I purchased a new 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee summit reserve 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
update:
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. Even though this is no fault of my own Jeep said they will not warrant this disaster. This is my last Jeep
