Jeep tells owners to stop charging plug-in hybrid SUVs immediately over serious fire risk concerns
Recall affects over 320,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles after 19 fire incidents, owners urged to park away from buildings
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Jeep is recalling more than 320,000 plug-in hybrid SUVs in the U.S. after discovering a potential fire risk linked to 19 incidents, urging owners to stop recharging the vehicles and park them away from buildings until repairs are made.
The recall affects certain 2020–2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and 2022–2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe models, which could catch fire even when the ignition is off.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the company is advising owners of these vehicles to park away from structures or other vehicles until the remedy is obtained," Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, said in a statement.
The automaker said the risk is lower when the battery charge is depleted.
STELLANTIS TO RECALL MORE THAN 91,000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE VEHICLES OVER POSSIBLE LOSS OF POWER
A 2024 Jeep Wrangler during the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Friday, April 19, 2024. (Graham Hughes/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Jeep launched an internal investigation after reviewing customer data and discovering 19 fires involving the plug-in hybrid models.
Stellantis provided FOX Business with an official statement in an email, noting that a fix is expected soon, and owners will be notified when they can schedule repairs.
The recall also includes about 20,700 vehicles in Canada, 2,600 in Mexico, and roughly 32,000 in other markets outside North America.
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Jeep auto showroom, building exterior with company brand name, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. (Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The latest recall comes about two months after Stellantis recalled over 91,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee hybrids in the U.S. due to a software malfunction that may result in a loss of drive power.
Some Jeep Grand Cherokee Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, model years 2022 through 2026, may have an overloading of the battery pack control module microprocessor, causing it to reset. When this happens, the hybrid control processor can misinterpret signals from the battery pack control module — potentially resulting in a loss of drive power, the National Highway and Transportation Administration (NHTSA) noted.
Of the 91,787 possibly affected vehicles, only 1%, or around 918 of them, are believed to have the defect, according to the NHTSA website.
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A 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid sports utility vehicle (SUV) navigates an obstacle course at the 2024 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) in New York, US, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Similar vehicles that are not part of this recall either do not have a hybrid control processor or were built after the affected timeframe, according to the NHTSA.
In a similar announcement earlier this year, the NHTSA said Stellantis was recalling more than 63,000 Jeep Cherokees, with model years 2017 through 2019, due to issues with the vehicles' power transfer units.
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In November, Stellantis announced it was indefinitely laying off more than 1,000 employees at its Jeep assembly plant in Ohio as the automaker significantly reduced its inventory levels to match demand.
FOX Business’ Sophia Compton contributed to this report.