Death Wobble -> steering assist error during flat tow

[First Sergeant]

As much as I praise my DEMCO baseplate, I realize that since its tow points are closer together (with my Falcon 2 towbar)...that it makes the baseplate to hitch longer than when I towed my Wrangler with my old Roadmaster Stowmaster towbar which was wider and therefore a shorter distance. Even my old CMax had a shorter distance when using its Roadmaster Baseplate and the Falcon 2.

I think that might contribute to the ability of the front of the Maverick to get to the right of center when turning left...without a smooth arc of travel. I definitely did not make a smooth arc at that station and my final angle toward the pump had the rear of the motorhome pushing the Maverick to the right.

Definitely something to watch if not making a smooth arc!

I have almost the exact same setup other than I have a Roadmaster base plates with Falcon 2. I looked at pic's and the spacing Demco and Roadmaster look about the same, but I can't tell exactly. I do know it lengthened my distance also as compared to my 2005 LJ (basically a stretched Wrangler ) I'll try and make those turns as wide and smooth as I can and will keep an eye on it back there! Thanks again for the heads up. Edit: So I measured my old Jeep (still have some of the parts, and my Roadmaster towbar was 28 1/2" center to center. The Mav's measurement is 26 1/8", so yes a longer distance towing the Mav. Here is an interesting tidbit though. My Maverick is 58 lbs LIGHTER than my Jeep LJ! Curb: Maverick 3,636. Curb: LJ 3694. Lots of plastic and aluminum on the new stuff, not to mention the "frame" difference. When I put that baseplate on the Jeep, had to drill only two holes. Thought I was drilling through the Queen Mary hull! Haha.

Sponsored

 

[keef033]

I have almost the exact same setup other than I have a Roadmaster base plates with Falcon 2. I looked at pic's and the spacing Demco and Roadmaster look about the same, but I can't tell exactly. I do know it lengthened my distance also as compared to my 2005 LJ (basically a stretched Wrangler ) I'll try and make those turns as wide and smooth as I can and will keep an eye on it back there! Thanks again for the heads up. Edit: So I measured my old Jeep (still have some of the parts, and my Roadmaster towbar was 28 1/2" center to center. The Mav's measurement is 26 1/8", so yes a longer distance towing the Mav. Here is an interesting tidbit though. My Maverick is 58 lbs LIGHTER than my Jeep LJ! Curb: Maverick 3,636. Curb: LJ 3694. Lots of plastic and aluminum on the new stuff, not to mention the "frame" difference. When I put that baseplate on the Jeep, had to drill only two holes. Thought I was drilling through the Queen Mary hull! Haha.

Well I just had the same thing happen on my 22 hybrid. Gentle left turn into an on ramp. Death wobble started. I pulled off immediately and it straightened out. However I now have the service steering message.

Can I still drive it? Got a grandsons birthday to get to.

 

[Bert Rooster]

I drove mine about 16 miles from the campground to town and back. Be warned the steering is VERY difficult. I almost couldn't turn enough to make a couple of corners.
I towed the Mav home (~250 miles) with no problems. Have it scheduled to be towed to the dealership on Mon morning.

 

[Twinboat]

I towed my 2023 Maverick Hybrid over 5000 miles in the last year with no wobble .
Last week, the first time towing since the 3 recalls, I was making a close right turn in a construction zone with uneven pavement, and it started to wobble. I stopped and then continued on to my destination without any other occurrences. Once there, all was fine with my truck. No warnings and it towed home fine.
Probably just road conditions and not related to the recalls but one has to wonder.

 

[Bert Rooster]

First Sergeant, what dimension are you referring to? Is it the distance between the arms at the toad or the length of the arms? If referring to the arm to arm distance at the toad, the 2 3/8" difference only changes the MH to toad distance by ~1/2". Several years ago we had this discussion on the then new 2014 Jeep Cherokee. One person claimed the difference between the quick connect Roadmaster baseplate and the crossbar baseplate was causing the death wobble due to the distance between the MH and toad. Turned out that death wobble was a result of steer by wire on the Cherokee. Without power applied there was nothing to keep steering from moving back and forth. With power applied the steering was maintained by the Body Control Module (I think) based on steering wheel angle. FCM fix was to add a wiring harness to selectively switch on the BCM during towing = no more death wobble but large battery drain.
I wonder how steering on the Maverick works??? If the Maverick is steer by wire we may be seeing the beginning of more reports of death wobble.

 

[Bert Rooster]

Update: had the truck towed to the dealership Mon. morning. I just talked to the service advisor, he said 3 recalls are completed and steering problem escalated to FMC as a "hot case". They are not sure what is wrong. Could be a module or could be mechanical, they want to make sure the diagnosis is correct before proceeding. So looks like hurry up and wait.

 

[keef033]

Hello

I would like to encourage all of us who have had this issue to report it to the NHTSA. It is an easy process to report what happened. Have your VIN handy.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/

 

[keef033]

Well I just had the same thing happen on my 22 hybrid. Gentle left turn into an on ramp. Death wobble started. I pulled off immediately and it straightened out. However I now have the service steering message.

Can I still drive it? Got a grandsons birthday to get to.

I did drive it after this happened. Very heavy steering. It still towed just fine.

It's at the dealers now - yikes

 

[Bert Rooster]

Update: last Wed I received notification that a special order had been placed for a Steering Column Assembly. On Mon the service advisor responded to my status request with your truck will be ready Wed. On Wed the response was that the mechanic was trying to finish it by end of the day. Late Wed response is that the mechanic will try to have it finished on Thurs. I want my truck back, but I need it to be repaired correctly. The truck is already on my not to trust list. It has had several neutral tow errors, the battery crapped out and stranded me in Wilcox, AZ, and now the steering mess. I bought the Maverick specifically to be towed behind my MH. If I can't trust it to be reliable I will need to look at something else to tow.

 

[keef033]

Update: last Wed I received notification that a special order had been placed for a Steering Column Assembly. On Mon the service advisor responded to my status request with your truck will be ready Wed. On Wed the response was that the mechanic was trying to finish it by end of the day. Late Wed response is that the mechanic will try to have it finished on Thurs. I want my truck back, but I need it to be repaired correctly. The truck is already on my not to trust list. It has had several neutral tow errors, the battery crapped out and stranded me in Wilcox, AZ, and now the steering mess. I bought the Maverick specifically to be towed behind my MH. If I can't trust it to be reliable I will need to look at something else to tow.

I feel the same way. I am already looking for another vehicle. I didn't want to, but I just can't trust that this will not happen again. Very disappointing.

 

[Headbanger]

I thought that you had to have the Maverick in ACC mode so that the braking system would work while flat towing.

I dolly tow mine so really just worry about beating it up from bouncing around. I am however considering going the flat tow route. Reading this doesn't give me a lot of comfort though..

 

[First Sergeant]

First Sergeant, what dimension are you referring to? Is it the distance between the arms at the toad or the length of the arms? If referring to the arm to arm distance at the toad, the 2 3/8" difference only changes the MH to toad distance by ~1/2". Several years ago we had this discussion on the then new 2014 Jeep Cherokee. One person claimed the difference between the quick connect Roadmaster baseplate and the crossbar baseplate was causing the death wobble due to the distance between the MH and toad. Turned out that death wobble was a result of steer by wire on the Cherokee. Without power applied there was nothing to keep steering from moving back and forth. With power applied the steering was maintained by the Body Control Module (I think) based on steering wheel angle. FCM fix was to add a wiring harness to selectively switch on the BCM during towing = no more death wobble but large battery drain.
I wonder how steering on the Maverick works??? If the Maverick is steer by wire we may be seeing the beginning of more reports of death wobble.

Sorry, did not see your post. Yes, the distance I measured is center to center where arms mount to base plate. I used to get the Jeep LJ ( essentially a stretched Wrangler) death wobble, maybe once every three or four years, when driving it stand alone but never when towing. But again, almost all Jeeps get that wobble from time to time. Have had no wobble that I know of pulling the Maverick, but only got maybe 2,000 miles towing it so far. I don't think power steering is active during flat tow on the Mav's, but I could be wrong.

 

[Bert Rooster]

On my XLT the key is turned to the "off" position for towing. In that position everything is off, but the key cannot be removed. The brakes seem to work fine, in fact I had to change the settings on my RVI2 brake compared to the Jeep Liberty I also tow - the Maverick is much more sensitive to brake pedal movement.

 

[BradnChristine]

I thought that you had to have the Maverick in ACC mode so that the braking system would work while flat towing.

I dolly tow mine so really just worry about beating it up from bouncing around. I am however considering going the flat tow route. Reading this doesn't give me a lot of comfort though..

Absolutely NO on leaving it in ACC mode. About 5400 miles of flat-towing my 2023 Lariat Hybrid. No trouble. Leaving it in ACC will give you problems.

 

[BradnChristine]

I'm remembering back to my 2013 C-Max that had a steering failure. I remember that one of the EPAS failure causes was an 'over-extension" of the steering unit. So it is logical that if the Maverick's wheels are turned fully in the opposite direction of travel, that sort of force/stress would be there.

As I noted before, I had to "wiggle" my RV and Maverick into a fuel location and as I started out to leave in a left turn, I saw (in the mirror) that the Maverick's wheels were PAST center, trying to start out turning right as a continuation of the "wiggle" I had done that pushed the front of the Maverick into the start of a right turn. I was watching closely due to the difficulty of getting in and out. After a few inches, I saw it slowly come back to center and then left as it should have. Normally, I just try to make a wide left arc and then the wheels are always slightly to the left of center. This thread points out the danger of my maneuvers to get to the pump at that station.

Sponsored