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

[clhamon]

You didn't state if your Cherokee was stock or not but with our lifted Jeeps running larger tires and beefed up suspension we had to keep a close watch on our ball joints and connection points for the suspension for wear because we would get a lot of what we call death wobble and the only cure was to stab the brakes and slow down to get it back under control. Only flat-towed the Jeep behind our rig a few times but never had the wobble happen when towing. Maybe check your suspension parts if you do a lot of off-road.

[Executive45]

Why bother to post a snarky comment? The OP experienced

On another note: This 'event' is not limited to Jeep Cherokees. It seems to affect any vehicle with the ELECTRONIC steering module, including the 4cyl Chevrolet Equinox. By pulling the recommended fuse, the electronic module is shut off which does not allow the steering to perform correctly. Hopefully GM will address it soon as Fiat/Chrysler did. The 6cyl Equinox is not affected as it has hydraulic steering instead of the electronic. GM so far, has denied it has a problem.....Dennis

[Solo]

Unfortunately, this is apparently a documented event occurring with the 2014-16 Jeep Cherokee.

Family Motor Coach Association wrote:

Fiat Chrysler today (January 20, 2016) released the following information exclusively to Family Motor Coaching magazine.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC (FCA) has announced plans for resolving a problem that sometimes occurs when 2014-16 Jeep Cherokees are towed four wheels down behind a motorhome.

FCA released a statement in response to inquiries by Family Motor Coaching magazine and concerns of a number of Jeep owners who reported problems when flat towing their Cherokees. The owners reported that the vehicle sometimes wobbles significantly, raising safety concerns. The wobble reportedly has occurred at slow speeds and at highway speeds, and has happened with a variety of motorhomes and towing systems. The only way to stop the wobble, owners have said, is to bring the vehicle to a complete stop.

The FCA statement said: “Under certain operating conditions, such as traveling excessively bumpy or poorly maintained roads, the flat-towed vehicle may not consistently track in line with the tow vehicle.” The cause, according to the statement: “The vehicle’s Electronic Power Steering (EPS) system is inactive while the vehicle is being flat-towed with the ignition in the ‘off’ position. Accordingly, the vehicle does not benefit from the system’s function.”

A Jeep official said the company knows of several dozen Cherokee owners who have experienced the problem. For those owners, FCA will “provide a complimentary jumper wire harness and switch to ensure the vehicle’s EPS system has power to function while it is being flat-towed. These components have been engineered and validated by FCA US LLC and will be made available to all customers through MOPAR, as early as January 29. In addition, all Cherokee owners will be contacted directly by FCA US and provided with updated instructions for flat-towing. These instructions supersede all previous instructions. Also, the vehicle’s online owners manual will be updated.”

Family Motor Coaching brought the problem to the attention of Fiat Chrysler in September 2015 after an FMCA member contacted the magazine and provided a link to a video showing a Cherokee wobbling as it was being towed behind a motorhome. FCA assigned engineers and technicians to investigate and resolve the problem.

For more information, Cherokee owners can call the Jeep Customer Assistance Center at (877) 426-5337.

Here is the link to the discussion on the FMCA site Jeep Cherokee Wobble When Flat Towing