Stellantis has warned 2020-2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and 2022-2024 Grand Cherokee 4xe owners to park outside because the SUVs might spontaneously catch fire. The auto giant recalled roughly 154,000 of the plug-in hybrids on Tuesday, citing an internal review in which 13 vehicles went ablaze. The exact issue hasn’t been disclosed yet, but Stellantis estimates that 5%, or about 10,000 of the recalled off-roaders could contain the defect.
The observed fires happened when the cars were parked with the engine off, though they’re still at risk when driving. Stellantis says owners should also avoid plugging their cars in, because high charge levels could be linked to the problem. It’s important to note that 4xe Jeeps don’t need to be plugged in as they can run on the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder alone.
Still, that kind of defeats the point of driving a plug-in hybrid. The Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe models don’t get their respective 21 and 26 miles of electric-only range without charging, either at home or a public station. Their battery is still charged some during normal operation, but not enough to zip around town without using the gas engine.
This is a big deal for obvious reasons, but especially because Jeep’s 4xe models are the best-selling plug-in hybrids in North America. Indeed, 118,230 Jeep Wrangler PHEVs and 35,802 Jeep Grand Cherokee PHEVs are affected. When a critical issue strikes the segment’s most popular models, the implications are even further reaching. Buyers in the United States especially remain skeptical of electrification, so snafus like this have a compounding effect.
One more thing: Back in 2023, Stellantis stopped stocking gas-only Wranglers and Grand Cherokees on dealer lots in the 14 states that follow California’s emissions regulations, in favor of their electrified counterparts. Residents of those states that wanted ICE versions of those models had to special order them, or venture out of state. While the latest 2025 4xe models are not included in this recall, this week’s news means that a good number of them sitting at dealers over the last 12 months and change may have had serious issues, and customers would’ve had to go out of their way to avoid them.
Jeep hasn’t announced an official fix for the unspecified problem, though it plans to notify customers by mail before October 17. Owners can contact Stellantis at 800-853-1403, and the NHTSA recall numbers are 24V-720 and 24E-080.
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