Jeep has announced a large-scale recall campaign encompassing over 45,000 Wrangler 4xe SUVs made from 2020 through 2023. The reason is a fire risk, Associated Press reports, and the company is apparently aware of at least eight related cases.
Jeep launched an internal investigation after analyzing recent customer feedback. Out of the eight off-roaders that spontaneously caught fire, six were plugged into charging stations. All eight were parked with their engines off. No injuries were reported.
The reason has never been explicitly mentioned, with Jeep insisting that it knows how to address the issue. In the vast majority of cases, updating the firmware in the affected cars will be enough. Battery replacement might be required in certain exceptional cases, but the company reckons that such cases sum up to 1% or less of the total number of Wranglers being recalled.
The campaign concerns around 32,000 affected units in the USA, nearly 4,000 in Canada, and around 10,000 in other countries. Owners are instructed that they may continue driving their cars as long as they avoid charging them from third-party devices. Parking away from other cars or property is also advised.