Jeep is involved in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court in Detroit, accused of not adequately addressing an issue with its Jeep Wrangler 4xe that could lead to fires. The suit includes nine plaintiffs from seven states, all owners of Wrangler 4xe models, in a proposed class action alleging that the fire risk could be linked to the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery packs. While the lawsuit claims the manufacturer has not provided a solution to the defect, Stellantis disputes this, stating that dealers are currently performing the necessary repairs.
Due to the fire risk of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, the American automaker has been sued
The lawsuit states, “Although FCA claims the primary cause of the fires is unknown, it is virtually certain, alarmingly for consumers, that the defect is connected to the vehicles’ high-voltage lithium-ion battery packs and related components used to power the vehicles when in electric mode.”
In November, Stellantis identified a fire risk associated with its Jeep Wrangler 4xe and announced a recall for 32,125 units in the United States, 3,856 in Canada, and another 9,294 units elsewhere. At that time, the company stated that the fix would involve a software update or, if a specific error code was detected, a free replacement of the entire battery. Jeep has recorded 8 cases of vehicle fires, all occurring when the cars were parked and turned off.
The Detroit News reports that a report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on February 22 indicated that the company would start informing dealers about the correction starting last week, while owners would be notified starting March 7.
In addition to claiming that Stellantis has not adequately addressed the issue, the plaintiffs argue that the company should have been aware of a potential vehicle defect due to a “history of issues” with Samsung SDI batteries used in their packs. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation that includes reimbursement of the purchase price of their Jeeps, in addition to compensation for economic damages.