Jeep GRAND Cherokee death wobble!

[mhudson]

Rick,
That's the same reply I got. James did clean it up some and took out a little of the stuff about it being a brake controller issue though! The kit is for the wiring harness and switch for the Cherokee model. I got the parts Monday and verified with James it will work on our Grand Cherokee's.
We are in the process of installing now. I should know something today.
Mike

[jlr44]

I do my best thinking while I am asleep. I was wondering what front tire pressure do you have? Maybe I need more pressure in my front tires because of the extra weight of the motor and the hitch. Just another thought. I am do some test driving with different tire pressures.

[mhudson]

Rick,
This is what James sent me.

"Dear Francis,

Thank you for contacting the Jeep Customer Assistance Center.

I understand your frustration here. I must be very frustrating being unable to identify the issue with the vehicle while flat towing behind your motor home. Having dealt with this issue in the past for other customers I can state you are not alone in these feelings. However the issue itself is actually not with the jeep. The issue is that when flat towing some brake controllers do not have the required power to effectively allow the jeep to be towed correctly and not experience a wandering effect behind the vehicle towing them. In recognition of this Jeep has released an amendment to the Manual that came with the vehicle.

Please see:
"If the customer is experiencing vehicle shake while recreationally towing, a Mopar Accessory kit (68321424AB) is available to improve the flat tow towing behavior. Owners may contact their local dealer for purchase and installation."

This Mopar kit was designed to improve the flat towing capability of the vehicle when using a brake controller that may not be supplying enough power to correctly assist the Jeeps braking system. Having this system installed should prevent the described issue while flat towing behind your motor home.

Thank you again for your email. Should you require additional assistance, or have any new information to provide, please reply to this
email message or call 1-877-I-AM-JEEP (1-877-426-5337).

Sincerely,

James"

I'm not sure where the "not enough power " issue comes into play when their recommended fix is for the Electric Power Steering. I have discussed that at length with James. (Well, I asked in a long drawn out way. He never explained just asked if the kit corrected the problem!) Anyway hopefully we'll know today if it tests and acts correctly. I just want the problem corrected.

[lass]

Mike. Is the dealer installing the harness or did you buy it and have your local mechanic install it?

As an added note, my service manager has said that jeep has not issued a service bulletin for the Grand Cherokee and she is sending our list to Jeep engineering for a status.

[rpasetto]

Originally Posted by rewillia

Having filed a case with FCA a few days ago as suggested by Lass, I received the following response yesterday but remain somewhat skeptical that this is actually the fix needed. Has anyone else here received a similar response and if so, installed the recommended part? I have since ordered the part from Jeep and expect to receive it tomorrow.

Attachment 178769

Originally Posted by mhudson

... The kit is for the wiring harness and switch for the Cherokee model. I got the parts Monday and verified with James it will work on our Grand Cherokee's.
We are in the process of installing now. I should know something today.
Mike

Originally Posted by mhudson

Rick,
This is what James sent me.

"Dear Francis,

Thank you for contacting the Jeep Customer Assistance Center.

... . However the issue itself is actually not with the jeep. The issue is that when flat towing some brake controllers do not have the required power to effectively allow the jeep to be towed correctly and not experience a wandering effect behind the vehicle towing them.

This Mopar kit was designed to improve the flat towing capability of the vehicle when using a brake controller that may not be supplying enough power to correctly assist the Jeeps braking system.

OMG! talk about spinning the facts. The "insufficient" or "not enough" power is actually no power at all to the EPS system; that's what the "harness kit" does... supplies power to the EPS which is otherwise off.

I don't know whether Cherokee owners or GC owners less openly. I hope for y'all's sake that this guy knows what he's talking about when he says the KL Cherokee harness will work with the GC. (PM me if you want a link to the posts in a KL Cherokee forum which shows, irrefutably, that FCA knew about an EPS-wobble problem as early as 2010.)

And to think... I own three Mopar vehicles... still don't know if my pickup may be subject to the same wobble issues as my Cherokee was.

[rewillia]

Reference: My previous post #56 on FCA's recommended fix for the uncontrolled front wheel wobble on the Jeep Grand Cherokee when being flat towed.

As stated, my skeptism toward the initial response I received from FCA proved correct. Having received the advice from James @ FCA that I needed the Mopar Accessory Kit (68321424AB) to be installed to remedy the problem with my JGC, I went into a local Jeep dealer yesterday and purchased/ordered the kit. In doing so, I asked the Service Manager to review the installation procedures and call me once the part was in and let me know what the labor cost and time required to do the installation would be and then, we'd set an appointment for me to bring the car in. - The Service Manager called me this morning to advise me that they had in fact received the kit overnight but that upon opening it and reading the installation instructions provided with the kit stated it (the 68321424AB) is for the Cherokee model and not for the Grand Cherokee models.

This further lead me to call FCA back this morning wherein the CS rep I spoke with and explained all this to, placed me on hold for awhile and returned to the line to inform me of the following;

1) that I had been wrongly informed by James and that the Mopar Accessory Kit will indeed not work for my Grand Cherokee (2016).

2) that FCA will need to assign this to a case manager to work with my retail Jeep Dealer's service department once I have requested and scheduled an appointment for Jeep service to run a diagnostic check on the vehicle.

[mhudson]

My mechanic came to the same conclusion this morning. I have zero confidence with my local dealership and not much more for FCA. I trust my mechanic. He has a fully equipped shop and does all my service work for my company vehicles. He is amazed that FCA is so messed up on this. My local dealership has been giving me the runaround about this for a year. The next closest dealer is about an hour away. I guess we'll have to wait for FMCA and see if they can get Jeep on the stick.
Mike

[lass]

Mike thanks for the update. Was hoping that it would work out for you.

What we know is that FMCA is sending the spreadsheet to their contact at Jeep and my service manager has also sent the list to Jeep engineering in Detroit.

Personally I will not make a move until FCA releases specific instructions for the GC.

[rewillia]

Reference Post 56 & 62; Continuation;

So after all stated in my prior posts, this is the latest reply I received today from James at FCA.

Get ready - FCA's response is that I trailer the vehicle! Unacceptable to say the least!

I too am and was already onboard with Lass taking the lead on this with FMCA. This information from FCA and results of the past two days are the direct consequence of my having filed my original case and the assignment of a case # which I provided to Lass.

[rpasetto]

Well that answered my earlier thought about whether FCA-Jeep treated owners of KL Cherokees or WK2 Grand Cherokees the worst. Sorry to see how y'all are being treated. Maybe that was because brochure and owners' manual stated flat-towing capability stating nothing about a wiring kit.

I think you guys have a chance of getting a solution thoughj... keep pushing and don't forget to write NHTSA about your problem... it is a safety issue as the videos of KL Cherokee have shown.

[rewillia]

Originally Posted by rpasetto

I think you guys have a chance of getting a solution thoughj... keep pushing and don't forget to write NHTSA about your problem... it is a safety issue as the videos of KL Cherokee have shown.

I personally filed a case with the NHTSB today on the matter.

[mhudson]

I got the same response. I want my CRV back.

[rstano]

Thanks Lass for compiling the list of Jeep GC owners who have experienced the wobble. I spoke with Audra at Jeep Care today and her response was that the GC performs as designed and that I would have to have it diagnosed by my service center. I told her that that was already done in May and that nothing was found. Then she said that I would have to bring it in hooked up to the motorhome. Ha-Ha. I told here the tech would have to ride in the car for a thousand miles or two before anything might happen. So she said she would try to escalate this to the next level on this coming Monday. We will see. She at least knew, as I did, that there is no current fix for the GC.

Please folks, if you have the wobble bug the hell out of Jeep Care (844-533-7928) so you are on record over and over stating that this is a safety issue and not just an inconvenience. I can't imagine the stress on my Blue Ox tow bar.

I was one of the first, if not the first to report this to Jeep Care over a year ago now. And I continue to bug them on a regular basis. I have gone thru 4 Phone Answerers and will probably have more before this is over. I also reported this to NHTSI over a year ago and advise all to do the same. See my earlier post #38. I appreciate the post of the video of the Cherokee in the midst of a death wobble and will share this with Audra at Jeep Care on Monday when she calls.

R. Stano

[jlr44]

If they say the wiring harness works. Does anyone know what all you will have to go through each tine you are ready to tow? I for one am about to trade a 2017 GC Summit with 6500 miles for something that is less trouble to set up for towing.