The inquiry is focused on a July 2014 campaign that aimed to resolve a wiring-related defect that had led to fires in a handful of 2011-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs. The fires had been traced to an electrical short in the vanity lamp wiring for either of the sun visors, which were mounted to the headliner with metal screws that could pierce the wiring.
FCA developed a remedy that relies on a plastic guide installed on each sun visor to route the wiring away from the attachment screws, preventing the wires from being shorted. Service technicians have been instructed to lower the headliner and reroute the wiring through the guide.
Despite the seemingly straightforward fix, the NHTSA has received eight reports of fires occurring after the remedy was installed. The agency only received six complaints of fires before pushing for the first recall.
“I was driving my vehicle when I noticed a small amount of smoke that seemed to be coming from the air system … Smoke billowed and I noticed fire on the passenger side sun-visor area,” on complaint read. “The current recall on the passenger side sun visor for this recall was repaired at the dealership three weeks ago.”
The NHTSA notes that no crashes or injuries have been blamed on the post-remedy fires, but the agency is nonetheless opening another inquiry to investigate the effectiveness of the initial fix.
Recent reports suggest the NHTSA is considering reopening a separate investigation into Jeep fuel-tank fires, which led to a $150 million wrongful-death judgement against the company, and another inquiry is attempting to determine if the new Jeep Cherokee is prone to engine-compartment fires. The company also recently issued a second recall for more than 700,000 minivans and SUVs that suffered from ignition-switch malfunctions, after the initial fix failed to completely resolve the problems.
Photo by Mark Elias.
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