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Fiat Chrysler recalls 4.8 million U.S. vehicles for cruise control defect

WASHINGTON - Fiat Chrysler said on Friday it is recalling 4.8 million U.S. vehicles over a defect that could prevent drivers from deactivating cruise control and warned owners not to use the function until they get software upgrades. The Italian-American automaker said no injuries or crashes are related to the large recall campaign but said it had one report of a driver of a 2017 Dodge Journey rental car unable to deactivate the cruise control. Fiat Chrysler, which in 2015 was hit with penalties from U.S. regulators totaling $175 million for safety lapses, did not say how much the recalls would cost. The recall addresses what Fiat Chrysler called an "extremely rare" series of events that could lead to drivers being unable to cancel cruise control. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday it "strongly encourages vehicle owners to follow a warning" to stop using cruise control on the recalled vehicles until repaired. NHTSA said drivers could overpower the system by forcefully applying the brakes until the vehicle stopped. Fiat Chrysler also said the vehicle could be stopped by shifting into neutral and braking. Fiat Chrysler shares fell more than 2 percent in premarket trading in New York on the recall. Fiat Chrysler noted that at times cruise control systems automatically initiate acceleration to help vehicles maintain driver-selected speeds, including when going up an incline. If an acceleration occurs simultaneously with a short-circuit in a specific electrical network, a driver could be unable to deactivate the function. Fiat Chrysler said vehicles may be placed in park once stopped, at which point cruise-control is canceled. The recall involves a group of gasoline-powered vehicles with automatic transmissions from various model years built from 2014 through the 2019 model year. Most of the vehicles being recalled cover the 2014-2018 model years. Among the vehicles being recalled are the Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300, Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Journey, Dodge Durango, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks and Ram 3500/4500/5500 cab chassis trucks. Fiat Chrysler made the announcement going into the busy Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally kicks off the summer driving season.

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon First Drive | Don’t fear the Demon

"If you're not hurt, we'll be really pissed. If you are hurt, we'll still be pissed, but not quite as pissed." These are the words from Jim Wilder, the vehicle development manager of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, that echo through our head as we slide behind the wheel of the car for the first time. He was warning us about driving beyond our abilities, and keeping the car out of the wall. With 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque on tap from its supercharged, 6.7-liter V8, the Demon does 0-60 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds, and 0-30 mph in a second flat. If something does go wrong, it'll happen quickly. Following that talk, we had our guts sloshed as a passenger in a blurry eighth-mile run, giving us a taste of the G forces (the Demon can pull 1.8 G in a straight line) we'd feel when we got in the driver's seat for our own pass down the drag strip. We're already sweating. It had rained - you could describe it as torrential - the day before. The grassy parking areas surrounding Lucas Oil Raceway were still flooded, but any water on the pavement had evaporated and hung in the air. Combined with the heat, we were sticky and uncomfortable. In Drag Mode, the Dodge Demon's air conditioning turns off. Any condensation that it could leave on the track would be a problem, plus we need to reduce parasitic power losses for a faster run. The system is still working, though, the refrigerant diverted to the chiller system cooling the air coming into the engine. There's still condensation, but the Demon collects it on a catch pad to keep it from ending up on the pavement. We're also required to roll the windows up when entering the drag strip. For one thing, it helps keep the smoke out of the cabin during the pre-staging burnout. So, yeah, it's hot as Hell in the Demon. We pull through the water box and run through the sequence – which involves holding the "OK" button on the steering wheel usually used to navigate menus, and applying a specific amount of brake pressure before getting on the throttle to initiate the burnout. This gets any crud off the rear tires and heats up the rubber. There are multiple ways to launch the Demon. We had an instructor sitting in the passenger seat as we pulled up to the beams that trigger the Christmas tree at Lucas Oil Raceway. He walks us through the most complicated of the three he had explained to us just minutes before when we were in the passenger seat.

Dodge's final Viper and Demon join stage in a million-dollar auction

This past weekend, one of the ultimate auction double headers went under the hammer in Uncasville, Conn. The last Dodge Viper was paired with the last Dodge Demon, together with related memorabilia, resulting in a million-dollar hammer price. The winning $1 million bid will benefit the United Way charity in its entirety; the 10 percent buyer's fee will go directly to the American Heart Association, stated Barrett-Jackson, the auctioning company. The 1,485-horsepower auction was dubbed "The Ultimate Last Chance," and both of the cars on the stage were painted in the same Viper Red shade. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. "We know the power of the Dodge Viper and Dodge Challenger SRT Demon to put a smile on people's faces; we're smiling today because we know the power of this donation to the United Way," said FCA's Steve Beahm. "These particular vehicles mark the end of their eras as the last vehicles of their kind to be built; it's rare to have just one such vehicle cross the auction block, much less a pair at the same time." Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.