Jeep GC recall done - now xfer case won't shift into neutral

[PDR John]

Originally Posted by Trose

I have a 2010 Jeep Rubicon that I tow. My problem is different yet somewhat related. Four times now I was not able to shift the transfer case out of neutral. In fact the whole linkage jams up. Every time resulted in a lengthy stay at the jeep dealer. They said it has to do with the ignition switch. Last time I had to leave the jeep over a thousand miles from hole for three weeks while I drove home and then had to retrieve my vehicle at quite an expense to me in money and time. The dealers never seem to have the parts to repair the problem. Good news is my vehicle only has 22K miles on it and it has a lifetime warranty. Bad news every time I have to rent a car and park my RV while they work on it... all at my expense!

I don't know if changing the shifting cable/linkage would void the warranty or not. But there are some aftermarket options out there to fix this problem.

Jeep Transfer Case - Quadratec

Even my '05 Wrangler has the crappy plastic body mounted bushings that flex not allowing the transfer case to shift.


We had the Grand Cherokee recall done years ago and the dealer replaced the part. We've never had a problem shifting into neutral.

I would be livid, hope you all find resolution.

[HHIDan]

Got N23 recall done on my 07 Jeep GC Diesel last August but did not try shifting into neutral or 4Lo until last weekend pulling a trailer in deep snow. Got the error message and no go... So I go back to dealer thinking what a coincidence that it might have broke right after the recall. The dealer quoted $658 to fix it. I have no choice so I approve and he orders the part(s). In the meantime I do a little bit of research and find out hundreds of Jeeps with Quadra Drive transfer case have an issue after recall. I find out that Chrysler/Jeep is denying claims and not accepting responsibility...
Parts came in and I have to go back this week to line up an appointment but am thinking I'm not going to get it repaired after all. I'm kind of ticked off...
I left a message that I needed help on the Jeep Facebook page and now have a number to call at Jeep. Anxious to see what BS they come up with.
Am now pulling a Wrangler so don't really need neutral any more...
Anyways just wanted to rant, wonder how many are going to have a nasty surprise when they go to pull their Jeep.

[arlinv]

Originally Posted by HHIDan

Got N23 recall done on my 07 Jeep GC Diesel last August but did not try shifting into neutral or 4Lo until last weekend pulling a trailer in deep snow. Got the error message and no go... So I go back to dealer thinking what a coincidence that it might have broke right after the recall. The dealer quoted $658 to fix it. I have no choice so I approve and he orders the part(s). In the meantime I do a little bit of research and find out hundreds of Jeeps with Quadra Drive transfer case have an issue after recall. I find out that Chrysler/Jeep is denying claims and not accepting responsibility... Parts came in and I have to go back this week to line up an appointment but am thinking I'm not going to get it repaired after all. I'm kind of ticked off... I left a message that I needed help on the Jeep Facebook page and now have a number to call at Jeep. Anxious to see what BS they come up with. Am now pulling a Wrangler so don't really need neutral any more... Anyways just wanted to rant, wonder how many are going to have a nasty surprise when they go to pull their Jeep.

This is why I continue to ignore the recall notices for my Jeep Commander. It is my only towed option. I didn't pay so much money to have my options eliminated.

[tagcat]

We just bought a used 2006 GC with the quad 2.Anyone know if this year was in recall? .Can we take to dealer and check if recall was done? Have not put in neutral yet or 4 low but will do today.We are leaving today to pick up new m/h but not towing.Will in the next several months.Glad i saw this post so i do not find this out day of trip!
Thanks everyone

[HHIDan]

It's 300,000 Jeeps 2005-2010 that were recalled over a potential rollaway risk. I read about situations where the 4Lo and neutral will work when the recall is done but then fail sometime later. Had mine done in August but never knew anything about this mess until last week. If I had known, I definitely would not have got the recall done. The worst part is I'm sure the dealer know the whole story but they just pretend the failures after recall have nothing to do with it... Even worst they charged me 1.3 hours to diagnose my problem. 5 minutes on the Internet and I knew!

[Redridge]

Is this just a software recall? If so can't they flash it back to the original software.... what was the recall for anyway?

[HHIDan]

I really don't think a dealer will want to flash back as it's a safety issue type recall. My opinion only (from internet reading) is they have two parts that have been failing in the 4wd system, an actuator and a control board (that "cracks") and I think the new software is detecting these failures and preventing the system from engaging. I've also read that there is less tolerance in the measurement of the 5volt supply that is feeding the control board. So I'm guessing that it's forcing the end user to pay and fix... In the least I think that Chrysler have handled this very poorly. Nobody really seems to know what is going on as if someone is trying to hide something. Anxious to see what they will tell me on monday.

I also think that 95% of Jeeps never use 4Lo or Neutral which might be why Chrysler/Jeep tried to sneak in a simple and inexpensive software fix.

And the 5% of Jeeps that use Neutral are probably IRV2 members...

[RVThere]

I have been able to 'fix' mine by doing the following:

1. Bought Autoenginuity.com software with the Chrysler add on (about $400). It comes with a OBDII plug (connect under your dashboard) that connects to your laptop. It will see the C140F error code, clear it (you may have to repeat this step a few times), and then you will have 4LO and Neutral again. I did this about 3 weeks ago and have not had any problems since.

2. However, I don't trust that the error code will be cleared forever so I bought two FDCM's (the brains for the transfer case located under your backseat) from wrecked Jeeps who did not get the recall. My original part number was 129M (you many also have a part number of 199_). First one I bought was a 129J which allowed me to go into neutral but gave me ESP/BAS dashboard error lights. Turns out the letter is very important as you have to have a later letter to be compatible. I then bought a 129N which I just got and have to try out. These parts only cost about $100.

Chrysler is not fixing this problem any time soon. Since we tow our Jeep behind the RV and are often THOUSAND's of miles away from home, I can't afford to have a SERVICE 4WD error pop up and not be able to quickly fix it.

Spread the word about this problem so we don't have RV'ers who are on vacation and can't tow their Jeeps home!

[HHIDan]

Originally Posted by RVThere

Spread the word about this problem so we don't have RV'ers who are on vacation and can't tow their Jeeps home!

I'm surprised this thread is not more active as it probably affects thousands of RVers that tow Jeeps.

[RVThere]

Here is an alleged 'work around' that I got off the Jeep forum. It may be worth a try before you invest a lot of money. It's worked for some on that forum and has not worked for others. I have not tried this.


1. Unplug your battery.
2. Unplug the fdcm (someone also just removed the FDCM fuse)
3. plug battery back in
4. Drive around down your street and back
5. unplug battery
6. plug fdcm back in (or replace fuse)
7. plug battery back in
8. Test it out!


The FDCM is under the rear seat, drivers side. Two 18mm bolts hold the seat down.

[HHIDan]

Originally Posted by RVThere

Here is an alleged 'work around' that I got off the Jeep forum. It may be worth a try before you invest a lot of money. It's worked for some on that forum and has not worked for others. I have not tried this.


1. Unplug your battery.
2. Unplug the fdcm (someone also just removed the FDCM fuse)
3. plug battery back in
4. Drive around down your street and back
5. unplug battery
6. plug fdcm back in (or replace fuse)
7. plug battery back in
8. Test it out!


The FDCM is under the rear seat, drivers side. Two 18mm bolts hold the seat down.

Thanks Tom for finding this. I tried twice, on the second try I disconnected the battery for much longer. No go. I will talk to Chrysler/Jeep tomorrow and if they don't help I might just try to find a used FDCM at the wreck yard.
Thanks again!

[RVThere]

If you're going to look for a box from a Jeep wreck, he is the procedure for looking one up on car-parts.com (similar for other websites):


Car-part.com search
1. Select Year of Jeep
2. Select ‘Jeep Grand Cherokee’
3. Select ‘Computer Box Not Engine’
4. Select to sort results by ‘Year’ (so you can get the right firmware version)
5. Enter your zip code
6. Click ‘Search’
7. A new screen pops up where you select the type of computer box
a. Near the bottom, select ‘Transfer case, NV 245, conventional differential’ if your part number is a ‘129A_’
b. Select ‘Transfer case, NV 245, electronic limited slip differential’ if your part is a ‘199A_’
8. Click ‘Search’
9. You will see MANY pages of junk yards that have the FDCM
a. Scroll through the list for your year and look for ‘129A_’ or ‘199A_’ in the description
b. Even if the description does not have the part number, it would be worth a call to see if the yard can tell you the part number on the phone
c. Remember the FDCM should have a part number that is the same or later letter than yours
i. My 129AM is compatible with a 129AN, but NOT a 129AJ
ii. Same with a 199A_ box
iii. Someone did say that he swapped a 199AM with a 199AL and it worked so you might be OK if the letters are close
d. The rightmost column are the miles away from you so you can scan for someone close but many yards are willing to ship the box


Good luck!

[enjoyrv]

What years did the recall apply to? Are new GC affected?

[wa8yxm]

Have you folks reported the incidents to the NTSC.. I mean it may need a recall to fix the recall.