Thousands of Jeep Cherokee owners across North America are being warned about a defect that may start a fire.
Stellantis has issued a worldwide recall of almost 220,000 Jeep Cherokee SUVs. Certain models built between 2014 and 2016 are affected. According to Stellantis Canada, about 23,000 vehicles were sold in Canada.
The notice from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the recall affects models equipped with a power liftgate.
“An electrical short in the power liftgate module may lead to a vehicle fire with the ignition on or off,” read the recall notice. “A fire, while parked or driving, can increase the risk of injury.”
Stellantis said the problem was discovered during a routine review of customer information. The automaker will send out recall notices to affected owners by the end of June. In the meantime, owners should park their vehicles outside and away from other vehicles or structures.
A repair method has not been developed yet, but once it is, a Jeep dealership will perform the repair at no cost to the owner.
No injuries have been reported, but the NHTSA reported 23 warranty claims and 21 field reports due to the problem.
Jeep owners can check to see if their vehicle is affected by entering their VIN number on the Mopar website.
