writer at the dealership I bought my Ram Truck from. He took the time to call me earlier this evening, said I would receive a call from his electrician on Monday before 0900 hrs. (9AM). My service writer where I bought my Ram Truck said that he knew the Service Manager where I bought my Jeep and he would have him call me. Also my Service writer at the dealership where I bought my Ram Truck said for the inconvienece of the BS from the dealer here close to my house, he would cover the labor on any thing up to two hours labor. (I was going to start using the dealership where I got my Jeep for all services because they are only 5 miles from my house as compared to 26 miles)

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by w6pea

I called the Service Department where I purchased my JGC from. The service writer said he did not know and would ask a electriction, and call me back. I called at about 1430hrs. never got a call back. I called my salesman on his home phone, he said that he would find out for me on Monday. This is the third time I called the dealership where I bought my Jeep. I called my service writer at the dealership I bought my Ram Truck from. He took the time to call me earlier this evening, said I would receive a call from his electrician on Monday before 0900 hrs. (9AM). My service writer where I bought my Ram Truck said that he knew the Service Manager where I bought my Jeep and he would have him call me. Also my Service writer at the dealership where I bought my Ram Truck said for the inconvienece of the BS from the dealer here close to my house, he would cover the labor on any thing up to two hours labor. (I was going to start using the dealership where I got my Jeep for all services because they are only 5 miles from my house as compared to 26 miles)

If you have a Grand Cherokee then you do not need the Mopar tow wiring kit. It is only required for the Cherokee (KL).

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by BobGed

If you have a Grand Cherokee then you do not need the Mopar tow wiring kit. It is only required for the Cherokee (KL).

We have a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK2.

Thanks I will check that out tomorrow.

[KPHuber]

We purchased a 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk to pull behind our 2017 Dutchstar and use the Airforce1 brake system. We did have to pay for the harness and labor and spent $530. The Jeep only has 3K miles but the PTU started leaking and had to be replaced. It's been in the shop for over a week as I'm told the transmission has to re-learn itself with the new PTU.We have had no issues pulling but obviously concerned about the quality of the Jeep. Anybody having issues with their Cherokee?




2017 Newmar Duschstar 4018
2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk

[Frank111]

I just picked up a 2017 Jeep Cherokee Latitude today for towing behind our RV, I have been reading the discussions about problems with the Flat Towing of the previous years Cherokees, both the manual vs auto tramission tow and the "death wobble". The dealer tried to assist,but suggested I pursue the matter with www.Jeep.com and or (800) 925 JEEP. I called several times to get info before I picked up the 2017 Latitude. The information I received from both the web site and the phone personnel said that if the vehicle was equipped with a Jeep Active Drive II, the transfer case could be placed in neutral and the vehicle would be safe for 4 wheel flat towing behind a RV. In the owner manual p 156 it displays the three 4X4 switches in the 2017 Cherokee, the first one is for the 1 speed 4X4(Jeep Active Drive I) the other two display the 2speed 4X4 switches(Active Drive II), the small buttons to the left of the Auto position are the transfer case neutral buttons. This is the information I received from both the website and the phone personnel.
With regard to the wiring harness to keep the Jeep stable while it was being towed, I was told that in the case of my Jeep, the harness had been installed during the build of the Jeep. I was provided with a sales code XEYP which indicated that the wiring harness was installed on my vehicle, I'm still looking for further confirmation of this and some indication of how it works and where it is located.
Sorry this post was so long, but I wanted to share what information I had gathered. I'll keep watching this discussion, I'm learning a lot. Thanks
Frank

[Garyp47]

Originally Posted by Frank111

I just picked up a 2017 Jeep Cherokee Latitude today for towing behind our RV, I have been reading the discussions about problems with the Flat Towing of the previous years Cherokees, both the manual vs auto tramission tow and the "death wobble". The dealer tried to assist,but suggested I pursue the matter with www.Jeep.com and or (800) 925 JEEP. I called several times to get info before I picked up the 2017 Latitude. The information I received from both the web site and the phone personnel said that if the vehicle was equipped with a Jeep Active Drive II, the transfer case could be placed in neutral and the vehicle would be safe for 4 wheel flat towing behind a RV. In the owner manual p 156 it displays the three 4X4 switches in the 2017 Cherokee, the first one is for the 1 speed 4X4(Jeep Active Drive I) the other two display the 2speed 4X4 switches(Active Drive II), the small buttons to the left of the Auto position are the transfer case neutral buttons. This is the information I received from both the website and the phone personnel.
With regard to the wiring harness to keep the Jeep stable while it was being towed, I was told that in the case of my Jeep, the harness had been installed during the build of the Jeep. I was provided with a sales code XEYP which indicated that the wiring harness was installed on my vehicle, I'm still looking for further confirmation of this and some indication of how it works and where it is located.
Sorry this post was so long, but I wanted to share what information I had gathered. I'll keep watching this discussion, I'm learning a lot. Thanks
Frank

Frank, welcome to the mysterious world of the flat towable Jeep. Yes the Jeep you bought is flat towable but to make it safe or should I say safer, Jeep wants you to have a Mopar Flat Tow Wiring Kit installed. It's in the owners manual. This is supposed to prevent the wobble. The harness you referred to is the trailer hitch wiring connector which comes with the trailer hitch package. The Mopar Flat Tow Wiring Kit is completely separate and you should probably go ahead and have it installed. But, it might not be easy.

I picked up a new 2017 Cherokee Trailhawk less than a month ago and had the kit installed by my dealer. I still don't know if it works and neither does my dealer but that's a whole different story and I've actually been involved for a few hours today sorting through it all. Very frustrating. My latest opinion is it doesn't work and I have learned what it's supposed to do so I could test it myself. I have to troubleshoot one part of the system where I think the problem may be but I want to be sure I don't hurt or ruin anything in the process. Once I get mine figured out I will post what I found.

First bit of advice is find a new dealer if the one you're talking to has never heard of it. And when you find one, then maybe get some names of some of the people that have had theirs installed and that have actually tested it. The latest kit instructions have no test procedures so if the dealer isn't intimate with how it works, they won't know if it works or not and good luck trying to find out.

From my research, most people that have the kit installed and know for sure it's working are those who were able to put the system in tow mode and observe the power steering is actually functional. The problem is the electronic steering on these things is so stiff that the front wheels have difficulty sometimes tracking correctly in turns or over bumps, uneven roads and when that happens things can get interesting. There's a death wobble video on youtube you should watch. Not to scare you but just to show you what has happened. Most people don't have a problem but some do. Those that want to play it safe install the kit. Unfortunately I think there are quite a few kits out there that don't work.

The kit consists of a toggle switch in your center console and a fuse block and relay under the hood. When you put the toggle switch in tow mode, it disables or disconnects the electronic power steering monitoring buss. Now you go under the hood and install the fuse and that energized the relay and also puts 12V power to the electronic power steering system which most agree "energizes" the power steering and thus allows the car to react normally to road conditions. Verifiable by turning the steering wheel with little effort before you take off. The toggle switch prevents the power steering from talking to the car system when it's in this unusual mode and eliminates trouble codes. It also puts load on the vehicle battery so that can be a concern. This is the basic most agreed upon operation in a nutshell from what I have learned. Unfortunately my dealer doesn't agree with it, and my system doesn't do it so they say it's working correctly. So I may be forced to override them and fix it myself. It's somewhat of a delicate procedure installing this kit. You need to have some electrical/mechanical background and common sense and be cautious. Best to have the dealer do it? Maybe or maybe not. It's a crapshoot. Right now I have many second thoughts about buying the car in the first place. I wish they still make Chevy Trackers. I'd have a new one and an old one.

Hope this helps. I didn't want to get this deep into it but it's hard not to.

[SuperGewl]

Originally Posted by Frank111

I just picked up a 2017 Jeep Cherokee Latitude today for towing behind our RV, I have been reading the discussions about problems with the Flat Towing of the previous years Cherokees, both the manual vs auto tramission tow and the "death wobble". The dealer tried to assist,but suggested I pursue the matter with www.Jeep.com and or (800) 925 JEEP. I called several times to get info before I picked up the 2017 Latitude. The information I received from both the web site and the phone personnel said that if the vehicle was equipped with a Jeep Active Drive II, the transfer case could be placed in neutral and the vehicle would be safe for 4 wheel flat towing behind a RV. In the owner manual p 156 it displays the three 4X4 switches in the 2017 Cherokee, the first one is for the 1 speed 4X4(Jeep Active Drive I) the other two display the 2speed 4X4 switches(Active Drive II), the small buttons to the left of the Auto position are the transfer case neutral buttons. This is the information I received from both the website and the phone personnel.
With regard to the wiring harness to keep the Jeep stable while it was being towed, I was told that in the case of my Jeep, the harness had been installed during the build of the Jeep. I was provided with a sales code XEYP which indicated that the wiring harness was installed on my vehicle, I'm still looking for further confirmation of this and some indication of how it works and where it is located.
Sorry this post was so long, but I wanted to share what information I had gathered. I'll keep watching this discussion, I'm learning a lot. Thanks
Frank

It would appear that Jeep has fixed the patch wiring harness the used for the older ones by actually doing an install I the factory and doing it right.

[w6pea]

Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee, or is it only just the Jeep Cherokee?