Global Jeep recall goes local
BY TIM NICHOLSON | 13th May 2013
Around 5500 previous-generation Grand Cherokee and recently discontinued Commander SUVs will be recalled in Australia.
A statement on the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website confirms the recall relates to vehicles built between 2005 and 2010.
The fault is a transfer case failure that “may result in an unintentional shifting of the transfer case into the neutral position.”This could cause the vehicle to roll away if it shifts into neutral, increasing the risk of an accident or injury.
The worldwide recall involves a software update through Jeep dealers to resolve the issue.
Fiat Chrysler Group Australia director of corporate affairs Karla Leach confirmed that a few incidents had been recorded in the United States as a result of the fault but none in Australia.
“That component that they have identified as causing the compromised signals is now not used in cars and hasn’t been used since 2010,” she said.
“So customers of post-2010 vehicles can be very confident that no software update is required.”Ms Leach said that Chrysler’s local arm is in the process of contacting affected customers now but because of the age of some of the vehicles they need to retrieve records from the government.
The Chrysler Group has issued two further US-only recalls involving 5330 Wranglers that require the addition of a dust shield to prevent dust build-up on steering column-mounted electrical connectors and 532 Dodge Ram trucks to inspect windshield defrosting and defogging components.
Earlier this year around 7000 Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees built between 2002 and 2004 were recalled in Australia as a part of a wider global recall of 900,000 vehicles after it was found that airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners were inadvertently detonating.
