It hasn’t been a great quarter to be a hybrid Jeep owner. Hot on the heels of a major battery pack recall, the Stellantis brand has announced it’s recalling 2023 to 2025 Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrids and 2024 to 2025 Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrids due to potential engine fires. The culprit? Sand.
Yes, sand. See, when an engine block is cast, sand is used to allow for voids in the casting. Think cylinders, cooling passages, and the like. Once the molten metal solidifies and cools off, the sand is removed. Or at least, it should be removed. According to the official communication for recall 78C, not all of the sand may have made it out of each engine.
Some of the above vehicles may have been built with an engine that may be contaminated with sand from the casting process. Sand from the casting process can contaminate internal engine components, leading to a catastrophic failure, which can result in a vehicle fire or an unexpected and unrecoverable loss of propulsion.
Fundamentally, we’ve seen similar recalls before from Toyota with its turbocharged V6 and Hyundai with some of its Theta II four-cylinder engines. However, that doesn’t make experiencing an engine failure any less nerve-wracking. Mind you, the Transport Canada recall filing makes it sound like engine failure on affected two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines isn’t sudden. According to the document, “the engine could make abnormal noises and a warning light may turn on. If you continue to drive the vehicle with these symptoms, the engine could fail.”
Interestingly enough, many Jeep plug-in hybrids covered under this latest recall are already affected by recall 68C, which concerns cells in the high-voltage battery pack being susceptible to separator damage. What happens when the separator in a cell is damaged? Well, among other things, fire is possible. Yes, this means some vehicles now have two separate known sources of fires. Quite unusual, all things considered.
Jeep is already aware of 36 engine fires and 50 on-the-move engine failures linked to this defect, and it sounds like owners of affected vehicles could be facing more logistical headaches than expected. While 4xe models affected by the battery pack recall are already under advisory to be parked outside and not charged, Jeeps affected by this latest engine recall are under a do-not-drive notice in Canada, which has the potential to spread south of the border.
So, if you own one of the 112,859 affected plug-in hybrid Jeep models in America or one of the 5,658 affected examples in Canada, it’s probably safest to just park it for now. As it stands, there’s no firm date on when a fix will be available. Given how owner notification isn’t expected until Dec. 29, you could be looking at a wait into the new year.
Top graphic images: Jeep; iOS
For Jeep EVs and Hybrids are the devil’s work. All fire and brimstone. (Kidding! Just kidding! Don’t come at me with pitchforks.)
So would it be rude to suggest Stellantis send every 4xe plug-in hybrid owner a special pack containing marshmallows, chocolate bars and some graham crackers, just to keep them busy in the event they’re waiting by the side of the road for the fire truck/wrecker? Everyone loves s’mores!
Hmm, it’s going to be winter soon. Parking a vehicle with a removable top outside for long periods of time without moving it seems like a terrible idea. Forget about the HV battery, that’s getting replaced anyhow. I’d be concerned with a seal failing and trashing the interior while waiting for a fix. Or rodent damage. Stellantis should skip to buying these back, fixing them properly at the factory and then auctioning them off to dealers to sell as used.
In the immortal words of Arrow as popularized by Buster Poindexter (David Johansen), Jeep PHEVs are “ Hot, Hot, Hot!”
I thought Ford had recall problems…
Oh, wait, they still do.
Maybe it’s just hearing about it more now, but why is clearing engine castings seemingly such an issue with multiple manufacturers lately? Are passages getting too small and convoluted that they don’t clear adequately with traditional methods or did they alter the process in some way to save time?
QC?
Shareholders don’t need no QC.
This would be comical if owners weren’t suffering because of being unable to use them.
Takes “Mopar or No Car” too seriously.
Hey Jeep…well done.
Very good.