Stellantis Recalls Nearly 220,000 Jeep SUVs Over Fire Risk, Says to Park Vehicles Outside

The Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk SUV is seen during the media preview of the 2016 New York International Auto Show in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 23, 2016. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Chrysler-parent Stellantis announced on May 16 a recall of 219,000 Jeep SUVs worldwide over a potential fire hazard involving the power liftgate.

The recall covers model years 2014–2016 of Jeep Cherokee SUVs equipped with a power liftgate. An electrical short in the power liftgate module may lead to a vehicle fire with the ignition on or off.

For safety reasons, the company is warning owners of the recalled vehicles to avoid parking inside garages or covered parking areas.

“Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete,” the Netherlands-based automaker said.

A fix for the defective part is still under development, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) safety recall report (pdf). The company said it is expecting to mail notification letters to owners on June 30.

The company said an electrical short is causing the failure. The vehicles were built with a power liftgate module in a spot vulnerable to water intrusion. Stellantis said the suspected manufacturing period began in February 2013 and ended in September 2015, when the power liftgate was designed to be more robust to water intrusion.

About 132,000 vehicles in the United States, 23,000 in Canada, 3,000 in Mexico, and 60,500 outside North America are affected by the recall. Vehicles built before or after the suspected manufacturing dates are not subject to the recall.

This is the third recall since 2015 to address the safety defect. Vehicles repaired under earlier recalls will still need to have the new fix performed, according to a filing with NHTSA.

Last year, Stellantis opened an investigation due to an increasing trend in cargo compartment fires in 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokee vehicles. It is unclear how many of the affected Jeep Cherokees may have caught fire.

The power liftgate may become inoperable before the SUVs catch fire.

The company has identified 50 customer assistance records, 23 warranty claims, and 21 field reports potentially related to this issue. Stellantis said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries potentially related to the recall issue.

To date, there have been 13 recalls on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, 11 on the 2015, and nine on the 2016 models, according to NHTSA. The SUV has an overall safety rating of four stars.

Stellantis Halts Battery Plant Construction

In addition to the recall, Stellantis announced on May 15 that it has halted construction at its 5 billion Canadian dollar ($3.5 billion) electric vehicle plant in Canada amid talks with the Canadian government about its support for the factory.

“Effective immediately, all construction related to the battery module production on the Windsor site has stopped,” a company spokesperson said, adding that some construction related to battery cell production continues.

The company said the Canadian government has not delivered on its investment agreement.

Last year, Canada agreed to provide up to CA$13 billion in subsidies and a CA$700 million grant to bring the German automaker Volkswagen AG to build its North American plant in the country.

The Canadian government says it is working with Stellantis to resolve the issues. The Volkswagen battery factory is the country’s largest single investment in the electric vehicle supply chain.

GM Recalls Nearly 1 Million Vehicles

On May 10, General Motors Company (GM) announced a recall of nearly 1 million vehicles after discovering a potentially dangerous defect in the automaker’s airbags.

The recall covers 994,763 GM vehicles. It includes 244,304 Buick Enclaves, 457,316 Chevrolet Traverses, and 293,143 GMC Arcadias. All of the affected vehicles are from model years 2014–2017.

“In these vehicles, the front-driver airbag inflator may contain a supplier manufacturing defect that may result in inflator rupture during deployment,” according to the recall report (pdf).

“An inflator rupture may cause metal fragments to pass through the airbag and into the vehicle interior, which may result in injury or death to vehicle occupants.”

The recall follows a crash involving a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse made known to GM on March 24. NHTSA and GM inspected the vehicle in April and confirmed that the front driver airbag inflator ruptured during deployment. The automaker was aware of two previous ruptures in its 2015 Chevrolet Traverse. All incidences involved the same airbag inflator variant.

Auto dealers were notified of the recall on May 10. Owners are expected to be notified by letter on June 26.

Reuters contributed to this report.