Auburn Hills, Mich. — June 23, 2016 — Two new voluntary Fiat Chrysler recalls will target issues in a range of different vehicles. In a pair of press releases published May 18, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles explained the conditions leading to each recall. Neither of these are connected to any known injuries or accidents, and both of them have repercussions outside of North America, although the majority of vehicles in each case are within the United States.

The first recall: Clockspring assemblies
This action concerns the systems that may prevent some Jeep Wrangler SUVs from deploying their air bags correctly. The statement said that exposure to contaminants could weaken the clockspring and interfere with the circuit that controls air bag function. Drivers are particularly at risk, since the driver-side air bag is the one that could be disabled through this action.

The SUVs featured in this recall have model years between 2007 and 2010, with an estimated 392,464 of these vehicles inside the United States. Owners may see a lit air bag warning lamp in their vehicles if the clockspring has been compromised. This condition could be especially prevalent inside vehicles used for off-roading, the source said.

Dealers will resolve the issue by modifying the steering wheel, installing a new steering-column shroud and back cover. Though no schedule was listed, the release did say that customers will receive notification once the recall progresses.

The second recall: Clutch release updates
The other recall centers around gradual changes that could hurt vital transmission functions in Fiat 500 cars with model years between 2012 and 2016, but only the models that don’t use turbocharged engines. The statement mentions that approximately 39,217 vehicles are affected by this.

Unlike the other recall, this one has some reports of damage to the vehicles involved. The source said that .01 percent of the affected cars have been damaged, according to recent investigations, and that the recall notices sent out will give customers the necessary guidance for updating their vehicles as necessary.

If left unchecked, these affected vehicles can potentially see a moving clutch, which prevents the driver from using standard manual transmission functions. No specific remedy was described in this statement.

Previous related issues
In addition to these recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration features some information about other issues that could also affect the same vehicles. One complaint about a 2016 Fiat 500 filed in September 2015 stated that a vehicle suddenly shut off while the drivers were in the middle of the highway. The anonymous driver stated that the parking brake, service engine soon and transmission lights all turned on at once after the vehicle stalled.

The Jeep Wrangler has also been subject to previous recalls similar to the most recent one. A report from May 2013 described a clockspring issue in Wrangler right-hand-drive vehicles manufactured between February 2007 and October 2011. Investigations associated with that case found that dust contamination led to circuit fatigue, a condition that may have caused steering column problems and also triggered air bag warning lights.

The initial recall acknowledgment letter for this issue referenced 5,400 potentially affected vehicles. As with the newer actions, these vehicles were at risk of air bag circuit issues that could have left occupants less safe. The chronology of this action dated back to May 2011, when the NHTSA opened its investigations. The decision to conduct an official safety recall was made that October, after months in the wake of the safety issues.

Originally, the remedy for this problem involved a steering wheel dust shield and a new clockspring, both of which the dealer was slated to replace beginning in May 2013. There were no accidents or injuries traced to this condition, either.

Auburn Hills, MI — January 20, 2016 — On December 23, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received report of a recall from Chrysler concerning 60,107 Jeeps from 2015. According to this statement, both Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass vehicles may contain improperly placed power steering hose retention clamps, which could trigger a fluid leak and fire risk if not corrected.

Although the risk of fire was noted as being “rare,” it nevertheless makes this a crucial act for the manufacturer to prevent possible injuries. Only one percent of the recalled vehicles are believed to suffer the defect.

The investigations into this issue began this past October, when the manufacturer decided to look closer at Compass and Patriot vehicles that had suffered fires. The fault was traced back to the hose clamp on October 21.

In the Part 573 Safety Recall Report, the NHTSA notes the purpose of the remedy program. This reflects the manufacturer’s need to “conduct a voluntary safety recall, on all affected vehicles to inspect the return power steering hose for proper placement of the hose clamp, and reposition the hose clamp as needed.”

A chronology document from the same source notes that the failures all took place when the vehicles were operating at slow speeds, 50 miles or lower. This led to the discovery that the power steering hose was the cause of the problem, confirmed by later testing.

Another series of Chrysler recalls recently affected thousands of Jeep Cherokee vehicles last month for a water leak problem that could have led to a fire risk due to electrical damage.

Auburn Hills, MI — January 07, 2016—According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 32,784 Jeep Cherokees with 2015 and 2016 model years are part of a new recall. Although the start date is currently unknown, a good amount of information has been revealed, including the recall number (R67) and the possible threat from water gathering on the vehicle’s control module.

If a leak were to cause this module to short circuit, the affected vehicles could potentially catch fire. To keep the module safe and reduce the chance of corrosion, the manufacturer calls for the mastic shield to be replaced with a specialized water shield. Despite this, no injuries have been reported in connection to this problem.

This remedy is meant to improve upon a previous water shield that didn’t provide enough coverage. The NHTSA features a Part 573 Recall Report that explains the way the new shield has been a response to the old one.

“The mastic water shield was designed to protect the Module from pooling water in the spare tire tub as the original investigation showed this condition as the primary source,” the document states. “As the corrective action identified in the original investigation, a water shield that fully encapsulates the Module was introduced into production on September 10, 2015.”

The recall was announced on December 9 after the manufacturer determined that a recall was the best course of action on December 1. The “fully encapsulating” water shield first began production in September and will be installed free of charge. If necessary, corroded modules and connectors will be fully replaced.

Washington, DC — December 11, 2015 — In May, 2013, Chrysler Group LLC announced that it would recall 5,440 vehicles for a concern over airbag clockspring assemblies in Jeep Wranglers for model years between 2008 and 2012. To address this issue, it stated dealers would replace the spring and steering wheel dust shield for free: failing to do so could have left the airbag disabled and prevented it from deploying during an accident.

The Detroit News recently reported that this issue has not quite resolved. According to the source, the manufacturer is aware of hundreds of complaints related to this action. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now looking into more than 628,00 vehicles, despite the previous remedies.

A memo from May of that year lists some of the factors observed in the assemblies, leading to the eventual recall.

“Some vehicles may be equipped with driver’s airbag clockspring assemblies that could experience a compromised airbag circuit resulting in an airbag lamp illumination, which indicates that the airbag may not deploy in the event of a frontal crash,” the statement said. This document went on to connect the condition to “circuit fatigue,” which stemmed from “dust contamination of the grease applied to the flexible conductor, resulting in the conductor bending unnaturally during cycling.”

The NHTSA has not officially called for more Chrysler recalls in this case, but has begun the process that could lead to it. The Detroit News states that this is instead an “engineering analysis,” and follows the preliminary investigation the agency had begun earlier this year.

Detroit, MI — September 1, 2015 — Although it was technically noticed on August 31, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is beginning the month of September with a new recall action concerning windshield wipers in some of its units. While this issue seems to be more of a concern for certain climates, the vehicles are being recalled from all over North America, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the majority of the recalls occurring within the U.S.

An Autoblog article on this case, which quotes a press release from the manufacturers in full, describes the scope of the recall, which includes a total of 158,671 vehicles in the United States alone. Altogether, the total includes more than 206,000 2014 Jeep Cherokees in all regions. More than 26,000 are located outside of the NAFTA regions in this continents, the source adds.

If drivers in these vehicles attempt to use the wipers “during dry conditions,” the wiper control module could accumulate a terminal amount of static buildup, rendering them inoperable. This poses a special risk because the loss of function could happen suddenly, surprising the driver. The release also details the steps they can take to fix the issue.

“Dealers will install a ground strap to the control module to eliminate the potential for static buildup,” it reads. “Customers will be advised when they may schedule service, which will be performed at no cost.” There have yet to be any incidents traced back to this recall.

Last month, the same manufacturer also recalled thousands of Jeep Grand Cherokees as part of a different concern over lower control arms susceptible to fractures.