A fault in the power steering system could lead to unexpected fires. "Fire risk warning" is never the sort of phrase you want to hear associated with your car—but it's one that owners of more than one million Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators are about to become familiar with, as Stellantis has just announced a recall of a massive population of the off-roaders stretching across five model years to address a flaw that could cause the vehicles to catch fire.
According to documents filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration on June 4th, Stellantis—which, as it so happens, still does business in the U.S. as FCA US, LLC on official government documents—is recalling 787,887 Wranglers from model years 2021–2025, as well as 289,112 Gladiator pickups from those same model years. While the number of vehicles requiring inspection may be high, the number of SUVs and trucks that actually suffer from the problem is estimated to be just 0.1 percent of that total population.
View Price on AmazonThe issue, the carmaker says, lies with the wiring for the electric hydraulic power steering pump, or EHPSP. An electrical connection within the EHPSP is susceptible to high resistance, the recall states, which could cause overheating of nearby combustible materials and eventually lead to a fire. Fire, NHTSA helpfully points out, can result in increased risk of injury to people both inside and outside of a vehicle.
Stellantis—er, FCA US—says its fix involves inspecting all the affected Wranglers and Gladiators and replacing or repairing the affected parts as needed. Some drivers may notice a loss of power steering or see a "Service Power Steering" warning pop up on the dash as a warning before any issue occurs, but just to be on the safe side, the automaker is advising the owners of the 1,076,999 pickups and SUVs to park outside until their vehicles are inspected and, if needed, fixed.
Dealerships will begin receiving official recall notices on or around June 11th, while owners will begin receiving their notices around July 9th. If you're anxiously glancing up at the Jeep in your driveway as you read this, however, you can also go to nhtsa.gov or call the agency's hotline 1-888-327-4236 starting June 11th to check your VIN against the recall population.
Source: roadandtrack.com
