After the Takata airbag issues and PureTech engines a new recall now affects several vehicles in Europe. For Stellantis is now recalling thousands of commercial vehicles produced between April 2023 and January 2024. This time, the problem is related to the battery management unit software in some models, which may not be able to detect some battery failure modes, increasing the risk of overheating and fire.
Stellantis: latest recalls affecting several thousand vehicles in Europe
Stellantis, the automotive giant formed by the merger of FCA and PSA, recently kicked off a recall campaign due to thousands of vehicles in Europe being affected by two separate problems that could cause dangerous fires for those driving and inside the passenger compartment.
Specifically, commercial vehicle models included Citroën Jumpy (all those that were manufactured between April 15, 2023 and January 29, 2024) and Fiat Scudo (the cars that were put on the market and manufactured between April 28, 2023 and January 30, 2024) have been recalled. The primary warning for all the above mentioned cars would appear to be a possible loosening of ground connections, which as a result could result in loss of normal vehicle functionality, unintended acceleration, or even fire.
By contrast, the recall affects Opel Grandland (all units that were manufactured between July 2, 2019 and March 10, 2021), DS 7 (cars made between February 19, 2019 and December 16, 2021), Peugeot 508 (all those built between December 3, 2019 and April 28, 2021), and Citroën C5 Aircross (all those made between January 20, 2020 and April 14, 2021). In these models, the software that is part of the ECU that deals with complete battery management (BMS) may not be able to detect some battery failure modes, which as a result could dangerously increase the risk of overheating and subsequent fire.
So Stellantis has been keen to emphasize that obviously customer safety is a top priority for the company and it is working hard and meticulously to try to fix the problem as quickly as possible. All owners of the vehicles that have been listed and are therefore affected are accordingly urged to contact their Stellantis dealer to schedule an appointment for the free repair as soon as possible. It consists of updating the BMS software or replacing the battery, as appropriate. Should there be a need to receive further and more information or updates on the recall, the advice is to consult the Stellantis website or contact your local dealer.