There’s not a moment of peace for Stellantis in this cursed and unfortunate 2024, following the first six tragic months in terms of sales. Now, the United States is opening an investigation into over 781,000 vehicles for under-hood fires on Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it has opened a case for a fire that occurred while the vehicle’s ignition was in the OFF state. According to Reuters, the vehicle in question reportedly caught fire while it was turned off.
NHTSA launches investigation into more than 781,000 Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators for fire risk
The NHTSA‘s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received a report of deaths and injuries and multiple field reports alleging engine compartment fire incidents in model year 2021-2022 Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles. The preliminary evaluation will determine the scope, frequency, root cause, and potential consequences of the issue. A comment from Stellantis is pending, as they are usually very cooperative on recall and safety issues.
This adds to the recall of 1.46 million Chrysler vehicles globally, due to a software malfunction in the anti-lock braking system that can increase the risk of an accident. It includes about 1.23 million Ram 1500s from model years 2019 and 2021-2024 in the United States, plus about 159,000 vehicles in Canada, 13,000 in Mexico, and another 61,000 outside North America.
Problems are intensifying for the automotive group, following threats from the UAW union after Stellantis’ announcement to postpone the reopening of the Belvidere plant. The protests have led to calls for Carlos Tavares‘ resignation.