Stellantis just told 1.3 million Jeep owners something odd. The safest spot for their truck is far from the house.
The reason is simple. It can catch fire even while parked and switched off.
The recall covers Jeep Wrangler SUVs and Gladiator trucks. It hits model years 2021 through 2025.
The fault is a loose wire in the power steering pump. When it melts, it can start a fire.
The danger is small but real. In rare cases, the heat builds up while the truck just sits.
Stellantis has tied at least 72 fires to the flaw, plus one injury.
A loose wire sounds minor. But heat in the wrong spot can turn it into a real hazard.
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For now, owners get one order. Park outside, away from buildings or other cars.
That is a strange ask for a daily driver. But Stellantis says the risk is too high to wait.
The fix itself is simple. Crews will check the wiring and the pump, then mend or swap the bad part.
The repair should land no later than July. Until then, the warning stands.
Owners can check if their truck is on the list. Stellantis will reach out with repair details.
The brand leans on a rugged, go-anywhere image. A fire warning cuts against that in a big way.
Safety regulators saw this coming. They opened a probe in September 2024 over the same fire risk.
That probe covered nearly 800,000 of these Jeeps. Stellantis had looked into fires of its own back in 2023.
It closed that early review when the rate looked low. Then the fires climbed, so it reopened the case in August 2024.
The hunt for the cause took more than a year. It bought back trucks, ran CT scans, and by late May ruled the risk too high to ignore.
The first signs showed up long before the recall. Owners filed reports, and the fire count slowly grew.
The U.S. holds about 1.08 million of the recalled trucks. Canada, Mexico and other markets split the rest.
Canada has about 106,000 of the trucks. Mexico has 23,000, and other markets hold around 125,000.
Stellantis is a giant by market cap, with brands like Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot. A recall this big stings, but the dent to trust can sting more.
Recalls like this can ripple through car stocks. Wrangler and Gladiator are two of its best-known names.
Recalls this size are common in the car world. The bill, though, often runs into the millions.
A fire recall is a hard thing for buyers to forget.
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