I would go for the Hayman Reece, At least you will know that you can get a tongue to fit it anywhere in Australia - Son in Law had a genuine Toyota on his Prado which couldn't take the Haman Reece tongue.

Barboots wrote:

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I'd be asking for proof of that claim, because there's no word of it "around the traps". However there is an inappropriately titled "towbar recall" on earlier models. It entails fitting a towbar to supplement the rear crash protection provided to the fuel tank. It has nothing to do with your vehicle, nor the performance of towbars on any model.

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 Barboots, I will do that because after your comment I also checked the internet for this recall and all I can find is what you have said about models up until the end of 2014. Although I will go as Possum suggested with the Hayman Reece  towbar I will be asking them to show me the proof of this recall when I pick up the car. If they have misled me I have a copy of the email and I will take it further with Chrysler Jeep as that type of behaviour from one of their dealerships would do nothing to enhance their brand name. If it is legit the recall may still come out but I would have thought that it would have already been issued in the US and I can't find it anywhere.

Cheers

BB

If you have any thoughts of fitting a long range fuel tank, do not get the HR bar without checking first as I believe that most suit the "genuine" tow bar only. Aside from that there is nothing significant either way. Oh... if I recall correctly the HR item protrudes from under the bumper edge, whereas the BestBar is a little higher, located in a notch that has to be cut into the bumper. It's also true that you need to radius the corners of HR accessories to fit into the BestBar receiver. Some may lose their minds over such modifications...

BB I'm using the old welded style HR trunnion system... it's a good fit for the car/hitch/coupling/van combination and in my case offers the most ground clearance. I had the shank drilled so it can be inserted further therefore reducing the hitch overhang... so clearly I'm going straight to hell :) The cast shanks go in further than mine would have originally, but not as far as it does now. Not that there's much in it... just chatting.

Thanks again guys for the feedback I have told the dealer to fit the HR bar which to my surprise actually worked out to be cheaper than the Jeep supplied unit. Tony I'm not worried about fitting the alternative HR tow bar but I will be disappointed if for whatever reason they have given me misleading information about this recall because combined with your comments it won't give me a real lot of confidence in future dealings I may have with them. I will hold back making a call one way or the other until I actually speak to them in person as it still could be legitimate. I also posted this on the Grand Cherokee owners section of the Caravanners Forum to see if anyone else has heard of the recall and so far it's been the same response as on here.

Cheers
BB

Any idea what the actual point of concern is mate?

The Belmont Bear wrote:

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Barboots no mention of what the actual fault is (I am not fully convinced that it is legitimate yet) but if they have instructed people to cease towing regardless of where they are then I would imagine it would be something considered to be a reasonably high risk. I'm only second guessing here but if they haven't changed the design or their supplier and it being specific vehicles affected then they may have found an issue with a batch that was manufactured at a certain time. If it is true I'm sure it will become public knowledge fairly quickly.

BB

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Mysterious indeed. Could be a batch of faulty bars, or a batch of bad installations on that model year. Nothing so far on the ACCC recalls website. The info you've been given though is alarming in the extreme!

https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recalls/browse-all-recalls?search=jeep+grand+cherokee&sort_by=accc_solr_date&items_per_page=25

 

 

Digger,

As I stated in an earlier post they gave me the option of fiting a Hayman Reece towbar to avoid any delay caused by Jeep coming up with a fix so apparently there was already a workable alternative available. When I picked mine up 2 weeks ago from the dealer he told me that Jeep had found a solution but it wouldn't become available until sometime in May as they had to go through a testing and approval process. I don't know if that's true or not but the original warning he gave me about a possible problem with the towbar (before it was made public) proved to be accurate. I haven't towed with mine yet as I was advised to wait until after the 1000km/1 mth check but so far so good the car is excellent to drive around town and has power to burn without a load. I don't like the lane departure system which feels a bit like it's taking over the steering (I will probably just turn it off). I found the turbo lag which is more pronounced that my previous Pajero Sport made it a little more difficut to line up the towball due to the short delay between pushing the accelerator and the vehicle actually moving. I hope that you get the problem fixed soon it must be extremely frustrating, if it was me I wouldn't tow with it just in case something did go wrong - insurance may be the least of your problems if there was a catastrophic failure.

Cheers

BB

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 24th of April 2018 12:33:49 PM

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 24th of April 2018 12:35:23 PM

Digger1967 wrote:

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Thanks BB - You've been able to give me more info than my dealer so hopefully a solution is only a month or so away. Unfortunately the warning came out after I had the towbar fitted so I wasn't given the option.

I've also noticed the turbo lag at low speed which may make coupling more interesting - reckon we'll have to keep the left foot over the park brake. I hadn't seen any issues in the reviews so hopefully won't be a problem.

Cheers Digger

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 Don't worry Digger once you get used to it it's not a problem, just cuaght me a little unawares after the Pajero Sport which wasn't as noticeable.

BB

Digger1967 wrote:

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SNIP~~~ I've also noticed the turbo lag at low speed which may make coupling more interesting - reckon we'll have to keep the left foot over the park brake. I hadn't seen any issues in the reviews so hopefully won't be a problem.

Cheers Digger

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Gday...

Are you able to use low-range when reversing the van onto a site?

If there are no 'vehicle limitations' - eg only a 'part-time' 4x4 - then I would suggest using low-range.

With low-range engaged and if it is an auto, you can let it idle back into the site and only need to use the brake to 'steady' the progress.

Cheers - John

I am amazed (or is it appalled?) by the sheer arrogance of Jeep in relation to this matter.

After registering a complaint at the lack of communication, I received a terse phone call from some barely-interested minion telling me that the car I purchased was, in fact, fit for purpose.

With the greatest of respect, it's NOT. I bought the car with the towbar specifically to tow the trailer, boat, etc. I've been unable to do so for the past 3 months and there has been ZERO communication from Jeep as to what they're doing about it. On this basis, it's clear that they couldn't care less.

(Oh, and in the meantime, I've continued to receive their rubbish marketing material suggesting that I trade in an upgrade to a new Jeep...). Are you fricking serious???

As a customer (obviously not a valued one, or else why would they be treating me like this), I'm completely unimpressed. Their care factor ends as soon as you drive out the door.

Don't hold back???? Your rubbish car and non-existent service is holding me back!