On February 2nd, 2015, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles launched a global safety recall of 221,181 SUVs to upgrade the software that governs the side-curtain and seat-mounted side airbags. More recently, the recall was expanded by no less than 62,148 SUVs.
According to FCA US LLC’s engineers, the expansion was deemed necessary after “a routine review of the originally reported vehicle population.” Thankfully for the affected owners, the automaker is unaware of any crashes or injuries related to the 316,774-strong recall.
The FCA-developed model plagued by the software-related glitch is the 2014 to 2015 Jeep Cherokee. If you’re wondering what made the company discover the defect, engineers got on the job after a number of inadvertent airbag deployments involving drivers who executed “extreme maneuvers,” whatever that means.
Fiat-Chrysler specifies that most airbag deployments “occurred in harsh, off-road environments.” Sensing a potential rollover situation, the Cherokees’ airbags deployed. As it’s often the case with electronic gremlins, recalled SUVs are in for a software upgrade designed to recalibrate the threshold for deployment.
After this expansion, the recall estimate for the United States totals 230,240 vehicles. Revised estimates for other markets are 28,110 in Canada, 6,367 in Mexico and 52,057 outside the NAFTA region. Regarding what owners can do before FCA will notify them by mail, a solution would be to call 1-800-853-1403.
If that doesn’t work, we advise you to pay a visit to your nearest dealer and find out if your Jeep Cherokee’s VIN appears in Fiat-Chrysler’s recall database. As a last resort, you can use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's search feature.
The FCA-developed model plagued by the software-related glitch is the 2014 to 2015 Jeep Cherokee. If you’re wondering what made the company discover the defect, engineers got on the job after a number of inadvertent airbag deployments involving drivers who executed “extreme maneuvers,” whatever that means.
Fiat-Chrysler specifies that most airbag deployments “occurred in harsh, off-road environments.” Sensing a potential rollover situation, the Cherokees’ airbags deployed. As it’s often the case with electronic gremlins, recalled SUVs are in for a software upgrade designed to recalibrate the threshold for deployment.
After this expansion, the recall estimate for the United States totals 230,240 vehicles. Revised estimates for other markets are 28,110 in Canada, 6,367 in Mexico and 52,057 outside the NAFTA region. Regarding what owners can do before FCA will notify them by mail, a solution would be to call 1-800-853-1403.
If that doesn’t work, we advise you to pay a visit to your nearest dealer and find out if your Jeep Cherokee’s VIN appears in Fiat-Chrysler’s recall database. As a last resort, you can use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's search feature.