— Jeep fires have caused a class action lawsuit for vehicles included in a federal investigation and a separate Jeep fire recall.
The lawsuit includes, "2020-2024 Jeep Wrangler, 2021-2023 Jeep Gladiator, and 2022-2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles prone to underhood fire."
According to the Jeep class action, fires can occur from power steering pump electrical connectors in Jeeps and from high voltage batteries in Jeep 4xe vehicles.
The Jeep fires may occur while driving or while the Jeeps are parked and turned off.
The Jeep class action lawsuit, filed for more than $5 million, was filed by Pennsylvania plaintiff Stan Paris who purchased a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4xe in July 2024.
The plaintiff doesn't allege his battery experienced a fire, but he says it's difficult to park his Jeep away from other vehicles and structures. He says he has been parking his 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe at an outdoor airport parking lot at a cost of $26 per day.
The Jeep class action lawsuit involves two classes, one described as the "investigation class" and the other a "recall class."
The investigation class includes: "All persons or entities who purchased or leased one or more Class Vehicles in the United States and said vehicle is included in NHTSA Investigation PE24024."
The recall class includes: "All persons or entities who purchased or leased one or more Class Vehicles in the United States and said vehicle is subject to Recall 24V720000."
The Jeep Fire Investigation
In September 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into engine compartment fires in 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler and 2021-2023 Gladiator vehicless.
The investigation includes about 720,000 Jeeps after reports of at least nine fires and one injury caused by the Jeep power steering pumps.
Specifically, the power steering pump electrical connectors seem to be the cause of the Jeep fires. The fires occurred on the front passenger sides of the engine compartments, the same location as the power steering pump connectors.
The Jeep Fire Recall
In late September 2024, Fiat Chrysler recalled about 154,000 vehicles over the risk of Jeep hybrid fires, but these fires are attributed to the high voltage batteries.
The Jeep 4xe fire recall involves 2020-2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and 2022-2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe SUVs following at least 13 fires.
Chrysler says in "rare circumstances, a battery pack may contain cells with separator damage. Separator damage, combined with other complex interactions within the cells, may lead to a vehicle fire."
FCA also says the risk of a fire drops when the hybrid battery charge is depleted. In addition, the Jeep plug-in hybrids which caught fire were all parked and shut off.
It's estimated about 5% of the recalled Jeeps may be affected by the battery problems, but all owners of the recalled vehicles were warned to park away from anything that could catch fire.
Owners of the recalled Jeep 4xe vehicles were also warned not to charge the vehicles until they were repaired by dealers during the recall.
The Jeep fire class action lawsuit alleges Chrysler knew or should have known about the fire risks before the recall was issued and before the investigation was opened.
The Jeep fire class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division): Stan Paris v. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) US, LLC.
The plaintiff is represented by Mantese Honigman, PC, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, and Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield LLP.
