Jeep plug-in hybrid owners have ‘trust issues’ after latest recalls

By Luke Ramseth, lramseth@detroitnews.com

Jeep’s fashionable plug-in hybrids have been hit with a number of severe recollects in latest months, and homeowners — a loyal group who usually commerce ideas and photographs of their gear on-line — are more and more fed up.

First, there was an over-the-air software program replace glitch in mid-October, inflicting many Wrangler 4xe drivers to immediately lose energy on the highway. A couple of weeks later, a grim warning got here that 320,065 Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe drivers ought to cease charging and park away from constructions as a result of potential for battery fires. In November, a brand new recall affected homeowners of each plug-in Jeep fashions: sand within the engine might trigger failure and result in energy loss or fireplace.

Longtime 4xe homeowners discovered the reminder of the battery’s fireplace danger notably troubling: It is the third time in two years that Jeep father or mother firm Stellantis NV has issued a directive to cease charging and park open air, and a few are questioning if the issue has ever been resolved earlier than.

“A whole lot of us are having a variety of belief points proper now and lots of people are getting out of those automobiles,” stated Chris Corridor, who lives exterior Dayton, Ohio, and drives a 2021 Wrangler 4xe.

Even Corridor, who runs a 4xe-focused Fb group and YouTube channel and has lengthy thought-about himself a giant supporter of the automobiles, is operating out of endurance. He stated he is a “gracious particular person” who understands that not each automotive that comes off the manufacturing line is ideal, however he now not plans to switch his Wrangler with one other Jeep when the time comes.

“I really feel like Jeep and Stellantis want some accountability,” Corridor stated.

Stellantis instructed The Detroit Information on Friday that it could present $100 Mastercard present playing cards and assist present Jeep loaner automobiles by native sellers to eligible clients affected by the battery recall, doubtlessly serving to greater than 300,000 homeowners. The present playing cards are supposed to cowl the extra gas prices incurred by homeowners who’ve been filling up extra regularly as a result of they’re unable to cost their 4xe automobiles.

Stellantis spokesperson Kaileen Connelly stated the automaker deliberate to inform homeowners concerning the present playing cards and debtors this weekend. She stated Jeep is “dedicated to standing by our homeowners” and desires to verify they really feel “cared for each step of the best way.”

Complaints concerning the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe have piled up these days on social media and the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration web site. The recall points come simply as each Stellantis and the profit-driven Jeep model are attempting to revive gross sales and restore different popularity issues in recent times.

Some drivers instructed NHTSA they had been pissed off by the size of recall repairs and expressed broad issues about fireplace danger and the continued directive to park or cost open air — a request to basically “keep away from regular operation as a result of danger of auto fireplace and sudden lack of propulsion,” as one put it.

Different drivers of each fashions have reported incidents of shedding energy whereas driving. “Whereas touring alongside the freeway at 60 mph, the car immediately misplaced energy in the midst of visitors and stopped,” a Grand Cherokee driver wrote to the federal company. “I might barely park on the facet of the highway and was at excessive danger of being hit!”

Each of Jeep’s 4xe fashions have offered comparatively nicely and have attracted new clients to the off-road model since they hit the market a couple of years in the past. Final yr, Jeep offered 27,590 Grand Cherokee plug-ins and 55,554 of the Wrangler plug-in model in the USA. The SUVs provide sufficient all-electric vary for a lot of every day errands or quick commutes, plus the safety of a gasoline engine that may kick in at any time.

However the way forward for the know-how on the automaker just isn’t fully clear, amid a shift in priorities to different sorts of hybrid powertrains, along with latest issues. Jeep has introduced {that a} 2026 model of the Grand Cherokee 4xe is coming, however has not but confirmed particulars of a 2026 Wrangler 4xe.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa lately instructed buyers that the automaker plans to pay extra consideration to conventional hybrid know-how that is not pluggable, together with with its all-new Jeep Cherokee hybrid. He stated the automaker “actually believes in that know-how,” expects its rising reputation in the USA and plans to put in it in different fashions.

“Plug-in hybrid is a bit of completely different,” says Filosa. “We’re main within the plug-in hybrid market, which is sweet, however we aren’t seeing the identical development as within the (conventional) hybrid.”

Sam Fiorani, vice chairman of World Car Forecasting at AutoForecast Options LLC, stated Stellantis has much less incentive to promote plug-in hybrids in the USA with looser emissions requirements below the Trump administration. The primary signal of the corporate’s retreat from the know-how was when it canceled plans for a plug-in hybrid model of the Jeep Gladiator pickup earlier this fall.

As for the latest collection of 4xe recollects, Fiorani stated he would not suppose it would damage the Jeep model as a complete a lot. “Jeep has all the time had a foul popularity when it got here to high quality, but it surely by no means actually appeared to decelerate the followers,” he stated.

The over-the-air software program replace glitch that affected as many as 24,238 Wranglers arrived on a Friday and instantly started inflicting issues, stated Mike Missak, who owns a 2024 Wrangler 4xe and, like Corridor, runs a YouTube channel and different social media that usually discusses Jeep’s plug-in hybrids.

Homeowners who accomplished the replace skilled sudden losses of drive energy. Missak, an Illinois resident, took it to his native dealership and noticed different Jeeps prefer it arriving on flatbed vehicles whereas he was there. Stellantis was in a position to resolve the difficulty with the software program replace inside a couple of days and said {that a} everlasting repair was “in improvement.”

A couple of weeks later, the recall was issued, advising drivers of each the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe to park open air and cease charging attributable to issues concerning the Samsung SDI battery pack – the third recall for some homeowners since late 2023. (A separate recall earlier this yr involving 91,787 Grand Cherokee 4xe automobiles additionally concerned a battery concern, which the corporate warned was resulting in a battery downside in some circumstances “sudden loss” of energy whereas driving.)

Stellantis stated that in uncommon circumstances “a battery pack might include cells with separator harm,” which along with different interactions “might result in a car fireplace.” Stellantis stated it was conscious of 19 such fires, together with in automobiles that had undergone prescribed repairs below a earlier recall. NHTSA issued a “Client Alert” bulletin about the issue, which famous at the least one damage associated to the defect.

The automaker stated it expects a repair for the battery downside to be obtainable beginning this week. The answer features a software program replace to the battery pack management module, which improves the detection of any harm to the disconnectors. If harm is discovered, battery charging will probably be disabled and the battery will probably be changed freed from cost, in keeping with a press release from spokesman Frank Matyok. The corporate additionally plans to supply a guaranty extension on the batteries associated to this concern.

For the reason that earlier two recollects, the corporate stated it has “gained a deeper understanding of the components concerned” and developed “a extra complete resolution” to resolve the difficulty.

In November, 112,859 automobiles had been recalled attributable to potential sand within the engine. It stated some SUVs “could also be constructed with an engine that could be contaminated with sand from the casting course of,” and this might trigger catastrophic engine failure, doubtlessly resulting in lack of propulsion, fireplace or each. Clients might hear a knocking sound or see a fault indicator gentle earlier than a fault happens, Stellantis stated.

The corporate added that it’s conscious of 36 fires and 50 confirmed experiences of automobiles shedding energy, plus different service experiences that could be associated.

“All three are ready to be repaired,” stated Missak, whose Wrangler is included in all of the latest recollects. “We’re in limbo in all three circumstances.”

Missak normally parks his Jeep within the storage, however now it is exterior within the snow. He spends extra on fuel as a result of he cannot cost it. And the most recent spherical of recollects has raised new questions concerning the car’s security: Missak had deliberate at hand the Jeep over to his daughter when she turns 16 quickly, however now he isn’t so positive.

Ryin Gaines, a Pittsburgh resident who drives a 2024 Wrangler 4xe that has had 4 recollects, stated he has been having related security issues these days involving his 10-year-old daughter. The 43-year-old is aware of the prospect of a battery fireplace is low, however thinks possibly he should not let her sit within the backseat, which is nearer to the battery.

“On the one hand, I really like driving this automotive – I really like the Wrangler, I really like the Jeep model,” Gaines stated, noting that he likes taking the roof off the SUV in the summertime, and his daughter thinks it appears cool, too. “Then again, ought to I put (her) on this? Ought to I put (her) within the entrance seat?”

He added, “Each time I get on this automotive and drive from level A to level B, I do not really feel as protected as I used to. That is an issue,” he stated, particularly for a automotive that begins at about $50,000.

Rodrigo Sagastegui, who lives exterior Denver and drives a 2023 Wrangler 4xe, stated he has been largely happy with the SUV since he purchased it used this summer season. He preferred the torque and the truth that he usually did not need to fill the tank for 900 or 1,000 miles, plus the off-road capabilities.

However the latest recollects have given the 52-year-old some pause. He stated he has chosen to proceed charging the battery for his every day commute, however he now not parks within the storage, which means snow has typically piled up on the Jeep in latest weeks.

“It is considerably annoying, however manageable, realizing I am taking dangers,” Sagastegui stated. “My tolerance stage could also be considerably increased than others.”

Each Corridor and Missak stated they wish to see extra communication from Jeep concerning the latest points. Too usually, customer support can not help with questions, Corridor says, and sellers aren’t all the time clear about crucial repairs.

“No producer is immune from a recall,” Missak stated. “However sufficient is sufficient with a few of these issues.”