All my Jeep Cherokee Death Wobble Research

[wfcentral]

Hello - I have done hours of research on the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee Death Wobble issue. I'm looking for some comments from vehicle owners to either confirm or dispute what I've found.

I'm attaching a PDF upload that I created - sorry, it's blurry. In the PDF I have captured the page from multiple owners manuals for both vehicles (Cherokee / Grand Cherokee).

Here is a summary.

Cherokee

• 2015, 2016 - No mention of wiring kit = THEY WERE NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM
• 2017, 2018 - mentions the Mopar flat tow wiring kit requirement = THEY WERE PUSHING THE WIRE HARNESS FIX
• 2019, 2020 - No mention of wiring kit = JEEP FIXED THE PROBLEM
• 2021, 2022 - I did not download these yet, but assume they will be same as 2019-2020

FCA Star Online Publication states that recent updates no longer require wiring kit for 2019 KL Cherokee
Service Bulletin - lists accessory kit (wiring harness) requirements for 2014-2018 models of KL Jeep Cherokee

(several blank pages - keep scrolling through PDF to get to Grand Cherokee)

Grand Cherokee

• 2018, 2019, 2020 - no mention of wiring harness (problems started in 2016) = THEY WERE NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM
• 2021 - mentions the Mopar flat tow wiring kit requirement = THEY WERE PUSHING THE WIRE HARNESS FIX
• 2022 - No mention of wiring kit = JEEP FIXED THE PROBLEM

So, based on my research I'm currently looking to buy a 2019 or newer Jeep Trailhawk. I was interested in the Grand Cherokee, but since I don't want to mess with the wire harness and do not want to wait until 2022 models I guess those are off the table.

The main question I'm looking to get answered is...

Do you own a 2019 or newer Jeep Cherokee with no wiring harness mod AND you have experienced the "death wobble".

[gatorb8]

The answer to your question will not REALLY answer your question. I have a 2014 TH, no wiring kit installed and never had a death wobble. A 2019 owner could answer the same way.

A wiring kit was not required in 2014 manual but has been updated to require one now. With Jeep’s track record on this problem, you could easily land in the same boat (Jeep ) later down the road (when Jeep finds out they were wrong )

[Bikinjim]

As Gatorb8 stated no guarantees with prior good experience, however in my experience the pre 2019 models for sure are susceptible to the wobble without the flat tow harness installed. I towed a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk for a lot of miles (probably >35k) over some very bad roads through Alaska including the Top of the World highway before getting my first wobble. I had successfully towed my Trailhawk before the wobble susceptibility became known and had rationalized that I had a “good” one and didn’t opt to install the flat tow harness. I also had installed a Quiet Hitch to take out movement between the tow bar and the hitch receiver as others had recommended to prevent a wobble and periodically tightened my tow bar to remove slop from it as well. Then in Newfoundland I experienced my first low speed wobble followed soon thereafter by a frightening high speed wobble. I installed the flat tow harness and never experienced another wobble for as long as I owned the car. In my experience, the probability for a wobble in a pre-2019 Cherokee without the flat tow harness increases as the vehicle suspension and tires wear and once the first wobble occurs they will likely reoccur soon thereafter. I know from first hand experience that a high speed wobble is a violent and dangerous occurrence that I would never want to repeat and urge pre-2019 Cherokee owners to reconsider installing that harness if they haven’t already.

[Gormleys]

I bought a 2020 Cherokee Trail Hawk. The dealer charged me $750 to install the wiring harness because he thought it was still required. I used it twice flat towing and ran my battery down both times. Researching it here, I discovered the harness wasn't required and haven't used it since. I have never experienced the death wobble in about 8k of flat towing with or without the harness.

I do love the Cherokee Trail Hawk. It is a great vehicle to flat tow and drive. I have the turbo version which gets a bit better gas mileage and is sure fun to drive, both on road and off.

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by wfcentral

Do you own a 2019 or newer Jeep Cherokee with no wiring harness mod AND you have experienced the "death wobble".

Yes, 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk Elite.
No Mopar harness installed. No occurrences of "Death Wobble" in 17,600 miles towed. (Edited correct milage)

Tow gear installed by me:
Blueox baseplate
Invisibrake
Brakelight relay
Brake light switch
Charge line
Signal line to coach dash for brake application

[SuperGewl]

I've got a 2014 Cherokee TH and have never had the Death Wobble. Now saying that I did make them install the wiring kit when they came out with it for free because I bought the car just for Toad use and the manual did not state it needed it when I bought it. The kit was installed after I did a coast to coast trip and I never had any issues with the Wobble.
What most don't realize is the wobble can be fixed by properly installing your tow bar and base plates. You need to ensure that yo are not lifting the front end of the Toad up when traveling. You also need to stop the sway in the tow bar. A Quiet hitch will fix this. The one Base plate that has not had issues from what I've gathered is the Roadmaster one that has the bar that connects the 2 pieces together. Many people have had issues with other brands because they are only attached to the front frame pieces and don't complete the triangle. They have had them destroy the frame of the car due to the undulations that can occur in the tow bar. Basically they begin to move up and down independently of each other and tear off the front of the frame.

[Bikinjim]

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

I've got a 2014 Cherokee TH and have never had the Death Wobble. Now saying that I did make them install the wiring kit when they came out with it for free because I bought the car just for Toad use and the manual did not state it needed it when I bought it. The kit was installed after I did a coast to coast trip and I never had any issues with the Wobble.
What most don't realize is the wobble can be fixed by properly installing your tow bar and base plates. You need to ensure that yo are not lifting the front end of the Toad up when traveling. You also need to stop the sway in the tow bar. A Quiet hitch will fix this. The one Base plate that has not had issues from what I've gathered is the Roadmaster one that has the bar that connects the 2 pieces together. Many people have had issues with other brands because they are only attached to the front frame pieces and don't complete the triangle. They have had them destroy the frame of the car due to the undulations that can occur in the tow bar. Basically they begin to move up and down independently of each other and tear off the front of the frame.

The revised Blue Ox baseplates for the Cherokees do “complete the triangle”. The original design Blue Ox baseplate, at least for the Trailhawk, did not. Each individual baseplate tower is now connected at the front of each tower to the Cherokee structural bumper which performs exactly the same function as the crossbar on the Roadmaster baseplates, i.e., connects the two towers together to prevent independent lateral and vertical motion. The fact of the matter is that the 2014 through 2018 Cherokees are extremely susceptible to dangerous and damaging wobbles. Conditions such as suspension and tire wear change over time which increases the probability for a wobble. Eventually, the odds are good that increased wear will align with just the right road conditions (most likely roughness like potholes, bridge transitions, combined with a left or right turn) to induce a wobble. All Cherokees are wobble free until the first time one occurs. The prudent thing to do is to utilize the manufacturer’s fix to prevent wobbles. This fix has been demonstrated to preclude wobbles (as long as it has been correctly installed and is functioning) even in those vehicles that have previously experienced multiple wobbles. I personally experienced this - took the actions described by Supergewl and was wobble free for over 35k miles of towing and convinced myself that my car was not susceptible. Then I quickly experienced 2 wobbles, the second of which was a violent and dangerous high speed wobble. The wobbles did not recur in my vehicle after installation and use of the flat tow harness which aligns with the total experience base of the flat tow harness.

[JCrockett]

This is a long and standing question, do I install the kit or not.
We own a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and I can say I have not ever noticed any problems with the Jeep while towing behind our class A .
Being made aware by fellow RV’ers I have started paying attention to what the car is doing in our camera while my wife drives.
Some days seem to have very low or no wind but the RV tends to drift. Because of the rigid connection to the RV it is hard to tell if the drifting is a direct reaction from the Jeep “hunting” . I was not worried till the other day when we were connecting the car, I had left the steering wheel at a hard left and when the RV moved forward the wheels automatically turned forward straight so I know this function is active and I need to be more alarmed about the death wobble. (We have never had a low battery but my wiring harness has a “trickle charge” from the Rv installed.
As soon as we get to a place where I can do maintenance, I will buy the kit and install it.
It is a”peace of mind” install but rather than wait till it happens and tears up stuff I can’t fix..

[Isaac-1]

My vote is to install the kit, if you are reasonably mechanically incline you can get it done in an afternoon, I think I paid about $140 for the kit for our 2017 Cherokee. Hardest part is slicing the wire under the main electrical box under the hood as you don't have much slack to work with. Same for adding in the jumper termination under the rear part of the arm rest. Also note the photo in the instruction is not clear which side of the cut wire goes which way and it is easy to get backwards.