Power Steering Pump in 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator Models Can Spontaneously Catch Fire, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges certain 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler JL and Gladiator JT vehicles are equipped with a defective power steering pump electrical connector that increases the risk of a spontaneous under-hood fire. 

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The 37-page Jeep lawsuit says that nine vehicle owner questionnaire reports, including one death and injury report, and several field reports of alleged engine compartment fires for 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator models have been made since March 2021. Per the suit, the bulk of the reports describe a fire occurring while a vehicle’s ignition was off, with the suspected origin “at the passenger front side of the engine compartment.” 

The class action suit says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation has estimated that nearly 781,500 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator models are equipped with the allegedly faulty power steering pump electrical connector and/or component parts. 

According to the complaint, automaker FCA US is aware of the spontaneous fire risk plaguing the Wrangler JL and Gladiator JT yet has concealed the existence of the problem from potential buyers and lessees. The filing states the defendant has failed to initiate a recall to remedy what the lawsuit calls the “fire defect.”

“While Defendant is said to be cooperating with the NHTSA’s investigation, Defendant has not issued a recall based on the Fire Defect,” the class action suit reads, alleging drivers have as a result been left with vehicles hampered by “an extremely dangerous latent defect” of which they were unaware at the time of purchase or lease.

The suit notes that the NHTSA began its investigation into the Gladiator and Wrangler models following a fatal accident resulting from a vehicle fire. MotorSafety.org writes that driver complaints have mentioned the vehicles “catching on fire out of the blue while driving or parked,” with one fire apparently occurring six hours after a vehicle was parked and turned off, and another occurring suddenly in a vehicle parked next to a house. 

The plaintiff, an Illinois consumer, bought a used 2023 Jeep Wrangler based on FCA US’s promotions touting the quality and safety of its vehicles, the complaint shares. In light of the alleged “fire defect,” the plaintiff has relayed her concerns about the problem to the dealer from whom she bought the vehicle, who advised her to check the VIN to determine whether to bring the car in for service, the filing says.

Upon providing the VIN, the dealer called the plaintiff and informed her that her vehicle “was not part of the recall,” even though FCA US has not initiated any recall to address the alleged power steering pump electrical connector fire problems, the lawsuit says. 

According to the suit, the apparent defect stems from FCA US’s “improper installation and/or manufacturing” of the part. 

“There is no reason for the Pump Electrical Connector, and/or any of its component parts, to fail if it was installed and/or manufactured correctly,” the case states. 

The Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator class action lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who bought or leased a 2021-2023 model year Jeep Wrangler JL or Jeep Gladiator. 

Learn all about the legal process: What is a class action lawsuit?