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

esyers
Explorer
Jun 23, 2017
It was suggested to me to run a small bungie cord from the bottom of the steering wheel and connect to anything under the driver's seat. This seem to put enough pressure on the wheel to stop the wobble but not interfere with normal towing.

FMCA is currently collecting data to present to GM in hopes of getting a response.
j-d
Explorer II
Jun 23, 2017
esyers wrote:
FMCA is currently collecting data to present to GM in hopes of getting a response.

It took pressure and horror stories, but FCA came up with a fix for Jeeps.
lryrob9301
Explorer
Jun 28, 2017
j-d wrote:
esyers wrote:
FMCA is currently collecting data to present to GM in hopes of getting a response.

It took pressure and horror stories, but FCA came up with a fix for Jeeps.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for FMCA to do anything. They are trying to dig out of the Verizon mess they got into, and the leadership is trying cover everything up to save their jobs.
esyers
Explorer
Jun 29, 2017
I'm not holding my breath. The bungie cord is working just fine.

And I have about 1000 percent more confidence in FMCA than in GM even with the current hoopla. Only because I've been burned by GM before.
jplante4
Explorer II
Sep 08, 2017
esyers wrote:
I'm not holding my breath. The bungie cord is working just fine.

And I have about 1000 percent more confidence in FMCA than in GM even with the current hoopla. Only because I've been burned by GM before.

Just bought an Equinox. Could you post a pic of this solution? Thanks.

When I ran a tow truck, we took an old fan belt, looped it through the steering wheel and closed the door on it. I suppose this is the same thing, yes?
lryrob9301
Explorer
Sep 09, 2017
jplante4 wrote:
esyers wrote:
I'm not holding my breath. The bungie cord is working just fine.

And I have about 1000 percent more confidence in FMCA than in GM even with the current hoopla. Only because I've been burned by GM before.

Just bought an Equinox. Could you post a pic of this solution? Thanks.

When I ran a tow truck, we took an old fan belt, looped it through the steering wheel and closed the door on it. I suppose this is the same thing, yes?

NO, it is not the same thing. What you did with the belt kept the steering wheel from turning. You want the steering wheel to turn when cornering, but not over correct when coming out of the corner.

You simply take a couple of bunge cords and loop them through the steering wheel and secure them to the seat bottom. This will allow the steering wheel to move while making a turn but keep enough centering force on the wheel to keep it from over correcting thus stopping the wobble.

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