Towing a Jeep Liberty 2011

[Irwin38572]

Does anyone towing a 2011 Liberty disconnect the battery? If so, do you lose the electronic setup ,clock ,radio ,etc? Do you have a locking steering wheel? Do you remove the key? It seems that the manuals have conflicting instructions.

[The Beaver]

Need a little more info. Is your Liberty an automatic and 4WD? I used to tow a Jeep and never disconnected the battery. Did have to leave the key in so the steering wheel was unlocked. Setup was easy and towed like a champ.

[Joyal]

Below is a link to the latest dinghy towing guide. It is for 2010 model year but I don't think the procedure for 2011 Jeep Liberty is much different.
Dinghy Towing and Dinghy Guide
I tow a 2007 Liberty with a manual transmission. I use a Readybrake tow bar which incorporates mechanical surge brake system. I disconnect my battery so the vehicle brake lights are not operative while towing . You must unlock the steering column while towing the vehicle. I bought a spare key without an embedded transponder for this purpose. The added benefit is theft prevention as the vehicle will not operate without a transponder in the key.

[BobGed]

I don't have a Liberty but I do have a 2011 Wrangler, and I can tell you the Jeep manual and the Motorhome Magazine Dinghy Towing instructions are incorrect.

The manual says to turn the ignition key to the ACC position, which means you have to leave a key in the ignition. Wranglers have not had a locking steering column since 2008, so from 2009 through 2011 there's nothing to unlock, therefore I leave my ignition in the full OFF position and remove the key.

I installed a separate bulb kit, and while it's true the OEM brake lights will also illuminate, I don't see a problem with this so I do not disconnect the battery.

[Irwin38572]

It is an automatic, and four wheel drive. The steering wheel does not lock as it did in my 2002 Grand Cherokee. It was a simpler setup.

[Traps90]

Just Picked up a 2010 yesterday and the towing guide for it states to turn the Ignition Switch to the unlocked lock position. Which to me is all the way off cause the steering does not lock.

From what I read and seen on the forums those with the 2008 and newer turn the ignition off and remove the key. That way there's no drain on the battery while towing,

The Liberty and Wrangler seem to have the best setup for towing 4 down.

Trap

[W8RLM]

I have a 2008 Liberty with an automatic and 4wd. It does not have a steering wheel lock. I put the transfer case in neutral per the manual, run the car with the transmission in Drive, then Reverse for about 5-15 seconds in each position, then turn off the engine and put the transmission in Park and take the key with me. That's it. I've towed it for about 30,000 miles.

I believe that the 2011 is the same as mine, but I'd check to make sure that there isn't a steering wheel lock and with the service department of your dealer.

W8RLM - Bob

[llmrealestat]

We have the 2011 Liberty and it has a transmission disconnect switch right next to the gear shifter. After pushing that button, we put it in neutral, turn the key to the on switch and disconnect the battery. The full instructions are in the owner's manual that came on a CD disk. We printed out those instructions and carry them in the bag that holds all the tow lines, etc.

[BobGed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by llmrealestat We have the 2011 Liberty and it has a transmission disconnect switch right next to the gear shifter. After pushing that button, we put it in neutral, turn the key to the on switch and disconnect the battery. The full instructions are in the owner's manual that came on a CD disk. We printed out those instructions and carry them in the bag that holds all the tow lines, etc.

Interesting. Here are the instructions from the 2011 Liberty User's Guide Sixth Edition that I downloaded here My Jeep: Jeep Owners Service Manuals - 4x4 SUVs, Sports Utility Vehicles, Off Road

Depress the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to ON/RUN with the engine shut off.
• Shift the transmission into NEUTRAL.
• Shift the transfer case into NEUTRAL by holding down the NEUTRAL Pin switch for four seconds until the LED
starts to blink. The LED will stop blinking and remain on when the shift is complete.
• Start the engine and shift into DRIVE to ensure there is no vehicle movement.
• Shut the engine off and shift the transmission into PARK.
• Place the ignition switch in the OFF position and remove the key.
• Apply the parking brake, attach the vehicle to the tow vehicle with a tow bar and release the parking brake.

[Traps90]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobGed Interesting. Here are the instructions from the 2011 Liberty User's Guide Sixth Edition that I downloaded here My Jeep: Jeep Owners Service Manuals - 4x4 SUVs, Sports Utility Vehicles, Off Road Depress the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to ON/RUN with the engine shut off. • Shift the transmission into NEUTRAL. • Shift the transfer case into NEUTRAL by holding down the NEUTRAL Pin switch for four seconds until the LED starts to blink. The LED will stop blinking and remain on when the shift is complete. • Start the engine and shift into DRIVE to ensure there is no vehicle movement. • Shut the engine off and shift the transmission into PARK. • Place the ignition switch in the OFF position and remove the key. • Apply the parking brake, attach the vehicle to the tow vehicle with a tow bar and release the parking brake.

Exactly what it says in my manual for the 2010 too!

Trap

[SSteve]

What W8RLM said is exactly what we do with our '08. 20K miles now being towed and all is well.

We did install a battery disconnect. Haven't used it while towing. Probably should take it out.

Can't imagine Jeep would change a good thing. Then again....