I bought a Curt Class 3 hitch for this vehicle, but there is a bundle of hoses on the driver's side where the hitch would mount by the gas tank skid plate. There is no cutout on the hitch to accommodate these hoses and no mention in the instructions or anywhere else that I can find. So I'm stumped as to what to do.

 

Contact the manufacturer. Maybe they offer an adapter kit or can recommend one. Your alternative is to fabricate your own bundle by-pass/extension set to clear the interference.

 

Yeah, those hoses are part of the evap carbon canister system.

 

Turns out the hitch must mount farther toward the rear, which makes sense. There is one more bolt on each side back under the bumper cover and hard to get to. Going to have to figure how to get that dadgum bumper cover off because we just can't get those two bolts to start right.

 

There is a recall for aftermarket Jeep hitches. 96-04 I believe. Aftermarket hitches can puncture the fuel tank in a rearend crash. If you have an aftermarket hitch, jeep will replace the hitch with a factory OEM hitch free of charge and also give you a $100 Visa gift card. The replacement parameter is if the aftermarket hitch hangs belong the bumper fascia as opposed to the OEM which is mounted in the fascia itself. (See picture in link below)

I had an aftermarket hitch on my 04 WJ when I bought it. The angle was off and pointing down some. Found out about this recall and took it to my local dealer. Got a new OEM hitch same day.

https://www.chrysler.com/universal/w...ce/pdf/N47.pdf

 

Boy, that's quite a deal, if still good. Are there any limitations, time-wise, etc.? Must it be the original owner only? I don't see anything in the offer that specifies any limitations. Thanks for posting this!

 

No, no limitations. It's a safety recall. Don't have to be the original owner. I am not.

First they will inspect your aftermarket exhaust. The inspection is not just for rust and corrosion like my dealer did. I had them print the N47 recall from their computer which was several pages. On page 7 it clearly states if the aftermarket hitch is below the fascia then it must be replaced. Like it the picture in the link I provided previously. After I showed the dealer that page, they replaced it. So don't take no for an answer.

Also call Jeep customer care to get the $100 gift card process started. It takes awhile to get it.

 

Let me tell you a horror story about the freaking hitch! After hearing about it, I went to my dealer and asked if my jeep was on the list. This was just about the time they were starting this recall. The dealer told me my 2000 WJ wasn't on the list, so I went to U-Haul and had one put on. I inspected it and it was a perfect job.

2 weeks later, I get a letter from Jeep with my VIN on it telling me to go to my dealer. They said they hadn't gotten their truckload yet and they'd call me as soon as. Several days later, I got my call. When I got there, they said my hitch didn't meet the criteria for collision and needed to be changed. After an hour, they came into the waiting room and took me to come look at my jeep. Oh,oh!

In taking the U-Haul hitch off, they removed one bolt, broke another one, and there was a weird insert in the last hole on that side! Unless I paid for the frame repair, they couldn't do the install! Right! They accused U-Haul of breaking the bolt and putting that crazy insert in because they tore out the weldnut. Absolute BS and I told them so! The insert was a stud with nut and that wasn't there when I got it home from U-Haul!

I had them put the hitch back on and left in a foul mood. I went to U-Haul and spoke to the manager, telling him all that transpired and telling him I looked at his job and found no fault with it. He documented it, took pictures, and gave me a copy which I submitted to Chrysler Customer Service. Of course, they stood behind the dealer!

End of story, I drilled out the broken bolt and rethreaded it 3/8 instead of 1/2. I'm never going to pull a trailer anyway. It's just for a rear recovery point.

 

@rgr4475
* Update on hitch recall *

I called the number on the flier, and that number is now used for another recall. They gave me the following number for the N47 hitch recall - 800-853-1403. So I called that number, and they spoke to the local dealer and set up for them to notify me when they have the parts so that we can make an appointment.

I then asked about the $100 gift card, and the CS guy said that he didn't know anything about that and that maybe it was through the dealer. So not sure what to do about that.

I don't know what the result will be, but at least it's in process, so thanks for the head's up. Once I get the hitch thing straightened out, I will have to work on the horrible fuel mileage - 10 mpg city and 14 mpg highway.

 

My experience was the opposite. The dealer had no idea about the gift card, so I had to call the customer service number provided. Good luck!

 

The $100 prepaid VISA card was an incentive to get people to come to the dealership to get this recall started. There was a time limit involved if I recall! You had to send your completed paperwork to CCS and they would send you the card, when they were good and ready. In the beginning, you had to have your letter from CCS with your VIN on it to get it done.

The whole hitch thing was Chrysler's agreed response to the NTSB directive to improve the crash worthiness of jeeps. Remember the Pinto and how well THAT worked out. There was no demand that this be done, just that it had to be offered! When I told my dealership to forget it, they just HAD to tell me it would effect the resale of my jeep! RIGHT! Just how much do you think not having an approved hitch makes on a 17 yo jeep with 220K miles on it? My jeep will probably go for parts or the shredder when I'm done with it.

 

UPDATE!

Took the Jeep by the dealer last Friday. There were actually two recalls - the hitch one and something about the personal restraint controller, whatever that is. Per the terms of the hitch recall, I expected that the hitch would be replaced. Not so. Kept the Jeep from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM, and all they did was fix the non-hitch thing. They did inspect the hitch and said it was safe. I pointed out that, according to the recall, it should be replaced. She said they could do that, not that day of course, but if they did, I wouldn't be able to use it. Said they had received a letter from Chrysler to that effect. She said that, because of that, people usually choose to leave the after market hitch on so that they can use it.

Well, here's the letter that she was referring to. I'll attach a copy, if I can figure out how:

"Your vehicle has been inspected in connection with the Rear Structural Reinforcement recall campaign, and an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) trailer-hitch has been installed. This assembly is intended to upgrade the rear structure and better manage the crash forces in certain types of low-speed rear impacts.

"DO NOT attempt to tow with the campaign-installed trailer-hitch assembly. Your vehicle was not equipped with a Chrysler OEM tow package and this campaign trailer-hitch assembly does not include the necessary wiring harness and/or other heavy-duty components required for towing."

Now, isn't that remarkable? We trust these people to manufacture cars that we spend hard-earned money on and then transport our families in, and they put out this incomprehensible drivel. Amazing.

So I didn't deal with it at the dealer as it was so late, and I had to get the Jeep and go, but I later called the service person and explained, politely, that she was interpreting the letter wrong. First, the wiring harness, included or not, has nothing to do with safety. Second, the lack of a factory towing package "heavy duty components" applies to BOTH the OEM hitch that they would install AND the after-market hitch, which they were implying "could" be used while the OEM one couldn't. Therefore, since the same situation applies to both hitch types, the important thing becomes the safety issue, which is why the recall was done in the first place.

She said that I could make another appointment, and I guess spend another day, but I suppose I will. There is one minor drawback of the OEM retrofit, and that is that (she said) that they cannot replace the plastic bumper and must cut it to fit the hitch. Said that Chrysler supplies a kit to do that, including some kind of plate or other to use.

@rgr4475 & dave1123
Did they cut your bumpers on the install?

 

This is interesting. A week or so ago, I posted an update on my hitch recall experience, and I was surprised that there were no replies. I see now, though, that the reason is that the post somehow got lost, and I don't have a clue as to how or why that may have happened. So, I am attempting to recreate it below:

I had an appointment at a Jeep dealer on Sept 8 to have the hitch inspected and, if necessary, replaced. Actually, the Jeep was subject to two recalls: the hitch one and one for the personal restraint controller, or whatever. The appointment was for 8:00 AM. The service counter lady said that the controller would take a couple of hours and, if the hitch had to be replaced, as it was supposed to be, then it would take longer. At 2:00 PM, she called me to tell me that my Jeep was ready.

They didn't replace the hitch but only inspected it. Keep in mind that the recall clearly says that, if the car has an aftermarket hitch that hangs below the bumper, it must be replaced. Here's what the service lady said:

1. Had they replaced the hitch, I wouldn't have been able to use it, as they had a letter from Chrysler to that effect.

2. Since they "couldn't" tow with the OEM hitch, most people chose to keep their current hitch, since they COULD tow with them, so they figured that's what I would want.

At the time that I picked the Jeep up, I had to leave and didn't have time to take the issue up at that time. When I got home, however, I read the letter and was surprised (although I probably shouldn't have been) to find that the letter did not say what she had told me that it said. Here is the body of the letter, dated August 1, 2014, verbatim:

"Your vehicle has been inspected in connection with the Rear Structural Reinforcement recall campaign, and an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) trailer-hitch assembly has been installed.
[Obviously, this did not happen in my case]

"This assembly is intended to upgrade the rear structure and better manage the crash forces in certain types of low-speed impacts. 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 compenents required for towing." [emphasis is mine]

First of all, it does not say that you cannot tow with the hitch but recommends that you not do so because ...

a) the vehicle has no tow package and
b) it has no wiring harness.

That they would include "no wiring harness" as a reason to not tow is absurd, because a harness can easily be added. And if it were impossible to tow with a vehicle that has no tow package, then there would be no aftermarket hitch industry. Also absurd.

But the really crazy thing was that she was saying that, while I could not tow with the OEM hitch, for reasons stated, I COULD tow with my present hitch, even though the reason that I supposedly COULD NOT tow with the OEM hitch - no towing package - also applied to my present hitch.

So, I'm inclined to give it another go, even though it will probably blow another day. Your opinions?

@rg4475 & anyone else who may have had this done:

The lady also said that, in installing the OEM hitch, they do not replace the bumper but cut an opening for the hitch. Said the company supplies a kit with some kind of plate to use. Is this what was done to yours?

[In the first post, that got lost, I had posted an image of the actual letter. Maybe that had something to do with its getting lost, so I did not include the image this time.]

 

My aftermarket tow package had your basic, flat 4 prong connector and not the round 6 or 7 way connector that comes OEM. The 4 prong one as you know is just for lights, not trailer brakes. My dealer replaced the hitch (as it says right in their recall and the recall says nothing about a wiring harness being required) and connected the existing plug to the new hitch in a neat fashion.

The dealer is trying to get out of performing this. The recall is clear. Contact Jeep customer service and tell them they are refusing to honor the recall. It's a safety issue just having the old one on there. To not honor the recall because you don't have a wiring harness, doesn't change the original safety issue!

And yes, they have to cut the bumper fascia in order to properly install. A trim piece in the kit goes around the cut edges so it looks clean.

 

Here is what it looks like.