2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee Srt-8 on 2040-cars

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164K Jeep Cherokees recalled to protect liftgate from moisture

FCA is recalling 164,003 examples of the 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokee because moisture can damage the power liftgate controls on models that are equipped with that feature. Regionally, this includes 99,436 of them in the US, 13,195 in Canada, 2,406 in Mexico, and 48,966 outside of NAFTA. The problem came to light after the automaker started investigating a fire in one of the SUVs. There were no injuries, though. According to FCA US' research, the power hatch's control module potentially can be exposed to water. This can cause a short circuit and possibly a fire, as in this case. Until the issue is repaired, the company is advising owners to keep the cargo area dry on Cherokees equipped with this feature. To fix things, dealers will install a shield around the controls to protect them from moisture and will replace any modules showing exposure to water. Statement: Water-Shield Installation June 24, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 99,436 SUVs in the U.S. to install shields that protect their power liftgate control modules, and related components, from moisture. FCA US LLC began an investigation after learning of a reported vehicle fire. The probe revealed power liftgate control modules in certain SUVs may be inadvertently exposed to water. This may cause a short-circuit, creating a fire hazard. However, the Company is unaware of any related injuries or accidents. The campaign affects model year 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokee SUVs, but is limited to vehicles equipped with power liftgates. An estimated 13,195 customers are affected in Canada, along with an estimated 2,406 customers in Mexico and 48,966 outside the NAFTA region. The estimated total recall population is 164,003. All affected customers will be advised when they may schedule service. If the modules show signs of water exposure, they will be replaced. All recall-related work will be performed free of charge. In the interim, the cargo areas of 2014-15 Cherokees equipped with power liftgates should be monitored and kept dry. Customers with questions may call the FCA US Customer Information Center at 1-800-853-1403.

Total auto recalls already on record pace in 2014

If you've noticed that there have been more recalls than usual this year, you may be on to something. According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US market is on pace to break a record for recalls. In 2013, 22 million cars were recalled. We're only a third of the way through 2014, though, and we've already halved that figure, with 11 million units recalled. That's wild.
Considering the past few months, it shouldn't be a surprise that General Motors is leading the charge, with six million of the 11 million units recalled coming from one of the General's four brands. Between truck recalls, CUV recalls and the ignition switch recall, 2014 hasn't been a great year for GM.
Other recall leaders include Nissan (one million Sentra and Altima sedans), Honda (900,000 Odyssey minivans), Toyota (over one million units in a few recalls), Volkswagen (150,000 Passat sedans), Chrysler (644,000 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs) and most recently, Ford (434,000 units, the bulk of which were early Ford Escape CUVs). So while it's been a bad year for GM so far, its competitors aren't doing too well, either.

Junkyard Gem: 1983 Jeep DJ-5L Mail Dispatcher

When it comes to putting mail in boxes, a simple and reliable vehicle works best. Say, a zero-frills steel box on wheels, with right-hand-drive, a fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine, no-hassle automatic transmission, sliding doors, and a big mail-sorting table instead of a passenger seat. That's what the AM General Mail Dispatcher DJ-5 was all about, and these bouncy little trucks were everywhere for decades. Here's a late-production example, still in USPS colors, spotted in a Denver-area self-service wrecking yard. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed this courier from the swift completion of its appointed rounds. Note the "Sonic Eagle" USPS logos on the doors; this became the official USPS logo in 1993, nearly a decade after the final Jeep DJ-5s were built. Plenty of these trucks stayed in service into our current century, and a few are still being used by private mail-delivery contractors in rural areas. During the American Motors era of Jeep DJ production (1970 through 1984), a bewildering assortment of engines went into postal Jeeps. This is a 2.5-liter GM Iron Duke four-cylinder; before that, DJ-5s came with Audi power (more or less the same engine used in the Porsche 924, in fact), AMC straight-sixes, and Chevy Nova four-cylinders. The 1984 DJ-5Ms ran the AMC 2.5-liter four-cylinder. The earliest DJs were equipped with three-speed manual transmissions, but the American Motors-built postal-delivery versions all had automatic transmissions. This one has a three-speed Chrysler Torqueflite A904, a weird engine/transmission combination that should help you stump your friends during car-trivia debates. Check out the ultra-bare-bones heater/ventilation controls! These trucks were badged as AM Generals, not Jeeps (I couldn't find a single Jeep label anywhere on this one), just like the original HMMWV. However, you'd have to be a real hair-splitter to refer to this as an AM General DJ-5 instead of just Mail Jeep or Jeep DJ-5. Next time you complain about your subcompact rental car lacking driver-comfort features, consider this vehicle. I had a few high-school friends who owned DJ-5s, back in the early 1980s when they were available for a couple hundred bucks at government-surplus auctions. The first thing civilian DJ-5 owners always did was tear out the mail-sorting table and replace it with a random junkyard bucket seat (or an aluminum lawn chair). These trucks were very noisy, very bouncy, and very slow, but they always ran.