No one likes to inform folks unhealthy information. So, generally firms give the unhealthy information out on a day that many individuals received’t be paying consideration. Like, say, yesterday, which occurred to be the day earlier than Thanksgiving. On this case, the unhealthy information is that Jeep’s Wrangler 4xe plugin hybrid is dealing with a recall for hazard of fireplace.
Stellantis (Jeep’s mother or father firm that was Fiat-Chrysler) says that in a routine evaluate of buyer knowledge, they discovered that eight of the autos (out of over 32,000) had caught hearth. So, to be proactive, the corporate launched an investigation. It turned out that the entire autos have been parked and turned off when the hearth began, and 6 of the eight have been charging.
Most significantly, although, no one is understood to have been damage in any of those fires.
In case you personal any Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Stellantis says your car is protected to drive. However, Jeep’s engineers suggest that you just don’t cost the battery or plug it in whereas the investigation continues they usually work towards a recall. Fortuitously, it’s a PHEV, so that you’re nonetheless in a position to safely drive it as a hybrid for now. In addition they suggest parking it away from different autos and away from any buildings or constructions till you will get the car in for a recall treatment.
Additional details about the recall will not be out there but, however for those who’re a Wrangler 4xe proprietor, Jeep will attain out to let you understand when the recall process is able to go at an area Jeep vendor. The excellent news is that for many clients, the car might be inspected at a vendor and checked for a particular error code that signifies there’s a defect within the battery pack. In case your car is among the ones with the defect, it’ll get a substitute pack.
The opposite nice information is that Jeep estimates that solely about 1% of the autos truly pose any sort of hearth hazard because of the defect Jeep’s engineers discovered. For everybody else, the recall will merely be a software program replace.
Don’t Panic
It’s necessary to remember the fact that EVs are far much less possible than a gas-powered car to catch hearth, and that this seems to be a difficulty with battery charging, so the identical applies right here. When you think about that 1% of 32,000 autos is 320, and that out of that estimated 320 autos, solely 8 have truly caught hearth, the chance to any given Jeep Wrangler 4xe proprietor is astronomical. You’re actually extra more likely to choke in your Thanksgiving leftovers and die than to have a fireplace.
So, for those who’re a parking construction proprietor, please don’t swap to Microsoft Phrase and make a poorly-spelled and badly-punctuated 8.5×11″ signal telling folks to not park their Jeeps in your lot. In case you truly learn this far, you already know that solely charging Wrangler 4xe autos pose any sort of threat, and that the gasoline vehicles on the lot usually tend to go up.
In case you’re a panicky and dumb particular person and need to do it anyway, not less than rent a graphic designer and a proofreader first.
Featured picture by Jennifer Sensiba.
