Stellantis recalls 375,000 Jeep SUVs over fire risks, urges owners to park outside

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Stellantis said on Tuesday it was recalling 375,000 plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs worldwide due to battery failure following reports of 19 fires and urged owners to park outdoors until the problem is fixed.

The recall covers the 2020 through 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and 2022-2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe SUVs.

The company said a resolution to the recall was imminent, but until then, owners should park further away from buildings and avoid charging vehicles due to fire risks.

Stellantis said there were 19 related reports of fires and one injury reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Approximately 320,000 of the recalled vehicles are in the United States.

The automaker said the batteries are manufactured by Samsung SDI. An investigation by Stellantis and Samsung SDI determined that a fire earlier this year was caused by the same defect reported in a 2024 recall of 154,000 plug-in hybrid Jeep EVs following two reports of injuries.

NHTSA said vehicles repaired after the recall in 2023 and 2024 will need to be repaired again.

Samsung SDI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stellantis said it has received nine reports of fires from batteries in plug-in Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee vehicles that received software in the 2024 recall and 10 reports of fires from batteries outside this recall.

Samsung SDI stated that the most likely root cause is separator damage along with other complex interactions within the battery cells.

The French-American automaker also recalled more than 298,000 U.S. vehicles in October, citing potential rollover risks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey)