autoevolution
 

Jeep Cherokee Fire Leads to NHTSA Investigation

Everybody's heard auto horror stories. It's impossible not to have read a forum or a friend of yours telling you "A buddy of mine just got a new sedan and its full of faults." What you're about to read isn't the usual "I've heard that..." story, but a real happening of the bad type of spontaneous combustion. Literally.
Jeep Cherokee 1 photo
Photo: Jeep
CBS 8's LA JOLLA reported and provided video evidence according to which a 2015 Jeep Cherokee burned itself to the ground, although the popular crossover was brand spanking new, showing only 50 miles (80 km) on the odometer. As the owner reports, this unfortunate event happened after she drove the car two times: once when she got it from the Perry Dealership and the second time before the fire.

As Margareta declared for LA JOLLA: "I noticed a little bit of a smoke smell, but nothing much, when I got out of the car, I didn't see anything unusual. When I went upstairs my brother looked out the window and he saw smoke coming from the hood of the car." Naturally, Margareta filed a complaint with the NHTSA, in which she mentioned that "within seconds the entire car was engulfed in fire, flames 20-feet high."

As if that wasn't enough of an automotive tragedy, "burning oil or fuel ran down the street over 50 yards." Thankfully, there were no victims nor collateral damage. Curiously enough, a second complaint was filed on the same day Margareta filed her own, which says that another 2015 model year Cherokee started smoking like hell after just 45 miles (72 kilometers) since the odometer read zero.

This time around, the owner was inside the car, driving at 60 mph (96 km/h). Due to the similarity between the two events and the same day filings, the NHTSA opened an investigation into this matter, which is the good thing. According to the safety watchdog, the preliminary investigation will assess the scope of the potential issue, which may affect an estimated 50,000 Jeep Cherokees if a recall will be issued.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories