2017 Jeep Cherokee

[Frank111]

To W6pea
The vehicle I purchased is a Cherokee Latitude, not a Grand Cherokee. I'm still working on getting the tow harness installed, I bought it today, they say it will be here by the weekend. I let you know the outcome.
Frank

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by w6pea

We have a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK2.

Thanks I will check that out tomorrow.

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).

Originally Posted by w6pea

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

Originally Posted by Frank111

To W6pea
The vehicle I purchased is a Cherokee Latitude, not a Grand Cherokee. I'm still working on getting the tow harness installed, I bought it today, they say it will be here by the weekend. I let you know the outcome.
Frank

I forgot to post this and I should have read back further. I also called the dealer I send my Ram Truck to for service. I talked to my Service Writer, he explained the difference between the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Cherokees, being the Grand Cherokee was designed as a Rear Wheel Drive and uses a Transfer Case. Also that the Cherokee was designed as a Front Wheel Drive and uses a PTU. (Power Takeoff Unit) also that the unit shuts the brakes off on your Jeep Cherokee. (don't ask me why? )

I guess I have nothing to worry about. I really think that someone who buys a Jeep Cherokee shouldn't be stuck with a bill for the Jeep Flat Tow Harness and install.

[Garyp47]

Originally Posted by w6pea

I forgot to post this and I should have read back further. I also called the dealer I send my Ram Truck to for service. I talked to my Service Writer, he explained the difference between the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Cherokees, being the Grand Cherokee was designed as a Rear Wheel Drive and uses a Transfer Case. Also that the Cherokee was designed as a Front Wheel Drive and uses a PTU. (Power Takeoff Unit) also that the unit shuts the brakes off on your Jeep Cherokee. (don't ask me why? )

I guess I have nothing to worry about. I really think that someone who buys a Jeep Cherokee shouldn't be stuck with a bill for the Jeep Flat Tow Harness and install.

Shuts the brakes off?????

[Fred403]

Do you know what the part number is? I will have to buy one

[Frank111]

The part number I ordered and had installed was 6832124-AB. The dealership did not install it, the had a contractor install it, but I had to take it to the dealer to have the computer re-programed to accept it. Not only did I have to bu it but I had to pay a contractor to install it. I am not a happy Jeep Cherokee Latitude owner. BTW, Jeep never sent me the customer satisfaction survey they send out to new Jeep owners. I wonder why?? Good Luck
Frank111

[BPoland]

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

If the one you get does not have the Flat Tow Wire Harness then you need to get it installed as part of the deal for the vehicle. Check the Owners Manual for Recreational Towing.
Now as far as there actually being a problem, there is not actually one. It all has to do with the movement between the Hitch and the Receiver. If there is any movement between them, then you may get what they call the Death Wobble. What it is, is the Oscillations that are started between the steering system going back and forth and then not being able to stop it from happening due to the movement of the hitch and receiver.
I don't use their FIX and have never had the Death Wobble. I do have the Roadmaster Quite Hitch installed on my receiver so there is no play what so ever.
It's not just a Jeep thing, others have had the same problem, but the Cherokee is the one that got the bad rep.

I will first of admit that I have a 2016 Grand Cherokee. It's bigger, and heavier, but it too has the Electric Assisted Steering. My hitch setup is "Rock Solid" tight. There is no slop anywhere. It is also sitting about 1" drop between the coach and the Jeep when hooked up. I towed the jeep over 3,000 miles last year with no problem what so ever. On our first trip of this year to Emerald Isle, NC, I had the wobble hit me twice within 15 minutes. Both cases were starting out in a hard left hand turn and bumpy road. Both times I straightened it out and stopped. Once I restarted, everything was back to normal. There are many things that can induce the wobble, but it is the lack to tension/pre-load on the steering system that is allowing the wobble to occur. Just because you haven't experiences the wobble yet, doesn't mean that you wont. Think about it, the majority on the 4 down towable cars that have experienced to wobble, have all been switched to the Electric Assisted Steering, 2014 and up Cherokee, 2016 and up Grand Cherokee and the Chevy Equinox, just to name a couple.

[Garyp47]

Originally Posted by Garyp47

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.

Sorry for not posting this earlier. I troubleshot the wiring the dealer did on my Jeep and they screwed it up. Instead of disconnecting the power steering connector from the CAN bus, they disconnected the EM Brake connector. I corrected their mistake and mine works like it's supposed to now. When you put it in the tow mode with the switch and fuse, the power steering system IS energized and working. You can turn the steering wheel easily just as if the engine were running and all was normal. Factory certified fools!