Jeep GRAND Cherokee death wobble!

[mknight2012]

We just returned from a 1700 trip towing our 2020 GC Trailhawk. After this trip and a previous 4000 mile trip we have not experienced the death wobble. I still think our previous experience with the death wobble at 60mph was probably a combination of poor tires, a botched wheel alignment and a very rough stretch of highway road construction. I probably should have slowed down more than I did on that stretch. At this point I don't feel the need for the harness.

[TR13]

Looks like I have the same problem as some other posters in this thread. Ordered the harness for my '19 Grand Cherokee Overland and had a local dealer attempt to install. The inside harness installation went well; however, the tech said that when under the hood there is no pink/violet or gray wire, and no wires in the pin 8 position as described in blocks 25 & 26 of the installation instructions. Does anyone have a concise fix for this? Thanks in advance.

[the sights]

post 460 may help

[thegats1]

Originally Posted by mknight2012

We just returned from a 1700 trip towing our 2020 GC Trailhawk. After this trip and a previous 4000 mile trip we have not experienced the death wobble. I still think our previous experience with the death wobble at 60mph was probably a combination of poor tires, a botched wheel alignment and a very rough stretch of highway road construction. I probably should have slowed down more than I did on that stretch. At this point I don't feel the need for the harness.

I'm in your camp for now. Been on several trips towing our '20 GC Limited 4x4. No sign of a death wobble yet. I'm not naive to think it won't happen, but if/when it does, hopefully the harness installation is cleaner than it currently is. I was planning on getting it and installing it, but it seems like such a hassle. I'm sure I'll move on it if it happens to me. And I will appreciate the posts on this thread by people sorting it out and sharing . Until then I have lots of other things keeping me busy.

[Redbaron129]

2017 GC Overton . We have experienced the wobble 2 times both which were at low speed making a right turn while on uneven surfaces . We slowed to almost stop and then proceeded with no more problems our GC does have the quad lift, but was not in a raised
Position.. I don’t know if using a 2” raised hitch ball had anything to do with it but I suspect it may have contributed to the difference in road heights and 2” lift and possibly took too much weight off the front wheels. I have since changed to a 3” drop and have not experienced the wobble since. However I’m not going to go so far as to say I fixed it.

[ftodaro]

Originally Posted by Redbaron129

2017 GC Overton . We have experienced the wobble 2 times both which were at low speed making a right turn while on uneven surfaces . We slowed to almost stop and then proceeded with no more problems our GC does have the quad lift, but was not in a raised
Position.. I don’t know if using a 2” raised hitch ball had anything to do with it but I suspect it may have contributed to the difference in road heights and 2” lift and possibly took too much weight off the front wheels. I have since changed to a 3” drop and have not experienced the wobble since. However I’m not going to go so far as to say I fixed it.

It would be interesting to gather some data from all the people who have experienced the Wobble to report in with information about their tow bar connection, if it was dead level or how much the offset was between coach and car and which one was higher. I think this could be a factor. My set up is dead level, but i did not tow much before I bought the harness.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by ftodaro

It would be interesting to gather some data from all the people who have experienced the Wobble to report in with information about their tow bar connection, if it was dead level or how much the offset was between coach and car and which one was higher. I think this could be a factor. My set up is dead level, but i did not tow much before I bought the harness.

So my 19 GC Trailhawk has followed me for about 3000 miles so far and I have experienced the wobble on 2 separate occasions...... both were making a left turn at slow speed on very uneven terrain. It is immediately apparent and a quick stop and then forward with no further issues.

Our set-up is with a Roadmaster Sterling all-terrain and it is within 1/2" of level when set up.

I am not willing to deal with the "It might work" harness at this time and feel I can manage the issues and do my best to keep out of the situations that seem to precipitate the DW until such time as the harness is vetted and the bugs are worked out.

[Mikenat]

We have a 2021 GC with quadra trac 2. Have you installed the wire harness being discussed? If so is your steering easy or hard when in tow neutral and the vehicle off?
I need to know if the harness is even necessary since there seems to be those that say the wobble only will happen in a tight turn at slow speeds. Another question I have is the brake pedal is dead hard when vehicle is off so I thinking the Blue Ox Patriot 2 brake device will not work on the 2021 GC. Any advice is appreciated.

[CA Traveler]

FYI 4+years ago there were many posts on death wobble and a harness was developed for the Cherokee, maybe other models. All bets are off if the vehicle is not maintained or modified. The problem was due to inadequate damping with EPS, hydraulic steering like my 14 GC (and 15) did not have this problem.

The harness solution was to run the EPS pump while towing to provide the damping which may imply the need for a charging line. There was a lot of confusion for owners and dealers and this thread suggests that still exists. There were also posts for other mfg models. I have not kept up with this issue

Be aware that there were some posts of very serious damage by some owners including highway driving.

[DebbieMH]

Originally Posted by Mikenat

We have a 2021 GC with quadra trac 2. Have you installed the wire harness being discussed? If so is your steering easy or hard when in tow neutral and the vehicle off?
I need to know if the harness is even necessary since there seems to be those that say the wobble only will happen in a tight turn at slow speeds. Another question I have is the brake pedal is dead hard when vehicle is off so I thinking the Blue Ox Patriot 2 brake device will not work on the 2021 GC. Any advice is appreciated.

I have a 2021 GC Summit and have towed it over 14,000 miles over the last year plus. I do not have the harness. The steering wheel is hard to move when in neutral. Problem is solved by doing the following; when arriving to your destination, do the procedure to get the GC out of neutral. Then turn the car off, get out of the car and shut the door. Unhook from your motorhome, then get back in the car. It will be fine then. The car just needs a little time for the power steering to understand it is no longer in neutral. Kinda like a reboot on a computer. I don't think you will get the wobble if your tow bar is fairly level, get a drop if needed to make sure it is pretty level.

[thegats1]

Originally Posted by Mikenat

We have a 2021 GC with quadra trac 2. Have you installed the wire harness being discussed? If so is your steering easy or hard when in tow neutral and the vehicle off?
I need to know if the harness is even necessary since there seems to be those that say the wobble only will happen in a tight turn at slow speeds. Another question I have is the brake pedal is dead hard when vehicle is off so I thinking the Blue Ox Patriot 2 brake device will not work on the 2021 GC. Any advice is appreciated.

I guess I'm rolling the dice still. I decided to wait on installing the harness until I have the issue. So far I have not had an issue towing without it. I have a 2020 GC Limited 4x4 with Quadra Trac II also. I have the M&G Engineering brake installed and it works wonderfully.

[markpj23]

Originally Posted by Mikenat

We have a 2021 GC with quadra trac 2. Have you installed the wire harness being discussed? If so is your steering easy or hard when in tow neutral and the vehicle off?....

I have the same vehicle and had the wiring harness installed before we started towing. The harness instructions have flaws - in particular the procedure to engage the EPS prior to towing. When we first used it according to procedure, the steering was hard as if the car was off.


Thanks to this thread we now know the correct procedure to engage the EPS using the harness. The key is to insert the fuse and flip the switch while the car is running, then go through the rest of the tow procedure (neutral, etc). This way the EPS is engaged and the steering wheel turns easily as if the car were running.


For me it was not worth the risk to tow without the harness after so many had reported problems. Cheap insurance less than $400 installed....

[wfcentral]

I have now read every post in this thread. It seems to me that models prior to 2016 (when steering was switched to electric) do have have the death wobble.

I have an option to buy one of the following - each at a great price.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited w/ 75,000 miles
2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited w/ 21,000 miles

Both are identical other than year and miles. Both are fully loaded.

While I would like to have the newer vehicle with less miles, this thread is making me lean toward the 2014.

Any thoughts / comments? What would you do?

My first thought is to get the 2014 now and wait a few years for Jeep to maybe get this figured out and then trade it in for a newer model.

[CA Traveler]

The 14-15 Grand Cherokee Overland have hydroulic steering. The pump has an electric motor instead of a engine mounted pump.