The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has urged owners of approximately 154,000 Jeep plug-in hybrid electric SUVs to park their vehicles outside and away from buildings or other cars until they can receive necessary recall repairs.
This announcement follows reports of 13 fires associated with the affected models, prompting the recall of 194,000 Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee plug-in hybrids globally, including the US vehicles.
Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, disclosed the recall on Monday and indicated that two injuries may be linked to the potential fire hazard. According to the NHTSA, the fires are attributed to internal failures in high-voltage batteries, which were produced by Samsung SDI. Stellantis’ filing states that Samsung SDI identified the root cause as “separator damage combined with other complex interactions within the cell.”
This recall comes in the wake of a previous recall in 2023, where 32,000 Jeep Wrangler plug-in hybrids were called back for a software update. Stellantis noted that some vehicles that underwent the 2023 update still experienced fires in the summer of 2024. The company concluded that the earlier remedy was insufficient for detecting certain abnormalities within the battery that could result in a fire.
Stellantis plans to implement a remedy that involves a software update followed by a potential battery replacement. Notifications will be sent to owners in mid-October. The company emphasized that the risk of fire decreases when the vehicle’s battery is depleted, advising owners to refrain from recharging their SUVs until repairs are made.
The recall includes specific model years of the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee plug-in hybrids, specifically:
- 2020 through 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe
- 2022 through 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
The fires have occurred while the vehicles were parked and turned off, with Stellantis estimating that about 5% of the recalled vehicles could be affected by the defect. The company is urging owners to follow safety precautions by parking their vehicles outdoors and away from flammable structures.
Stellantis is expected to notify customers about scheduling service for the necessary repairs. In the meantime, Jeep owners with questions can contact Jeep Customer Care at (800) 853-1403 or visit www.mopar.com for further information regarding the recall.
Fortune, Reuters, USA Today, Motortrend contributed to this report.
