Dive Brief:
- Stellantis’ North American subsidiary FCA US has recalled more than 24,000 plug-in hybrid Jeep Wranglers due to a flawed over-the-air software update that can lead to a sudden loss of propulsion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall involves certain model year 2023-2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles. All of the recalled vehicles are believed to have the software defect.
- FCA US is still developing a final remedy to permanently fix the issue, but in the interim the company has pushed out a temporary fix to vehicles’ backend systems to prevent sudden power loss. The automaker plans to notify owners of the final remedy beginning Nov. 25.
Dive Insight:
According to the recall report, the software defect can result in faulty communication between the vehicle’s telematics box module and the hybrid control processor, which serves as the central computer in the Jeep Wrangler 4xe models. The problem may cause the hybrid control processor to perform a reset while the vehicle is moving, leading to a sudden loss of power that increases the risk of a crash.
The problem was discovered after some Jeep Wrangler 4xe owners installed an over-the-air Uconnect infotainment system software update on Oct. 10. After downloading it, customers experienced sudden powertrain failures, leading to stalled vehicles, stranded drivers and eventually the nationwide recall.
On Oct. 11, a Jeep Cares representative posted a message on 4XEForums.com urging Jeep Wrangler 4xe owners not to install the previous day’s software update, adding that “any vehicles towed to dealerships over the weekend” would not be charged any diagnostic fees.
Jeep pulled the software update soon after releasing it, but many owners had already downloaded it to their vehicles.
On Oct. 14, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation alerted FCA US that it had received more than 200 vehicle owner questionnaires and seen numerous online forum discussions complaining of sudden engine power loss on plug-in hybrid Jeep Wranglers.
Also on Oct. 14, Transport Canada Defect Complaints notified FCA US that it had received seven public complaints and noticed additional online forum discussions related to the issue.
The same day, FCA US’ Technical Safety and Regulatory Compliance group opened an investigation into the problem, seeing it as potentially related to the Oct. 10 software update. The group also met with FCA US’ engineering staff to review the issue, determine the failure mode and identify the affected population of vehicles.
FCA US concluded on Oct. 16 that a safety defect concerning the telematics box was present in the Jeep Wrangler 4xe models and elected to issue the recall on Oct. 17.
While a final remedy is still under development, FCA US implemented a temporary fix in the interim, updating affected vehicles’ backend systems to prevent a loss of power.
As of Oct. 15, FCA US was aware of 111 customer assistance records, 69 field reports and 55 other service records received between Oct. 10 and Oct. 14 that may be related to the issue. However, the automaker is not aware of any accidents or injuries, according to the recall report.
This is not the first time plug-in hybrid Jeep vehicles have been recalled for a potential loss of drive power.
In November 2022, FCA US recalled almost 63,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe models for a software issue that could lead to engine shutdown and a sudden loss of power, per NHTSA records.
In July 2024, the NHTSA opened an investigation to determine whether additional Wrangler 4xe models were affected by software issues than those initially identified.
In early September, FCA US recalled nearly 92,000 plug-in hybrid Jeep Grand Cherokees for a software error that could lead to a possible loss of drive power without warning, according to the NHTSA.
