shakey towing of jeep cherokee

[zskitj]

I have seen comments from people (flyroddin) about towing a jeep. I have a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude. IT ALSO does shake intermittently when I go over a rough spot in the road at slow speeds. I have to come to a complete stop (blocking traffic) and then proceed and it is fine. First time I thought I blew a tire and I also checked everything and found nothing that a novice would know. Now I just stop and it is fine on restart. I just had the Jeep to a dealer and complained and he said it WAS not the Jeep. I did have a 2008 Jeep Liberty and used the same Roadmaster setup and no problem for 4 years. Any help would be nice. Jeep runs fine otherwise when not towing. Zski in Florida

[roam1]

Towed my 2014 Trail Hawk about 10,000 miles now with surge brake ready brake
Never experienced this issue
Knock on wood!

[chryslermastert]

there is no camber caster alignment for this jeep, if found to be out you must shift the cross member. This is a net build unit.

[chryslermastert]

1 speed transfer case



Recreational towing is not allowed. These models do not have a NEUTRAL (N) position in the power transfer unit.

NOTE: This vehicle may be towed on a flatbed or vehicle trailer provided all four wheels are OFF the ground.

CAUTION!:


Towing this vehicle with ANY of its wheels on the ground can cause severe transmission and/or power transfer unit damage. Damage from improper towing is not covered under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.



Parent topic: RECREATIONAL TOWING (BEHIND MOTORHOME, ETC.)

[chryslermastert]

2 speed transfer case
The power transfer unit must be shifted into NEUTRAL (N) and the transmission must be in PARK for recreational towing. The NEUTRAL (N) selection button is adjacent to the power transfer unit selector switch. Shifts into and out of NEUTRAL (N) can take place with the selector switch in any mode position.

CAUTION!:


•DO NOT dolly tow any 4WD vehicle. Internal damage to the transmission or power transfer unit will occur if a dolly is used when recreational towing.


•Tow only in a forward direction. Towing this vehicle backwards can cause severe damage to the power transfer unit.


•The transmission must be in PARK for recreational towing.


•Before recreational towing, perform the procedure outlined under “Shifting into NEUTRAL (N)” to be certain that the power transfer unit is fully in NEUTRAL (N). Otherwise, internal damage will result.


•Failure to follow these procedures can cause severe transmission and/or power transfer unit damage. Damage from improper towing is not covered under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.


•Do not use a bumper-mounted clamp-on tow bar on your vehicle. The bumper face bar will be damaged

[Tinyandthegang]

lryrob9301 wrote:

Biocruiser wrote:
Does anyone have a fix for this? Now that it happened once I am a bit worried it might happen more regularly.

If it was mine I would take the Cherokee to a good alignment shop and have them align the vehicle with as much positive castor as could be adjusted into the front suspension regardless of specifications. The condition you are experiencing is called "Bump Steer" and is caused by the front steering not being dampened by pressure from the power steering system and too little castor. Castor is the main alignment setting that affects steering stability thus the more castor the more the front wheels will tend to remain straight instead of oscillating back and forth.

What he said. Needs as much positive castor as possible.

[lryrob9301]

Biocruiser wrote:
Does anyone have a fix for this? Now that it happened once I am a bit worried it might happen more regularly.

If it was mine I would take the Cherokee to a good alignment shop and have them align the vehicle with as much positive castor as could be adjusted into the front suspension regardless of specifications. The condition you are experiencing is called "Bump Steer" and is caused by the front steering not being dampened by pressure from the power steering system and too little castor. Castor is the main alignment setting that affects steering stability thus the more castor the more the front wheels will tend to remain straight instead of oscillating back and forth.

[Biocruiser]

We just had this occur for the first time with our 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk. We went over a rough patch in the road at 40 mph and the motorhome started rocking back and forth. A quick glance in the rear camera showed the Jeep swaying back and forth pretty violently. I slowed down and pulled over to check things over, thinking I had a flat. All looked ok so we took off again with no further issues. This was the first and only time it happened to us in about 2000 miles of towing.

We have a Readybrute tow bar which has an integrated surge brake. I thought the brake might be the problem so I removed it for the remainder of the tow. I'm also wondering if the wide attachment points on the Cherokee Trailhawk might be the cause of the problem (Blue Ox baseplate). This Trailhawk has a wider attachment than the Limited or Latitude, but I guess that problem occurs on all 3 models so maybe not.

Does anyone have a fix for this? Now that it happened once I am a bit worried it might happen more regularly.

[ButWhatDoIKnow]

I have also experienced this problem.

It rocks my 15,000 MH back and forth. It will not stop until you bring the coach to a complete stop.

My research has found that it involves different coaches (Gas and rear diesel), different brands of towbars, different brake systems. It happens under different conditions (interstate, city, straight road, turning, etc.)

The only constant is the 2014-15 Jeep Cherokee.

I have filed a complaint with www.nhtsa.gov/
If you have this problem, please file a complaint so they know it isn't an isolated incident.

I have towed in 46 states. I have had a Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler and Liberty. These are different vehicles. They are basically a rear wheel drive platform. The Cherokee is a front wheel drive platform. (I don't think that Chrysler/FIAT had this vehicle properly sorted-out for use as a dinghy.)

Thanks,
John

[et2]

There are many of us towing them without any issue as they came from the factory. Towed our liberty for two years without a issue and our Cherokee Trail hawk without any issue. All that being said I made sure our tow bar is level to the jeep and the slop removed from the hitch points ( which was huge). Another thing to check is the hitch receiver and its connection to the frame.

[klutchdust]

If a vehicle wobbles at a certain speed how would the tow bar cause or correct that. What does the tow bar have to do with that? Does the vehicle do it when just being driven? How would pulling a vehicle have an

effect on the steering verses it being pushed by the rear wheels? IF it were mine I would have it aligned by a shop that deals with off road jeeps and big ass lifted trucks. They understand suspensions more than

the guy following figures he is reading from a book. Forget about the dealers, they are going to deny anything is wrong.

[lryrob9301]

If it was mine I would take the Cherokee to a good alignment shop and have them align the vehicle with as much positive castor as could be adjusted into the front suspension regardless of specifications. The condition you are experiencing is called "Bump Steer" and is caused by the front steering not being dampened by pressure from the power steering system and to little castor. Castor is the main alignment setting that affects steering stability thus the more castor the more the front wheels will tend to remain straight instead of oscillating back and forth.

[j-d]

What towing rig are you using? When I look up "Tow Master" I get Roadmaster, and hadn't heard of flat tow equipment called Tow Master.

[richnorsworthy]

Latest up date on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and the problems with swaying (death wobble or whatever) while towing and it hits a rough spot in the road. We did not see this until after towing for probably about 6K or so. After that it has happened 6 to 8 times. We have taken it twice (checked alignments, etc.) to the dealer which basically said they did not think these minimal adjustments would solve the problem.

We finally got a case worker discussing the issues with us. After several discussions and sending a couple of bits of written explanation, I think she finally understands what is happening! First she told me we could not flat tow it. Then that we need to go to the RV dealer and make sure we were attaching everything correctly. After an explanation that we have towed it several thousand miles with no issues, etc. and we are still attaching it the same way and when checking all the Tow Master equipment it has been doing what it should.

So at this point we are waiting to see what is going to happen next. If anyone else is experiencing this problem please let me know. There are at least 3 or 4 more that I know of have experienced this safety problem. Also, when you see someone else towing a 2014 or 2015 Jeep Cherokee, check with them to see if they are experiencing these issues. If so, get their contact information and have them comment on this site. Thanks

[richnorsworthy]

This problem is happening on relatively new 2014/2015 Jeep Cherokees, no on these that have been towed or driven enough to have worn bushings, etc. This is happening more and more with those that are used for dinghy towing behind motor homes. When or if it happens to you, you will think the front end on the MH has fallen apart. So far this problem has happened at lower speeds.

Not sure how much attention Jeep is paying to this because I would guess the % of those towed is 5 to 10% of all of the 2104/2015 Cherokees sold.