New Grand Cherokee L - Flat Tow???

[jmfixitman]

Originally Posted by pattypom

I spoke to the mechanics figuring the salesmen know squat. The mechanic said the GC with third row seats can be flat towed. I had my jeep in the shop for a repair and showed him where they installed my tow equipment in the front end of my 2015. We looked at the 2022 and wasn’t so certain where to hook up the tow equipment. Heck I was afraid to pull the trigger on a new jeep. Keeping the old one. It has under 50,000 miles.

Check back through this thread. We have a 2022 Grand Cherokee L and it tows great. We have the Roadmaster baseplate setup for towing, with the Air force One for braking.

[pattypom]

Originally Posted by Deek

Thanks very much for the suggestion. I did this already and Blue Ox doesn’t have fitment of base plate as of yet. I’m sure they will soon. They would, I’m certain, see this vehicle as flat towable per the Owner’s Manual - because the OM says it is - but I’m equally confident that Blue Ox would neither know about, nor care about, the death wobble issue. Us RV folks are the ones who lie awake at night worrying about this, not them.

I want to be sure they have addressed - and eliminated - the death wobble risk on GC L before pulling the trigger.

I did take the suggestion made by Lass, and wrote to FCA to see what they say. Lass and I both have been in touch with this guy before and found him to be responsive - so … fingers are crossed.

Deek

My sentiments exactly. I also called Blue Ox.

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by pattypom

I spoke to the mechanics figuring the salesmen know squat. The mechanic said the GC with third row seats can be flat towed. I had my jeep in the shop for a repair and showed him where they installed my tow equipment in the front end of my 2015. We looked at the 2022 and wasn’t so certain where to hook up the tow equipment. Heck I was afraid to pull the trigger on a new jeep. Keeping the old one. It has under 50,000 miles.

Just to clarify the statement bolded above, for the the Grand Cherokee L (three row model), ONLY the Overland and Summit trims with 4WD and Quadra Track II can be flat towed. The Limited and below are definitely not flat towable.

Baseplates are readily available from BlueOx and Roadmaster.

[RayCreep]

Has anyone in this group had a 2017 - 2019 Grand Cherokee, that they had the steering wiring harness put on that took away the death wobble? Trying to find out if the steering harness really works.

[JeepinJason]

Originally Posted by RayCreep

Has anyone in this group had a 2017 - 2019 Grand Cherokee, that they had the steering wiring harness put on that took away the death wobble? Trying to find out if the steering harness really works.

I have been working on Jeeps for 30 years and have never heard of a wiring harness fixing death wobble. It is almost always a suspension problem. Stabilizers will mask whatever the real problem is.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by JeepinJason

I have been working on Jeeps for 30 years and have never heard of a wiring harness fixing death wobble. It is almost always a suspension problem. Stabilizers will mask whatever the real problem is.

Our 2017 Wobbled at less than 7,000 and talk to others that had the same problem with less than 10,000 miles. It affects lots of different years of Jeep Cherokee with electric steering. To bad this is for the NON Grand Cherokee models and the harness can not be installed on 2017 GC so it didn't do me any good.

This is from "Jeep Cares" and is a real problem.

NUMBER: 08-010-17
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: January 28, 2017

SUBJECT:
Accessory Kit to Enhance Flat Tow Performance
MODELS:
2014 - **2017** (KL) Jeep Cherokee

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
The customer may describe that their vehicle shakes or bounces while being flat towed.
DISCUSSION:
If the customer describes the symptom/condition listed above, a Mopar Accessory kit is available to improve flat tow towing behavior. Ensure that all instructions included in the kit (#K6862569), are followed during the install process.

Part #68321424AB

[JeepinJason]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

Our 2017 Wobbled at less than 7,000 and talk to others that had the same problem with less than 10,000 miles. It affects lots of different years of Jeep Cherokee with electric steering. To bad this is for the NON Grand Cherokee models and the harness can not be installed on 2017 GC so it didn't do me any good.

This is from "Jeep Cares" and is a real problem.

NUMBER: 08-010-17
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: January 28, 2017

SUBJECT:
Accessory Kit to Enhance Flat Tow Performance
MODELS:
2014 - **2017** (KL) Jeep Cherokee

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
The customer may describe that their vehicle shakes or bounces while being flat towed.
DISCUSSION:
If the customer describes the symptom/condition listed above, a Mopar Accessory kit is available to improve flat tow towing behavior. Ensure that all instructions included in the kit (#K6862569), are followed during the install process.

Part #68321424AB

I should have been more specific to the Grand Cherokee, but figured since the original question was around the Grand Cherokee I did not need to. Your fix is for the Cherokee so not relevant to the conversation and is only for when the Cherokee is not running. The Grand Cherokee death wobble happens to some owners even when they are driving and is nearly always a suspension problem.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by JeepinJason

I should have been more specific to the Grand Cherokee, but figured since the original question was around the Grand Cherokee I did not need to. Your fix is for the Cherokee so not relevant to the conversation and is only for when the Cherokee is not running. The Grand Cherokee death wobble happens to some owners even when they are driving and is nearly always a suspension problem.

There is a harness for the 2017 to 2021 Grand Cherokee to prevent the "Death Wobble" and the 2021 GC "L" and the 2022 GC it was installed at the factory. The entire thread is about towing the Grand Cherokee with the engine off as a TOAD behind a motorhome.

The reason I comment is because you posted to 284 that was asking about the Grand Cherokee wiring harness that you have never heard of a harness to prevent wobble and most likely a suspension problem. Electric steering pumps has even identified by Mopar as the problem for the death wobble on the GC

[jmfixitman]

OK, so questions for those flat towing the GCL, possibly specific to the Summit model. I'm experiencing a couple problems which seem to be tech related. We have been towing ours now for many trips, and more times than not when we disconnect and prepare to drive, the dash has numerous warnings and error messages. TPS, air suspension system, etc. After driving over 20mph for a few minutes, they all go away. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or its specific to the tech in the summit model? This last tow, which was only 3 hours long, when we went to disconnect, we smelled a burning rubber smell??? No, the parking brake was not on, it was still in neutral and the wheels were turning freely... Anyone else having these issues?

We're running Roadmaster baseplate and Nighthawk tow bar, and I have the toad charging system hooked up and it says charging, etc when connected and we have never had a dead battery.

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by jmfixitman

OK, so questions for those flat towing the GCL, possibly specific to the Summit model. I'm experiencing a couple problems which seem to be tech related. We have been towing ours now for many trips, and more times than not when we disconnect and prepare to drive, the dash has numerous warnings and error messages. TPS, air suspension system, etc. After driving over 20mph for a few minutes, they all go away. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or its specific to the tech in the summit model? This last tow, which was only 3 hours long, when we went to disconnect, we smelled a burning rubber smell??? No, the parking brake was not on, it was still in neutral and the wheels were turning freely... Anyone else having these issues?

We're running Roadmaster baseplate and Nighthawk tow bar, and I have the toad charging system hooked up and it says charging, etc when connected and we have never had a dead battery.

Yeah I know its a lot to wade through but the "reboot required after towing" issue is discussed many times in this thread.

All towable GC-L do it. Not a problem, just the nature of the beast. Latest on this is Jeep tells me the system just needs to "reboot" after a tow session and as you discovered, drive 20-25 mph for a few seconds and it all clears up.

You should be much more concerned about the electric park brake (EPB). One wrong move during setup and you could drive away with your rear wheels locked up - a few have done it and destroyed their tires.

See my video about the setup procedure I use to prevent that:
https://youtu.be/r8ERkj3hUTo
Over 50 tow sessions and 10K plus miles so far with no issues.

The rubber smell I used to get as well, seems to have mostly gone away for me at this point. So far Jeep has not been able to provide an explanation to me. However, my Honda used to do that too and the steer tires would wear more quickly than normal. I expect the stresses on the suspension while towing are different than normal driving and that causes some additional tire wear.

[huntnski]

Successfully towed our 2023 Jeep GCL with no issues. Must admit I was nervous the whole time but everything worked as it should. Thanks to Voltdoc and others for their diligence with Jeep to rectify past issues that have been reported. Rob has a YouTube video that was very helpful.

On the road again!

[RogerB]

I followed Rob’s video exactly and still have an issue with getting transfer case out of neutral at the end of the day when traveling. I have the L at the dealership now for a checkup as to why it is so hard to come out of neutral.

[DH-TCF]

Don't know if this will help you or not, but this is my cheat-sheet I made. I printed, folded in half and laminated to leave in the car.

[huntnski]

Originally Posted by RogerB

I followed Rob’s video exactly and still have an issue with getting transfer case out of neutral at the end of the day when traveling. I have the L at the dealership now for a checkup as to why it is so hard to come out of neutral.

Be sure to post what they find, I’ll be nervous about mine till I’ve successfully pulled it a few times.

Is Hot Springs your home base? We’re from Benton.