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.
Improperly placed power steering hose retention clamps could trigger a fluid leak.
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.
