- U.S. Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator owners have launched a class-action in response to underhood fires
- Plaintiffs allege defects in assembly are to blame, though they haven’t agreed upon the specific cause
- Wrangler and Gladiator made up over 40% of Jeep sales last year
A new legal challenge is brewing south of the border, one aimed at Stellantis by owners of Jeep Wrangler SUVs and Gladiator pickup trucks. At issue is an investigation recently launched by that country’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into the source of engine-bay fires in these vehicles.
The lawsuit, filed in Michigan, describes a cadre of situations in which one of these models suddenly set itself ablaze. “Our 2021 Jeep started smoking in the engine and within 10 minutes burst into flames,” read one account, while another stated “the fire burned the entire top of the rear of the engine and completely through the wiring harness before I could extinguish it with a fire extinguisher.”
The latter complainant opined that the blaze appeared to have started near where a fuel line enters the intake, suggesting a manufacturer problem and pointing to an existing recall made for similar issues a few years ago.
That recall identified a plastic fuel-supply-line connector attached to the high-pressure fuel pump that may crack, potentially resulting in “uncontained gasoline” which could start a fire. (“Uncontained Gasoline” sounds like a good name for a band, by the way.) At the time of that recall, Jeep said it was aware of over 800 warranty claims relating to the issue. However, other complainants in the lawsuit point to the source of the fire being a faulty power steering pump electrical connector.
As for this particular lawsuit, numerous participants in the class-action describe their Jeeps being a total loss after catching fire, with some people also outlining the damage inflicted on other property belonging to them as a result of the inferno. There is also noise being made about how a few feel their vehicles now have a reduced value “because of the stigma” attached to this alleged fire defect. So-called quantifiable economic losses can be harder to suss out in the court of law.
The Wrangler is a big money-maker for Jeep in Canada, shifting 14,219 units last year, which is nearly double its next-best selling model. In fact, it made up a full 35% of all Jeep sales in this country. As for the Gladiator, it found 2,368 homes on this side of the border last year.
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