Scary Dinghy Event

[mrubaum]

I have had this happen to me twice now. Under the perfect conditions my 2014 Jeep Cherokee dinghy lurches left and right unable to correct itself. It is quite horrifying. It shakes my 40 foot diesel pusher and you can see the car going crazy in the rear camera. Both times I was traveling about 50 miles per hour. What I believe happens is that if you are in a long banking turn and you hit a big enough pot hole it basically graps the steering wheel and tells the car to go either right of left. Once the car realizes it can't do that because it is connected to a tow bar it corrects the other way. Once it realizes it can't go that way either it corrects the other way and goes into what I call a death spiral.Left, right, left right, etc. The solution is to come to a complete stop. The car then goes back to behaving properly. Not sure my theory is correct but it is all I can think of. Wondering if anyone else has ever had this happen? Mike

[SacsTC]

For a list of Tech Service Bulletins, go to the following::
http://www.jeepgarage.org/f76/tsb-and-recall-information-2014-2017-kl-cherokee-71873.html

Could not get this to post using the normal procedure..

on 03/17/16, tsb #08/029/16a gives the necessary info to correct this problem.
Mine was ordered and installed free of charge. You may have to fight to get them to do it for free.

[Jim]

Years ago, people with this problem would use bungee cords to help stabilize the toad. Running a battery charge line to the toad might also help, with it, the key can be left on, along with running lights (the side markers, those in back are typically wired to be on when towing) to help with visibility.

I'm with Bullydogs1, I'm keeping my Saturn as long as possible. Super easy to tow.

[hanko]

esyers wrote:
The bungee cord seems to have solved the problem on my Equinox.

thats the way tow truck drivers do it when towing a rear wheels drive car with the front tires on the ground.

[esyers]

The bungee cord seems to have solved the problem on my Equinox.

[jplante4]

Not a great solution, but back in a previous life when I was towing cars, if I had to tow it from the back, I took an old fan belt, looped it through the steering wheel and closed the door on the other end. This prevented the steering wheel from whipping around and still left enough play to allow the wheels to turn. You could do the same thing with bungee cords.

[bullydogs1]

What I have learned from this thread....if a car has electronic steering, make sure it is active when off and you have a charge line to it.....Sometimes simpler is better, which is why I am planning to keep my Saturn toad as long as humanly possible.

[sportech]

I had the same problem with the wobble under similar conditions to the OP. We have a 2015 Chevy Malibu. I was sure that something had broken on the coach or the car. I pulled to the side (in a construction zone) and could not find a problem. I slowly pulled back on the road and carefully increased speed. There were no further problems. I didn't think to look in the rear view camera as I was concentrating on getting to the side of the road safely. The Malibu does have electric PS.

Dave
07 Revolution 40E

[Tedtoo]

We tow a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude and have had the same experience. Terrifying to say the least! I had to be very proactive in getting the required wiring harness installed. My dealer knew nothing about it. But, since having the wiring harness installed, have not had another incident. And FCA paid for the harness and installation. Good luck. Oh, we put a battery tender wired to the MH batteries on so we did not have to start the Jeep every 3 hours!

TedToo

[doxiemom11]

Our 1995 Jeep Cherokee has the "death wobble" at times when driving it. It is usually when hitting certain bumps, as in going onto and off of a bridge area. Hitting the brake corrects it but no one would be there to do that when towed. This is known to be caused by worn suspension parts and there is a kit for fixing this too. It is a well discussed topic on the Jeep forums if you would like to review that site there could be other useful information discussed by current owners of the newer cherokees.

[Tripalot]

Last August we purchased a 2016 Cherokee Trailhawk. Thanks to this forum, we found out about needing a Mopar wiring harness. Actually the same information is in the Owners Manual under dingy towing. When buying this new vehicle we discussed the wobble problem with the dealer and it was left they would check into it. Well, now it is March and we are getting the Jeep ready to tow this summer.

We sent full documentation about the wobble problem to Chrysler Canada asking them to cover the cost as we feel the Jeep is not towable as advertised and we made it very clear that the reason we were purchasing this vehicle was because it could be towed. After 3 weeks and no reply from Chrysler, and timing becoming an issue, we took the Jeep in yesterday for the wiring harness to be installed.
The bill, which we had to pay was over $600 and this was after haggling and being given a discount. We were not happy campers to say the least and intend to approach Chrysler Canada again.

Our dealer made it clear that Chrysler Canada was not the same as Chrysler in USA. To that, all I can add is that $600 Canadian is better for us than $600 US.

[hanko]

In airplane terms we call this control surface flutter. It can be catastrophic to say the least. Good luck i hope there is an easy fix for you

[ScottG]

I would have the alignment checked and get all the castor you can out of it.

[MNGeeks61]

Not much to add, but at the risk of further diluting an already waylaid thread, getting angry at people who have an attitude gives them more power.

Sorry to hear about your Jeep. Lots of discussions out there, here are a few to look at.

Some more info

more info

Maybe a solution

more discussion and possible solutions

[BobGed]

@mrubaum, actually the date of the information that 'Solo' posted is over a year old. Did you by chance purchase the vehicle used? The reason I ask is all Cherokee KL owners of record at FCA were sent a notication card last year that advised that these vehicles require a Mopar wiring kit accessory installed to keep the EPS activated while towing.

The cost of parts and labor for model years 2014 & 2015 should be covered by FCA. However there are many dealers that are not aware of this. If you happen to take your vehicle to one of those dealers, I would suggest you contact JeepCares at fcasocial@fcagroup.com. They in turn should contact the dealer an autorize the installation of the kit at no cost to you.