Community Forums

Big_Boy · 09-17-2020, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeslieGary

You will really like the Grand Cherokee as a tow vehicle. The wobble is exceedingly rare and at low speeds. Thanks to the collaboration from this forum, you just come to a stop, then proceed--wobble stops. It would be much more frightening if you had no clue what was happening and what to do. It would be great if Jeep would fix this, but with 15K miles towing our Grand Cherokee, I don't have any regrets.

I second these comments. I've towed our JGC behind 2 different motorhomes for over 40,000 miles total. Had the 'wobble' occur maybe 4 - 5 times. This always occurred at low speed and when turning a sharp corner over a bump/pot-hole. No bid deal. Just slow to a stop for a few seconds and then start up. It will tow just fine after that.

StuartS · 09-26-2020, 11:58 PM

Is the 2020 Grand Cherokee prone to the same issue?

thegats1 · 09-28-2020, 05:38 AM

StuartS - I have the 2020 Grand Cherokee. I'm getting the tow system installed today (Blue Ox Avail, M&G 2.0). I purchased it before joining this forum and finding this information on the "death wobble". I have yet to find anyone say they've experienced this on the 2020 model, but I attribute that to it being such a new model. I believe I recall reading one of the threads where someone with a 2018 experienced it. I decided I will just look out for it, and stop accordingly when it happens. Every post I've read indicates it happens at slow speeds. Guess I didn't answer your question, but I don't believe the GC has changed much since the 2018 model. Personally I am assuming it will happen.

RVPioneer · 09-28-2020, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StuartS

Is the 2020 Grand Cherokee prone to the same issue?

The issue began with the introduction of Electronic Power Steering on the 2016 model year GC. If the 2020 has EPS, it will be prone to the same issue.

mknight2012 · 09-28-2020, 03:30 PM

We just purchased a 2020 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. It has the Quadra lift air suspension. We just returned from our first trip flat towing it 1700 miles. 200 miles into our trip we experienced a severe wobble going through an interstate construction zone. This occurred going 55 to 60 miles an hour and this road was pretty rough. I knew right away what it was as I have a friend that tows a Cherokee which had this problem. I slowed down to a near stop and the wobble stopped. We had no further problems until we hit the same stretch of road coming back. This time I was going 45 to 50 miles an hour when the wobble started again after hitting several severe bumps in succession. It wasn't as bad this time but I'd still consider it severe. I was not aware that this was an issue and unlike most of the posts here it occurred at highway speed.
My local Jeep dealer was clueless when I described the problem. I have an inquiry into customer care but no response yet.
We'll be taking this Jeep out to AZ this winter from TN so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

RVPioneer · 09-28-2020, 03:42 PM

Perhaps it is aggravated by the air suspension option.

Not that you want to repeat the problem, but maybe experiment with the air bags inflated and deflated to see if it occurs under one condition and not the other?

mknight2012 · 09-28-2020, 03:54 PM

I also thought the air suspension might be a contributing factor. The owners manual says put the air suspension to normal ride height. There's two levels above that for off road use only and one below that when in park. I'm not sure the park level would give adequate clearance for the tires.

Big_Boy · 10-01-2020, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mknight2012

We just purchased a 2020 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. It has the Quadra lift air suspension. We just returned from our first trip flat towing it 1700 miles. 200 miles into our trip we experienced a severe wobble going through an interstate construction zone. This occurred going 55 to 60 miles an hour and this road was pretty rough. I knew right away what it was as I have a friend that tows a Cherokee which had this problem. I slowed down to a near stop and the wobble stopped. We had no further problems until we hit the same stretch of road coming back. This time I was going 45 to 50 miles an hour when the wobble started again after hitting several severe bumps in succession. It wasn't as bad this time but I'd still consider it severe. I was not aware that this was an issue and unlike most of the posts here it occurred at highway speed.
My local Jeep dealer was clueless when I described the problem. I have an inquiry into customer care but no response yet.
We'll be taking this Jeep out to AZ this winter from TN so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Wow. Scary. This is the very first time I have heard of this happening at 'speed'. I have towed ours quite a bit (>40K miles) and have never had this happen except when turning sharply from a dead stop. I did have it happen once when accelerating from stop in some very deep ruts in the asphalt. I think the Jeep was trying to climb out of the rut and this set all left-right oscillations in motion.

Is your tow bar level or does it slope upward to motorhome when MH is fully aired up?

Be sure to check all links in the tow bar set up and at the base plate. That sort of jerking arouind at 55 mph can't be good for the towing parts.

mknight2012 · 10-02-2020, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Boy

Wow. Scary. This is the very first time I have heard of this happening at 'speed'. I have towed ours quite a bit (>40K miles) and have never had this happen except when turning sharply from a dead stop. I did have it happen once when accelerating from stop in some very deep ruts in the asphalt. I think the Jeep was trying to climb out of the rut and this set all left-right oscillations in motion.

Is your tow bar level or does it slope upward to motorhome when MH is fully aired up?

Be sure to check all links in the tow bar set up and at the base plate. That sort of jerking arouind at 55 mph can't be good for the towing parts.

I have a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar with the cross bar. It survived fine. I think the cross bar added some much appreciated strength to the system. The tow bar is very close to level if anything the Jeep is very slightly higher.
The road we were on had some deep crevices on the edge of the road. Most were filled with asphalt but we suddenly hit a series of them that were unfilled all on the right side. I think this is what caused the Jeep to start the wobble. In 1700 miles this is the only time it happen going and coming. We went over many other areas of rough road with no issues. I contacted Jeep and John Johnston at FMCA who has been tracking this problem with 2016 and newer Grand Cherokees. It doesn't seem as though Jeep considers it enough of a problem to warrant a fix as they did in the Cherokees. We're taking it from TN to AZ this winter so we'll see how that goes. I'll updated then.

LeslieGary · 10-03-2020, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mknight2012

.......200 miles into our trip we experienced a severe wobble going through an interstate construction zone. This occurred going 55 to 60 miles an hour and this road was pretty rough. I knew right away what it was as I have a friend that tows a Cherokee which had this problem. I slowed down to a near stop and the wobble stopped. We had no further problems until we hit the same stretch of road coming back. This time I was going 45 to 50 miles an hour when the wobble started again after hitting several severe bumps in succession. It wasn't as bad this time but I'd still consider it severe. I was not aware that this was an issue and unlike most of the posts here it occurred at highway speed.......

Prior to this example of oscillation at highway speeds, my thinking was that the faster the wheels spin, the more they would resist a lateral force due to angular momentum. The same gyroscopic effect that keeps a spinning top upright would prevent highway speed front wheel oscillation.

While my hypothesis may be correct, apparently any stability benefits have their limits and are not something we can assume. I’m very happy mknight2012 was able to maintain control and (hopefully) no damage to components. Given the large number of variables (different hitches, connectors, speed, road conditions, etc) it is a complex problem that would seem to need the same solution as the Cherokee.

I’m not going to change my tow vehicle, but will continue to be careful, especially on rough roads or repair areas.

Excursion209 · 12-24-2020, 06:08 PM

So the big take away for this issue is that FCA has not resolved the wobble issue for the Grand Cherokee?

As we own one, a 2016 GC Summit 4X4 eco diesel, and have experienced the wobble on 3 occasions. All Flat towing, making a turn, below 10 mph, and on uneven surfaces.

W0mbat · 12-24-2020, 08:05 PM

We have had the death wobble on our 2019 GC Summit 4x4 constantly for 2 years now. We recently replaced the tires with a size larger BF Goodrich all terrain 275 55 R20 and have completed 3000 miles without a single problem. I suspect the larger all terrain tires are sucking up most of the rough roads and cushioning the steering. We were almost ready to get rid of the GC and this was our last attempt to fix the issue. We will see how it goes!

harleyjt · 12-24-2020, 09:24 PM

Stiffer sidewalks help alleviate the issue. I suspect if you had added some air to the OE tires it would have fixed the problem as well.
jt

mknight2012 · 12-25-2020, 08:57 AM

We replaced our tires with a heavier duty all terrain tire.
We just completed an 1800 mile trip from TN to AZ without any wobble. I'm pretty sure the poor condition of the OE tires was the primary cause of my high speed wobble issue. We purchased this GC from a car rental dealer and they obviously didn't ever rotate the tires or check the alignment. Hopefully the better tires are perminent fix.