2010 Jeep on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Key-swapping thieves steal Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT from FL dealer

Just a few weeks back, we reported on the theft of an Audi RS5 by a pair of creative thieves who managed to swipe the car's keys when the salesperson stepped away from their desk. Now, a Florida dealership is missing a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 after some crooks switched the Jeep's keys with an identical, non-functioning set.
According to the report from local NBC affiliate WPTV, the men went in and spoke to a dealer about the Jeep. They walked outside, took a look at it, started it up and in the process managed to switch out the fobs. After doing their time with the salesperson, the thieves walked back out to the car, got in and drove away.
"I mean obviously, the way it was done, I think that they were professionals and they knew what they were doing," said Arrigo Jeep General Manager Joe Tufo. "The fact that they did it in broad daylight and switched the key fob and it was like it was nothing. That's what makes it unique," he added.

Jeep recalls 92k Grand Cherokee SUVs over electrical issue

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Chrysler is recalling 91,559 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs from the 2014 model year due to some serious electrical issues. All of the affected models were built between January 8 and August 20, 2013.
The NHTSA report states that, "Due to a disruption of computer communications and loose alternator ground wires, the affected vehicles may experience random illumination of multiple instrument cluster warning lights, loss of cluster illumination and loss of anti-lock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) function." The loss of ABS or ESC would greatly reduce a driver's ability to control the vehicle if things get squirrely, and since these failures would not be illuminated on the dashboard display, drivers would not be warned of the issue, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall is expected to kick off sometime this month. Chrysler will notify affected Jeep owners and dealerships "will update the ABS and instrument cluster module software and tighten the alternator ground wire," according to NHTSA.

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study