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Barbe1947's avatar
Barbe1947
Explorer
Jul 02, 2018

Towing a 2008 Jeep Liberty 4x4

We are looking to buy a 2008 Jeep Liberty that has a different set up. Instead of a transfer case with a handle it has a light when you put it in four wheel drive. It has an N on it. Sorry it’s hard to explain. My question is can this vehicle be towed flat?
  • We tow a 2012 Grand Cherokee 4X4 Limited; currently over 20,000 towed miles. Have experienced no problems. Transfer case works everytime without exception.

    If you are looking for a car manuals then you should visit carmanuals.org
  • Barb
    I towed a 2008 Jeep Liberty Limited for about seven years , no problem.
    You need to use pen or something to push down on little button, that will switch to neutral position. It is electronic switch.
    Anyway I have a complete wiring with diodes never used for vehicle setup.
    If you decide to tow the 2008 Jeep Liberty it would be an easy setup.
    No wiring splicing or cutting, just remove tail lights and plug in.


    Good luck
    check your private messages
  • We towed an 08 Liberty Limited 4X4 for 8 years. We are full time RVers and towed it around 50K miles. Easy to get ready to tow. Great vehicle, never had any issue or even one repair. We now tow a Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk that is basically the same process to get it ready to tow.

    Ken
    2018 Dutch Star
    Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk Toad
  • Barbe1947 wrote:
    We are looking to buy a 2008 Jeep Liberty that has a different set up. Instead of a transfer case with a handle it has a light when you put it in four wheel drive. It has an N on it. Sorry it’s hard to explain. My question is can this vehicle be towed flat?

    check the owner's manual for that model year in the Recreational Towing section. those manuals should be available on line at jeep.com.

    but, you have an electronic transfer case instead of a mechanical transfer case. our 2010 liberty is the same. in order to prep it for towing the transmission is placed in park and the transfer case is shifted to neutral using the point of a pen or pencil. there is a short step-by-step procedure to do that which takes about 30-seconds.

    but check the owner's manual for that specific year and model to be certain.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    If I looked it up correctly, the 2008 4x4 Liberty is towable four down by following the ritual on Page 378 of the Owner's Manual Linked Here.
    It's an electronically controlled transfer case that's shifted to N by sending a series of signals to the PCM. Once done, the lights confirm that it's done successfully...
    ...but then you're supposed to test that it's in N by attempting to move the Libby by starting the engine and putting it in gear. Since the N position's achieved with such a complex routine, AND they provide an operational test, that'd be my recommendation if shopping for a used Libby to use as four-down toad. Make the shift to N and the test (AND back to normal driving mode!) part of the test drive.
  • what does the owners manual say under recreational towing or towing behind a motorhome? that is the only valid source.
    bumpy