2014 Cherokee bad ride dingy

[SuperGewl]

Yes the Active Drive I is NOT 4flat towable and yes it is for normal everyday driving. The Active Drive II is an Off Road suspension which will give you about an 1" more clearance and be a bit harsher. If you still want a Jeep then look into a used 2012 Liberty 4X4. Actually I have one I will sell you. It only has 9400 miles on it and I already have it setup for towing with the Roadmaster system. We can even trade if you are interested.

[vsheetz]

Lower the tire pressures. Makes a huge difference in the ride of the Wranglers I have had.

Consider a differing set of shock absorbers with a softer valving. Rancho 9000's are adjustable ride. Old Man EMU is another popular jeep shock with a good ride quality.

[judgebobk]

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

Yes the Active Drive I is NOT 4flat towable and yes it is for normal everyday driving. The Active Drive II is an Off Road suspension which will give you about an 1" more clearance and be a bit harsher. If you still want a Jeep then look into a used 2012 Liberty 4X4. Actually I have one I will sell you. It only has 9400 miles on it and I already have it setup for towing with the Roadmaster system. We can even trade if you are interested.

Appreciate the offer but I do not think I will get another Jeep product with the way we have been treated by Chrysler. We just got a Demco plate for the car and Air Force One brake system.

[judgebobk]

Originally Posted by vsheetz

Lower the tire pressures. Makes a huge difference in the ride of the Wranglers I have had.

Consider a differing set of shock absorbers with a softer valving. Rancho 9000's are adjustable ride. Old Man EMU is another popular jeep shock with a good ride quality.

Appreciate the advice. The problem is that Jeep has already told me that if I make any alterations to the car they will void the warranty. This is apparently their way of being helpful. Sadly at this point they are sticking to their guns. I really don't understand why they have the Trail Hawk and do this (off road suspension) to a Limited.

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by judgebobk

Appreciate the advice. The problem is that Jeep has already told me that if I make any alterations to the car they will void the warranty. This is apparently their way of being helpful. Sadly at this point they are sticking to their guns. I really don't understand why they have the Trail Hawk and do this (off road suspension) to a Limited.

I don't think you will find this is correct about the warranty, folks do much more extensive modifications to their under warranty Jeeps all the time with no warranty impact. Me included. And reducing tire pressure would have nothing to do with warranty coverage...

Sometimes my Jeep is in a shop for service the tires get set to 35 psi - soonest I drive away I know it... I drop them back to 28 psi and ride is much better, and no abnormal tire wear.

[Luckiest Dreamer]

Originally Posted by judgebobk

I recently purchased a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited with the Active Drive II suspension to use as a dingy. This suspension was the only one that can be used for flat towing. After the first hundred miles I was ready to get rid of the vehicle. I was not aware when I ordered the car it comes with a "OFF ROAD" suspension which produces an incredibly rough ride for my 66 year old body. Speaking to Jeep produced a series of comments that it was my fault and I should have test driven the vehicle. Here is a $40,000 luxury SUV aimed as a tow vehicle for the RV Boomers and it has an Off Road suspension?
My advice is pass on this car unless you want a very rough ride. The car is amazing in many other ways but the ride diminishes any benefit from the electronics or appearance.

I have a friend that recently purchased a new Chevy. He soon found problems that he did not anticipate and went back to the dealer and was able to trade for another without any extra cost. Unless you have burned your bridges by making an bad impression with your dealer, I suspect they want a happy customer and may be able to help you out.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Luckiest Dreamer

I have a friend that recently purchased a new Chevy. He soon found problems that he did not anticipate and went back to the dealer and was able to trade for another without any extra cost. Unless you have burned your bridges by making an bad impression with your dealer, I suspect they want a happy customer and may be able to help you out.

Assuming that a dealer will just take a vehicle back or, trade it for another vehicle in all reality is asking for the moon. I don't know what "problems" your friend ran into and, therefore the dealer worked with him but, I doubt "Not liking suspension" would be one of them. An example of a dealer or even the manufacturer taking a vehicle back shortly after sale would be the newer Ford Escapes. Many folks were quoted that certain models WERE flat towable and, it even said so in the drivers manual.

But, a few days to a month after they took possession of the Escapes, Ford came out with a notice that they WERE NOT FLAT TOWABLE. Well, guess who HAD to take the vehicles back, yep FORD!

But, the OP made a decision to purchase a vehicle without doing a thorough evaluation which, would include a test drive, in multiple conditions, to really see if he/she liked it or not. The dealer didn't force the vehicle on him/her, they made the decision to purchase, based on what they felt at the time.

Sure the dealer can take it back, IN A TRADE IN STATUS. And then, they have to sell it as a used car. There was another person on here recently who purchased a Cherokee to flat tow, only to find out the one he test drove, was flat towable but, the one he bought, which was outfitted differently than the one he test drove, was not. This is another case of not doing ALL the research needed prior to making the decision to purchase.

I'm not chastising anyone here. But, in such expensive decisions, one must be thorough before saying "I'll take it". No one want's to make a bad decision. If I were the OP, and it really did bother me, physically to drive it and or even ride in it, I'd eat the loss and trade it in on something that is "FLAT TOWABLE AND, HAS AN ACCEPTABLE RIDE".
Scott

[Algoma]

I am totally confused by this discussion. Firstly Active Drive I and II are specifically transmission options related to the 4 wheel drive system. The off road suspension is specific to the Trailhawk model. So what does this have to do with the Limited Edition?

[Crabby Mike]

Color me puzzled too. The Jeep web site specifically shows the off-road performance "group" only on the Trailhawk -- not even available on the Limited. Must be something here we're missing.

[rream]

As stated above the Active drive II transmission makes the Limited and Latitude towable 4 down. This transmission option includes

1. Hill descent control
2. Off_road suspension

It also increases the ground clearence by one inch

[judgebobk]

Originally Posted by Algoma

I am totally confused by this discussion. Firstly Active Drive I and II are specifically transmission options related to the 4 wheel drive system. The off road suspension is specific to the Trailhawk model. So what does this have to do with the Limited Edition?

Ok let me try to lay this out again. When we ordered the Cherokee Limited we had the original brochure and that is the information we relied on. There were not vehicles to see and when we had a chance to test drive one it was and AD I Trans. It road well and so we kept our order going on the assurances that the only trans towable four down was the ADII Trans with no information that it was Off Road suspension. We new the trail Hawk was Off Road but had no reason to believe the Cherokee Limited or any other version was Off Road. We took delivery of the car and it was not until we drove it on our local roads ( tar and gravel roads are the most prevalent in our area) that we discovered the ride to be very rough and that is compared to a GMC Yukon and many other autos we have owned.
I approached the dealer and were directed to the new brochure that clearly states AD II comes with Off Road Suspension. I inquired of the service manager and asked if we could do anything to make the ride smoother and he agreed shocks and springs would be needed but after they inquired of Chrysler for changes they were less than receptive to do the work and I was advised that any modification would VOID the warranty. I said I would pay 100% of the labor and parts and never made any attempt to claim being misled by the dealer or Chrysler, which I clearly was. Even my order confirmation shows no Off Road Suspension. That only showed up with the later brochure from Jeep.
If you are confused, so am I but I really think the problem is with Jeep. They refuse to discuss why they put an Off Road Suspension on the Cherokee limited with Active Drive II which I think should have been an option.
Trading the car for another Cherokee would not work since this is the only trans I can use to flat tow.
I believe Chrysler is sticking their heads in the sand and just ignoring the whole issue instead of looking at it logically and saying, OOps, but they have 10s of thousands built. They could also know they screwed up and are waiting to offer a Normal Duty Suspension. Your guess is as good as mine.

[judgebobk]

Originally Posted by Crabby Mike

Color me puzzled too. The Jeep web site specifically shows the off-road performance "group" only on the Trailhawk -- not even available on the Limited. Must be something here we're missing.

No you got it right. That was the information we relied on but that changed in the new brochure and when you price one out on the Jeep site.

[judgebobk]

Originally Posted by Algoma

I am totally confused by this discussion. Firstly Active Drive I and II are specifically transmission options related to the 4 wheel drive system. The off road suspension is specific to the Trailhawk model. So what does this have to do with the Limited Edition?

It has to do with the Active Drive I or Active Drive II not with the trim level or Sport, Latitude or Limited.
Fact of the matter is that most of Jeeps vehicles are All Wheel Drive with only a couple that are true Four Wheel Drive. I guess they want the 4 wheel tag without the expense.

[vsheetz]

Specifically, what does the Off Road suspension group include / differ?