Community Forums

Razorrick · 08-17-2018, 05:32 PM

Just sent him an email myself. Thanks for the name/email

lass · 08-17-2018, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lily123

I don't know what to do.

What’s your concern?

CWSWine · 08-17-2018, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol_Opa

OK, I finally emailed Mike Manley yesterday with this message:

What you will get back from Jeep is a nice letter with your VIN listed telling you not to tow your jeep 4 down and tow it on a trailer with all four off the ground. That's CYA by Jeep but I know that they have to receive complaints before the react be just shame that they are still selling the GC as 4 down towable.

Ready2Travel · 08-19-2018, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lass

Ol Opa. Since Nov.2017 my contact was Steve Stander. You are the second member to receive a response from Mike MacDonald and he has confirmed that FCA is working on a solution.

Keep sending the emails. The GC needs an answer.

I will forward the contact information to FMCA and get the final version of the spreadsheet sent to FCA

Thanks lass for all your work on this.

So far I'm one of the lucky ones, over 10K miles towing a 2018 GC and no issues.

We have a GC with the off road package (air suspension) wonder if that is a factor?

Has anyone with a 2016+ GC with air suspension experienced the wobble?

Carefree · 08-19-2018, 07:41 AM

Yes, we have the off road package with air and still experienced the wobble multiple times now. We towed for over 15,000 miles before we experienced the wobble the first time. It's only a question of the right circumstances. It only happened at slow speeds so far, so not a big deal ( at least for us).. Jeep needs to get on top of this but it seems they're waiting for the first real accident to happen.

gtsum2 · 08-19-2018, 07:45 AM

Hard to believe they can’t get this fixed

lass · 08-19-2018, 09:17 AM

Can’t find it right now but I read an older article on IRV where the Grand Cherokee was being towed behind a $2 million dollar Newell and the front frame of the GC was bent during the wobble. I’ll bet he got a new one from FCA.

My biggest problem is not knowing the potential damage to the tow equipment and/or the GC frame.

As previously posted, I traded the GC for a JL Rubicon.

Crabby Mike · 08-20-2018, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready2Travel

Has anyone with a 2016+ GC with air suspension experienced the wobble?

Yes. We've had the wobble 4 times, all at low speed following a bump.

mhudson · 08-20-2018, 09:51 AM

Has anyone with a 2016+ GC with air suspension experienced the wobble?

Yes

Big_Boy · 08-21-2018, 10:14 AM

It occurs to me that I used to tow vehicles with this problem. My Dad's 1952 Dodge pickup was impossible to tow unless you tied a rope through the steerign wheel. It was a "king pin" straight axle suspension with very little resistance in the un-powered steering.

I towed my Granddad's 1940 Ford about 300 miles with the same problem.

Both vehicles front steering systems were unstable due to wear. Any disturbance would send them either slapping back-and-forth or would 'lock' the steering to one side or the other.

When you used a rope, you had to accept that turning more than a few degrees required 'dragging' the vehicle around the corners. Otherwise, the old cars would tow just fine.

Now, if the 'wobble' is the predominant concern, we could just use bungee cord or straps to hold the steering wheel in the nearly straightforward condition. This should stop the 'wobble' from getting started, but it will be awkward cornering.

I'm thinking it should be possible to build a concentric damper to temporarily tie to the steering wheel. Think some sort of 3-armed 'spider' clamped on the steering wheel. The 'spider' could have something like a fan clutch in the center. An arm could project from this fan clutch and this could be "belted" or strapped to the seat bottom. This fan clutch could be the rotational / concentric damper that would substitute for the natural resistance that the power steering hydraulics used to have. The steering wheel would still be free to turn in corners, but there would be hydraulic damping to resist rapid motions.

A lot of 'back yard engineering' just might make this vehicle once again the most ideal toad.

rpasetto · 08-21-2018, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Boy

It occurs to me that I used to tow vehicles with this problem. My Dad's 1952 Dodge pickup was impossible to tow unless you tied a rope through the steerign wheel. It was a "king pin" straight axle suspension with very little resistance in the un-powered steering.

I towed my Granddad's 1940 Ford about 300 miles with the same problem.

Both vehicles front steering systems were unstable due to wear. Any disturbance would send them either slapping back-and-forth or would 'lock' the steering to one side or the other.

When you used a rope, you had to accept that turning more than a few degrees required 'dragging' the vehicle around the corners. Otherwise, the old cars would tow just fine.

Now, if the 'wobble' is the predominant concern, we could just use bungee cord or straps to hold the steering wheel in the nearly straightforward condition. This should stop the 'wobble' from getting started, but it will be awkward cornering.

I'm thinking it should be possible to build a concentric damper to temporarily tie to the steering wheel. Think some sort of 3-armed 'spider' clamped on the steering wheel. The 'spider' could have something like a fan clutch in the center. An arm could project from this fan clutch and this could be "belted" or strapped to the seat bottom. This fan clutch could be the rotational / concentric damper that would substitute for the natural resistance that the power steering hydraulics used to have. The steering wheel would still be free to turn in corners, but there would be hydraulic damping to resist rapid motions.

A lot of 'back yard engineering' just might make this vehicle once again the most ideal toad.

Excellent idea about hydraulic damper; could an aftermarket steering stabilizer/damper fit the GC?

Back in the early days of the KL Cherokee wobble, I recall someone posted that he'd tried the bungee cord thing... just not enough damping though.

FlyCMA · 08-21-2018, 02:19 PM

I may have missed this if it was posted. Has anyone approached one of those Class Action Attorneys that advertise looking for cases?

Razorrick · 08-21-2018, 05:35 PM

After emailing Mike MacDonald from earlier post, I received a phone call from FCA in Michigan. They noted my wobble incident, gave me a file number for follow up and stated their engineers were aware of the issue with the Grand Cherokee, and actively working on a solution. They would not give me a time table for solution. I was pleased that they acknowledged the problem was there. I think we get a lot of misinformation about Jeeps position. I’m keeping mine. It happened one time and at low speeds and was easily corrected by stopping. Hopefully fix will happen in next few months. They fixed the Cherokee so I’m sure the Grand Cherokee is next.

Ol_Opa · 08-21-2018, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhudson

Has anyone with a 2016+ GC with air suspension experienced the wobble?

Yes

My GC is a 2017 Trail Hawk with air suspension and I have definitely had the wobble several times.

Also, like Razorrick, I got a call from FCA today to tell me that engineering is actively working on a solution and they also gave me a file number.

I'm a fulltimer but I typically park the motorhome in Florida or Arizona for the winter so I typically tow the GC from April to October. During the 2017 travel season I experienced the wobble about a dozen times in 8500 miles. This year I've towed it about 7500 miles with no wobble yet, and I have definitely made several right and left turns over varying degrees of uneven or rough pavement. The one difference is that I had the GC's alignment checked/adjusted last fall when it went in for normal service. I know this is anecdotal at best and I fully expect the wobble to return but I find it interesting nonetheless.