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FCA expands Jeep Cherokee recall to 68k more vehicles

FCA is expanding its airbag software update for the 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokee to cover 68,593 more of the vehicles worldwide. This brings the total to 316,774 Cherokees. Of those, there are now 230,240 in the US, 28,110 in Canada, 6,367 in Mexico, and 52,057 outside of NAFTA. According to the automaker, after reviewing the potentially affected population, it discovered these additional Cherokees in need of the upgrade. The original campaign to repair these vehicles was announced in early February. Engineers found a small number of cases where dramatic changes to the angle of the vehicle that upset its balance caused the side-curtain and seat-mounted side airbags to deploy because they anticipated a rollover. This especially occurred when driving off-road. According to FCA, there're no additional reports of this happening, and the company isn't aware of any injuries or accidents. The fix is simply a software upgrade that recalibrates the airbags' deployment. Related Video: Statement: Restraint-System Software Upgrade May 12, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is expanding by an estimated 62,148 vehicles its recall of U.S.-market SUVs** to upgrade air-bag software. The action follows a routine review of the originally reported vehicle population by FCA US engineers. There have been no additional incidents and FCA US is unaware of any related injuries or accidents. The campaign will upgrade software that governs side-curtain and seat-mounted side air bags following a small number of inadvertent deployments – most of which occurred in harsh, off-road environments. They were prompted by maneuvers that dramatically changed the vehicles' angle of operation, relative to the ground, and the air-bag systems – sensing potential rollover conditions – automatically activated. The software upgrade will recalibrate the threshold for deployment and the vehicles will remain compliant with all applicable safety regulations. Affected are certain 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokees. The revised estimate for the U.S. totals 230,240. Revised estimates for other markets are as follows: 28,110 in Canada; 6,367 in Mexico and 52,057 outside the NAFTA region. The revised global total is 316,774 – a difference of 68,593. The Company will notify affected customers. Software will be available at that time. Customers with additional concerns or questions may call 1-800-853-1403. ** http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do?id=16332&mid=431

Stellantis earnings rise along with EV sales

AMSTERDAM — Automaker Stellantis on Wednesday reported its earnings grew in 2022 from a year earlier and said its push into electric vehicles led to a jump in sales even as it faces growing competition from an industrywide shift to more climate-friendly offerings. Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, said net revenue of 179.6 billion euros ($191 billion) was up 18% from 2021, citing strong pricing and its mix of vehicles. It reported net profit of 16.8 billion euros, up 26% from 2021. Stellantis plans to convert all of its European sales and half of its U.S. sales to battery-electric vehicles by 2030. It said the strategy led to a 41% increase in battery EV sales in 2022, to 288,000 vehicles, compared with the year earlier. The company has “demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.” The automaker is competing in an increasingly crowded field for a share of the electric vehicle market. Companies are scrambling to roll out environmentally friendly models as they look to hit goals of cutting climate-changing emissions, driven by government pressure. The transformation has gotten a boost from a U.S. law that is rolling out big subsidies for clean technology like EVs but has European governments calling out the harm that they say the funding poses to homegrown industry across the Atlantic. Stellantis' Jeep brand will start selling two fully electric SUVs in North America and another one in Europe over the next two years. It says its Ram brand will roll out an electric pickup truck this year, joining a rush of EV competitors looking to claim a piece of the full-size truck market. The company plans to bring 25 battery-electric models to the U.S. by 2030. As part of that push, it has said it would build two EV battery factories in North America. A $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will bring one of those facilities to Indiana, which is expected to employ up to 1,400 workers. The other factory will be in Windsor, Ontario, a collaboration with South KoreaÂ’s LG Energy Solution that aims to create about 2,500 jobs. The EV push comes amid a slowdown in U.S.

Chrysler recalls 2013 Ram pickups, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Chrysler's spate of successful products is about to be marred by a trio of recalls. The Pentastar is recalling 51,477 Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there have been no reported accidents, injuries or deaths related to the affected vehicles.
The largest action covers the Ram 1500, which is seeing 45,961 trucks being recalled. Models built between June 26, 2012 and February 5, 2013 are being recalled due to a potential software issue in the electronic stability control. Apparently, the system can be randomly deactivated upon vehicle startup.
Chrysler is also recalling 4,458 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee models. Covering everything but the SRT models, the potentially defective SUVs were built between January 14 and March 20, 2013. This recall focuses on "premium headlights," which means cars equipped with LED running lights. During the switch from the bright daytime running lamp setting to the low-intensity parking light setting, an electrical spike can cause one of the Jeep's computers to go into a safe mode, turning off the LEDs. This violates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.