Jeep has announced another recall of its PHEV vehicles, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler model years 2022-2024. Multiple news outlets have published the information, even though Stellantis hasn't notified the owners. It is a serious fire hazard risk, so serious, Jeep is advising owners, to quote NHTSA, "Owners should park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles until their vehicle has been remedied. In addition, owners should not charge unrepaired vehicles, because the risk of fire is higher in a charged battery and the risk of fire is reduced when the battery is depleted." Details can be found at by searching the NHTSA information for NHTSA campaign numbers: 24V-720 and 24E-080. The link is: Jeep Wrangler, Grand Cherokee Recall for Fire Risk | NHTSA
It is time for a bit of a rant. Yes, PHEV's and BHEV's are in their development infancy but many recalls of the Grand Cherokee 4xe in these past years are just sloppy design, workmanship, etc. I've owned Jeeps, starting with a Cherokee, for 35 years and have never experienced such troubles as these new Jeeps are cursed with. I added up all the troubles of manufacturing defects/recalls of my old Cherokee, Grand Cherokees and they were less than the new Grand Cherokee 4xe. The first Grand Cherokee 4xe was re-purchased after an oil leak in the transmission housing due to porosity. The dealership has been great with all the recall issues, and Stellantis promised to transfer the Max warranty from the re-purchased vehicle to the new model. They refused to transfer the warranty once we received the new Grand Cherokee 4xe. Stellantis moved its customer service offshore and is not nearly as effective as the onshore group. Jeep, via Stellantis, is rapidly re-defining itself as the producer of unsafe, unreliable Jeeps, with horrid customer service outside the dealerships, despite them trying to move up-market in the SUV market with the Wagoneers. The Mopar website that allows you to search for recalls via the VIN is not functional, looping you back to the database query page when you type in your VIN number. I used the NHTSA site, via VIN, to search for the recall information, which appears to not have been published for any particular vehicles. These aren't just simple recalls; these are recalls than can cause accidents (NHTSA 24V-132; pinch bolt recall) and a fire hazard which can destroy the vehicle and anything that might be parked nearby. The request, "Owners should park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles" is absurd for most, unless you live an area in the desert that has no combustibles nearby. The pinch bolt recall was nearly as an absurd a request, noting you could lose control of the vehicle while driving. Essentially, owners of these vehicles have an undrivable, shiny, scrap heap. Hey, @JeepCares! First, Jeep should fix the website so that owners can search for recalls. We used three different computers with two different operating systems and 4 different browsers to access the recall data on the Mopar site; none of them worked. Second, given the possible risk to property and human life, maybe a notice on the app would save someone's life or property, until the full recall information is defined. Third, maybe Stellantis should build storage yards with no combustible material nearby for the owners to store their vehicles and pay for the rental of a like vehicle.
It is time for a bit of a rant. Yes, PHEV's and BHEV's are in their development infancy but many recalls of the Grand Cherokee 4xe in these past years are just sloppy design, workmanship, etc. I've owned Jeeps, starting with a Cherokee, for 35 years and have never experienced such troubles as these new Jeeps are cursed with. I added up all the troubles of manufacturing defects/recalls of my old Cherokee, Grand Cherokees and they were less than the new Grand Cherokee 4xe. The first Grand Cherokee 4xe was re-purchased after an oil leak in the transmission housing due to porosity. The dealership has been great with all the recall issues, and Stellantis promised to transfer the Max warranty from the re-purchased vehicle to the new model. They refused to transfer the warranty once we received the new Grand Cherokee 4xe. Stellantis moved its customer service offshore and is not nearly as effective as the onshore group. Jeep, via Stellantis, is rapidly re-defining itself as the producer of unsafe, unreliable Jeeps, with horrid customer service outside the dealerships, despite them trying to move up-market in the SUV market with the Wagoneers. The Mopar website that allows you to search for recalls via the VIN is not functional, looping you back to the database query page when you type in your VIN number. I used the NHTSA site, via VIN, to search for the recall information, which appears to not have been published for any particular vehicles. These aren't just simple recalls; these are recalls than can cause accidents (NHTSA 24V-132; pinch bolt recall) and a fire hazard which can destroy the vehicle and anything that might be parked nearby. The request, "Owners should park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles" is absurd for most, unless you live an area in the desert that has no combustibles nearby. The pinch bolt recall was nearly as an absurd a request, noting you could lose control of the vehicle while driving. Essentially, owners of these vehicles have an undrivable, shiny, scrap heap. Hey, @JeepCares! First, Jeep should fix the website so that owners can search for recalls. We used three different computers with two different operating systems and 4 different browsers to access the recall data on the Mopar site; none of them worked. Second, given the possible risk to property and human life, maybe a notice on the app would save someone's life or property, until the full recall information is defined. Third, maybe Stellantis should build storage yards with no combustible material nearby for the owners to store their vehicles and pay for the rental of a like vehicle.
