Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee Recall Results in Urgent Call for Owners to Stop Driving

Chrysler has announced an urgent recall that impacts more than 7,700 vehicles, indicating that owners of certain 2015 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles should immediately stop driving the SUVs due to an assembly error, which may result in a loss of braking ability and rear-end instability. 

The Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUV recall was issued on June 28, due to a risk that certain vehicles manufactured during an eight day period earlier this month may contain serious manufacturing defects.

It is believed that only 65 of the vehicles have been purchased, with the others still on dealer lots or in the distribution stream. Urgent calls are being made to ensure all owners are aware of the problems.

If the suspension component fails, it may result in rear-end instability and possibly reduced braking power, posing an imminent crash hazard to drivers. To date, Chrysler has not received any incident reports.

The automaker learned of the potential defect when a supplier discovered the problem during an internal quality review. It was determined that a component called the rear control arm was not properly heat-treated and could break.

Chrysler believes only 13% of the vehicles are impacted by the recall, but recommends all owners stop driving the vehicles immediately.

The recall includes model year 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durango SUVs manufactured from June 12 through June 20. Chrysler announced that the recall includes a total of 7,755 vehicles in which about 5,608 are believed to be in the U.S., 255 are in Canada and 65 are in Mexico. Only 65 of the vehicles have been purchased and are in the possession of the owner. FCA stated all shipments and sales were stopped immediately once the issue was discovered.

The recall statement asks owners to contact their local dealer to have an on-site inspection scheduled free of charge under the manufacturer’s warranty. Owners may check to see if their vehicles are included in the recall by entering their VIN which is located on the bottom of the windshield at http://recalls.mopar.com/

The recall comes just days before public hearings by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to evaluate problems with Chrysler recalls that have impacted over 11 million vehicles in recent years, evaluating whether the auto maker failed to adequately repair vehicles and take other federally mandated steps in response to safety problems.

The hearing was scheduled after the NHTSA stated it continues to receive consumer complaints involving part availability issues, lack of notification, difficulty in obtaining repair appointments, and being misinformed by dealers when inquiring about the recalls. The recalls to be evaluated include failure to recall certain vehicles with rupturing Takata air bags, Jeep Liberty gas tank recalls that have killed several people in blazing car fires due to inadequate repair procedures, and Ram truck recalls with tie rod failures that could cause the trucks frame to separate while in use.

The hearing will be held open to the public and witnesses from the NHTSA, the automaker, and consumers will be able to present evidence on Fiat Chrysler’s performance in each recall. If the Department of Transportation finds the NHTSA’s evidence conclusive that FCA failed its legal obligations the automaker could face upward of $770 million in fines and be required to buy back or replace the vehicles.