Hi guys, been a while since I've been on site. We almost gave up the RV life because of our elderly parents declining health through the last couple of years, we always thought they were our responsibility and we took care of them until the end.Now we've started back out on the road and have a few issues towing our 2013 Equinox. I have a Blue-Ox XL towbar that has 48,000 tow miles on it, it shows some wear and looseness.Problem.........when making a 90 degree turn from one street onto another, the front wheels on the Equinox will track properly for the first 2/3 of the turn, then the wheels will flop violently side to side until I get straight and come to a complete stop. Then I can pull out and everything goes back to normal.This can happen on right or left hand turns.When the car is driven by itself, it drives beautifully, no steering issues.The first time this happened was about 40,000 miles ago, but didn't repeat for quite a while, we just returned from a 2800 mile trip and it happened 9 times. Now it's a safety issue, concerned about causing a rear end collision when I have to stop in the middle of then road.Please help!

Jer, this is a common problem with our 4cyl with electric power steering, Equinox and Terrain toads. Do a search on "death wobble". You'll get a lot of info.Ron

Just in general...Toad will follow RV in gradual maneuvers like a curve in the roadRV will force Toad to follow in sharp maneuvers like a tight corner or U-TurnNow, let's use a Right Turn by the RV...RV is steering Right, but the Rear Overhang swings LEFT...RV straightens out, and Rear Overhang swings RIGHT...But TOAD is still steering LEFT!!! If the steering geometry or something else (maybe electric steering) keeps it from coming back to center, you drag the front wheels of the Toad, Sideways...Our first two toads were a Toyota Tercel (base model, manual transmission and manual steering) and a Mitsubishi Pickup (base, manual and manual)We towed with a 24-ft Class C with only 158" wheelbase. It had a long rear overhang, and could turn pretty tight with its short wheelbase. On a hard right turn, the Tercel would get hard over and stay there. I left it unlocked so I could run back after I'd stopped, and center the steering!!! The pickup, on the other hand, never did that. We have a Corolla and a Frontier now, manual shift, hydraulic power steering, and neither displays the problem. But... our 31-ft Class C with five more feet of wheelbase, needs a football field to do a U-Turn, so I don't think the toad steering is really being challenged.

The electric power steering is the root of the problem. I think Jeep had the same issue, and finally issued a TSB for a fix. You may have to do some digging, but I bet GM has also issued a TSB with a solution.

Thanks for the replies folks, I appreciate all of the input.

DownTheAvenue wrote:The electric power steering is the root of the problem. I think Jeep had the same issue, and finally issued a TSB for a fix. You may have to do some digging, but I bet GM has also issued a TSB with a solution.NO GM has not issued any service bulletins concerning this situation. Their position is that this condition happens only when towing and therefore is not safety related to the intended operation (driving) of the vehicle. While they say the vehicle CAN be towed they do not warranty it's performance WHILE being towed as this is not it's designed purpose.That said, if you leave the #32 fuse in place while towing it will keep the electric power steering active and help correct the problem.

Wild toad | Good Sam Community

lanerd
Explorer II
Jun 20, 2017
Jer, this is a common problem with our 4cyl with electric power steering, Equinox and Terrain toads. Do a search on "death wobble". You'll get a lot of info.

Ron
j-d
Explorer II
Jun 20, 2017
Just in general...

Toad will follow RV in gradual maneuvers like a curve in the road

RV will force Toad to follow in sharp maneuvers like a tight corner or U-Turn

Now, let's use a Right Turn by the RV...

RV is steering Right, but the Rear Overhang swings LEFT...

RV straightens out, and Rear Overhang swings RIGHT...

But TOAD is still steering LEFT!!! If the steering geometry or something else (maybe electric steering) keeps it from coming back to center, you drag the front wheels of the Toad, Sideways...

Our first two toads were a Toyota Tercel (base model, manual transmission and manual steering) and a Mitsubishi Pickup (base, manual and manual)

We towed with a 24-ft Class C with only 158" wheelbase. It had a long rear overhang, and could turn pretty tight with its short wheelbase. On a hard right turn, the Tercel would get hard over and stay there. I left it unlocked so I could run back after I'd stopped, and center the steering!!! The pickup, on the other hand, never did that.

We have a Corolla and a Frontier now, manual shift, hydraulic power steering, and neither displays the problem. But... our 31-ft Class C with five more feet of wheelbase, needs a football field to do a U-Turn, so I don't think the toad steering is really being challenged.
DownTheAvenue
Explorer
Jun 21, 2017
The electric power steering is the root of the problem. I think Jeep had the same issue, and finally issued a TSB for a fix. You may have to do some digging, but I bet GM has also issued a TSB with a solution.
purplekeenah
Explorer
Jun 21, 2017
Thanks for the replies folks, I appreciate all of the input.
lryrob9301
Explorer
Jun 21, 2017
DownTheAvenue wrote:
The electric power steering is the root of the problem. I think Jeep had the same issue, and finally issued a TSB for a fix. You may have to do some digging, but I bet GM has also issued a TSB with a solution.

NO GM has not issued any service bulletins concerning this situation. Their position is that this condition happens only when towing and therefore is not safety related to the intended operation (driving) of the vehicle. While they say the vehicle CAN be towed they do not warranty it's performance WHILE being towed as this is not it's designed purpose.

That said, if you leave the #32 fuse in place while towing it will keep the electric power steering active and help correct the problem.
purplekeenah
Explorer
Jun 21, 2017
If I leave the #32 fuse in place the miles will rack up (which I don't care about), any other thing to concern myself with, like battery drain?
lryrob9301
Explorer
Jun 21, 2017
purplekeenah wrote:
If I leave the #32 fuse in place the miles will rack up (which I don't care about), any other thing to concern myself with, like battery drain?

Are you sure? If the key is in the ACC position I don't believe mileage is accumulated.

You can also loop a couple of large bunge cords through the bottom of the steering wheel and secure them to the bottom of the driver's seat frame to provide a centering force to help counteract the over correction of the steering.
purplekeenah
Explorer
Jun 21, 2017
So be it........I'll be taking a test drive with the #32 fuse plugged in.
Thanks
purplekeenah
Explorer
Jun 23, 2017
Hey folks, I took a test run with the fuse energized, it appears to have eliminated the wobble.
Thanks for all of the advice, I appreciate all of your input!!
j-d
Explorer II
Jun 23, 2017
Great news! No big deal to run a charging line because more systems are energized.

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