2022 Grand Cherokee flat towing CAUTION!

[Carguy]

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I purchased a new 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee to tow behind my motorhome. I towed if from my home in Orlando to Petoskey MI in June without issue except for some problem codes regarding tire pressure, etc.

I left Petoskey traveling just to west of Philadelphia in late September. Stopped at service plaza and had to disconnect toad.(long story). Hooked toad up following manual instructions to the letter. Checked at least twice to be sure the park assist did not activate parking brake. It was definitely not on when exiting car.

Had window down on coach and watching camera to be sure everything ok. Got about 1/2 mile on Penn turnpike with Barriers on both sides and no shoulders. Heard loud tire screeching and heavy black smoke coming from toad. Had to stop in active traffic lane and get out. Discovered the parking brake on. Released it and towed another 50 miles without incident.

While unhooking I noticed the Jeep sitting very low on the driver side. Took to Jeep store and learned air bag had exploded from the heat and rear tires were flat spotted. They did a 4 wheel alignment and said it was good to go. Left there with car pulling badly to right. Obviously there are more serious suspension problems. Will resolve when I get home.

Reason for this post is to share what I learned the hard way. Most likely this problem was caused by the forward collision control malfunctioning applying the parking brake or the parking assist.

I learned the hard way before towing:

A. Be sure forward collision control is turned off in settings.
B. In order to defeat parking assist when you start process attach the driver seatbelt and leave it attached until you are unhooking car. This turns parking assist off
C. When getting the transfer case into neutral keep driver door shut until car is fully turned off. Opening door could activate parking assist which in turn activate the parking brake.
D. Watch for the red brake light on instrument cluster. If lit be sure to release

Hope this

 

[Jake22]

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Bought a '22 Grand Cherokee to tow behind my motorhome.

Co$tly mi$take...another problematic SR 😫

 

[Carguy]

Found out why Jeep pulled hard to right and dived left when braking. There is a large crack in the frame that is easily visible. Amazing the Pennsylvania dealer did not say a word about this. Fortunately the area cracked is a bolt on subframe. Will be an expensive repair, but worst part will be frame damage repaired on the car fax when I want to get rid of It. Sure wish I had chose a different tow vehicle.

 

[Jake22]

Diminished Value shouldn't be a factor with a warranty repair.

 

[Carguy]

Problem was Jeep totally disclaimed warranty coverage. I spent over 10k making the Jeep right through no fault of my own. At that point I did not trust the Jeep being towed. it went away. Service manager told me they have had (3) other 22-23 grand Cherokee’s with identical problems at his store alone. . that is the last Jeep for me due to non existent warranty.

 

[Waiting]

Pretty irritating and infuriating, for sure. All these safety gadgets and features for stupid people not only make these vehicles extremely annoying but not even functional for normal use, not to mention costly repairs when using the vehicle properly.

 

[hcl]

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I purchased a new 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee to tow behind my motorhome. I towed if from my home in Orlando to Petoskey MI in June without issue except for some problem codes regarding tire pressure, etc.

I left Petoskey traveling just to west of Philadelphia in late September. Stopped at service plaza and had to disconnect toad.(long story). Hooked toad up following manual instructions to the letter. Checked at least twice to be sure the park assist did not activate parking brake. It was definitely not on when exiting car.

Had window down on coach and watching camera to be sure everything ok. Got about 1/2 mile on Penn turnpike with Barriers on both sides and no shoulders. Heard loud tire screeching and heavy black smoke coming from toad. Had to stop in active traffic lane and get out. Discovered the parking brake on. Released it and towed another 50 miles without incident.

While unhooking I noticed the Jeep sitting very low on the driver side. Took to Jeep store and learned air bag had exploded from the heat and rear tires were flat spotted. They did a 4 wheel alignment and said it was good to go. Left there with car pulling badly to right. Obviously there are more serious suspension problems. Will resolve when I get home.

Reason for this post is to share what I learned the hard way. Most likely this problem was caused by the forward collision control malfunctioning applying the parking brake or the parking assist.

I learned the hard way before towing:

A. Be sure forward collision control is turned off in settings.
B. In order to defeat parking assist when you start process attach the driver seatbelt and leave it attached until you are unhooking car. This turns parking assist off
C. When getting the transfer case into neutral keep driver door shut until car is fully turned off. Opening door could activate parking assist which in turn activate the parking brake.
D. Watch for the red brake light on instrument cluster. If lit be sure to release

Hope this

Good pointers. Thanks for providing the benefit of your experience. It's a good example of when automated assistance isn't quite context aware.

 

[chry3d]

Did you follow these rules per the manual? Seems without 4-Low, it's not allowed.

 

[Carguy]

Sure did follow the instructions. My grand Cherokee had 4 wheel low and was exactly the same drive train Jeep said is towable. Yet when substantial damage occurred exactly following the instructions in the manual to tow It jeep totally disallowed warranty service. Not a company I want to deal with again. Reason for post was to warn others what can happen and actions they might take to lessen their risk.