A friend that also has a niner showed me his hitch and suggested I should get one with Recall N45. (I had seen a letter about it with some papers when I bought the jeep, and at the time the dealer said I didn’t qualify for that because I didn’t have the tow package.) Now I have a copy of the recall and it clearly states that “vehicles without a trailer must have a hitch installed to improve, incrementally, the performance of the vehicle in certain types of collisions.”
Then it says the Jeep needs to be inspected for things including the level of corrosion in order to qualify.
I think mine looks like a medium level rather than the disqualifying “level 5” which is the metal completely compromised. (What you think?)
I have an appointment tomorrow for inspection and I wonder if it’s worth the trouble since it also says in the letter: If you didn’t previously have a hitch “ DO NOT attempt to tow with the campaign-installed trailer-hitch assembly. Your vehicle was not equipped with a Chrysler OEM trailer tow package, and this campaign trailer-hitch assembly does not include the necessary wiring harness and/or other heavy-duty components required for towing”
I expected the wiring harness, but didn’t know there was a build difference with the tow package.
How different is it? Is there additional support on the rear frame rails?
These are the only pics I could find that show the rails - too much rust?
Shortly after I got my '97, I bought a used aftermarket Draw-Tite brand hitch, then heard about the recall before I got around to installing it. The used one I bought was just the hitch, no bolts or anything. I went to the dealer to inquire and they told me the recall-issued hitch was light-duty, intended only to provide some structure behind the gas tank and between the frame rails, and shouldn't be used for towing anything heavier than a utility trailer hauling a lawn mower or something like that. I had them install it anyway, went home, removed it, then installed the aftermarket one using the brand-new un-rusted bolts. Easy-peasy.
The recall-issued hitch was quite a bit lighter than the Draw-Tite, made from thinner steel tube and bent-plate mounting brackets. Looking at the two, it is nowhere near a sturdily built and reinforced.
For the other part of your question, there was a full "Trailer Tow Package" option that would have the hitch with the 7-way plug on it, plus all the other things, and then a "Tow Prep Group" that had the other things, but not the hitch with plug and wiring harness to it. The "other things" are a different power steering pump, an auxiliary transmission cooler, the trailer wiring relay, the pigtail off the main wiring harness for the plug harness, a higher output alternator, and the severe duty engine fan clutch. Your niner of course would have had the e-fan even if it had the full Trailer Tow Package, and probably a high output alternator anyway.
When I received the hitch recall in 2013, I already had a Reese Class IV hitch installed, but wanted the OEM one. I took the Reese one off and had them install the OEM Hitch, which was a much better one piece unit than my Reese hitch was and tucked up closer under the bumper. At the time, I heard that they were having trouble ramping up production to meet the required 1.5 million units needed for the ZJ recall. It's possible that I got an actual Mopar hitch at that time, as many people have reported in the 2014-2015+ recall revisions that they received either a light duty hitch or one that simply didn't have a receiver at all. My hitch is definitely of the same build as a hitch pulled from a tow package vehicle from a scrap yard.
The NHTSA document linked states that the towing rating is limited to 2000lbs on vehicles without the extra heavy-duty components installed, like an auxiliary trans cooler, among other things.
Don't forget to run a correctly-sized lubricated tap / die through the chassis threads prior to presenting the vehicle for service to address any corrosion concerns. Carefully use a wire wheel to clean up that minor rust first too. Not too much rust shown in OP images.
Thanks for the info and the links, guys. I brought it in today and they said that it was approved to have the hitch installed. I'm not able to find out exactly what hitch they're putting in because the guy at the service desk is a LITTLE less than helpful. Weird having someone else doing stuff on my jeep and I'm not given the option to be involved at all.
I'm not sure what that prepaid $100 Visa card is all about, but I'll call the CS number and ask. Would be pretty surprised if I got that too.
Parts fund!
Hi, this is my first ever post. I just bought an ‘03 GC Laredo and took it to the dealer to have the airbag replaced under the recall. The service writer insisted that the fact that I had no hitch already install meant all they would do is inspect, and they would not install a hitch unless I paid them over $1000.
As far as I know, the hitch recall only applied to "1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-07 Jeep Liberty", but you could call the Jeep Customer Assistance Center at 877-426-5337 with your VIN # and ask them.
Got the hitch installed and it looks pretty good! I liked RedRiverT's suggestion to have it done then you could have the option to upgrade to a better hitch with the new bolts installed.
The hitch that I got is p/n CBXTN453AA, which is an updated version of the original recall hitch.
Called about the $100 prepaid Visa card and that program was discontinued several year ago. 2016 was the guess of the person I spoke with.
I WORKED for Chrysler for 7 years as a Service Advisor .. FROM LIKE 1999 UNTIL 2005 OR SO.. I'm not sure we ever put one of those hitches on.. Seems to me like .. There was always some way for us to weasel out of it..
.... Now we did several Recalls . Where people got a space saver tire but their Jeep was supposed to come with a full size tire. That tire replacement we got from Chrysler was a Goodyear 31x10.50R15. I went & got all the vin numbers from the local wrecking yard . but none qualified. Darn the luck.
Glad I read this before going to the dealer for the recall on the 96 ZJ I just bought. I have a hole about 1/4" in size in the bottom of the frame rail where the bumper bracket mounts. My reinforcement bumper and both brackets were rotted out to almost nothing so I had to replace them and also cut out the factory bolts holding the bumper brackets in place and replace them with new 12mm bolts.
I currently have a Putnam class 3 receiver that is pretty rusted (maybe installed by previous owner, no harness though). Is it worth going for the recall with that small hole in the frame? Seeing as they're not even giving out the VISA gift cards anymore, I'm not sure if I can be bothered. I might just clean up and repaint the Putnam and be done with it.
I use both of mine as tow points, so why go weaker.
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