2011 Jeep Wrangler Sport on 2040-cars

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NHTSA upgrading Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango headliner fire probe

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into headliner fires experienced by a small number of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango owners has been upgraded to an engineering analysis, the step before the initiation of a recall. In August last year the investigation began with 146,000 Grand Cherokees from 2012 after three complaints were received, but a report on Edmunds says it has been expanded to include 593,299 vehicles covering the 2011-2013 model years for the Jeep and the Dodge Durango, which uses the same headliner assembly, because of possibly 52 incidents of fire.
In some of those incidents drivers have reported a burning odor, smoke or open flames that were contained to the headliner or migrated to another area of the passenger compartment. The culprit has apparently been found: NHTSA blaming an electrical short in the sun visor vanity light wiring, which is routed under the headliner and held in place by three screws. Chrysler began its own probe into the issue when it was first reported and is still looking into the situation while, "fully supporting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's investigation."

Jeep bringing Renegade Hard Steel with adorable matching trailer to Geneva

Trailers are hardly an uncommon site. They can, after all, be an effective way of adding cargo capacity when you need to haul more than you can fit in your car and truck. But there's something that just gets us about trailers made to match the vehicle behind which they're being towed. Like this one, attached to this unique Jeep Renegade. Set to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show mere days from now, the Renegade Hard Steel concept is a joint effort between various elements of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, including Jeep, Mopar and the FCA Style Centre. It's based on the Trailhawk off-road model, but is distinguished by its unique metallic finish, offset by matte black trim and a full raft of available and custom Mopar accessories. Though Jeep has yet to show us what it looks like inside, it's said to have a specially coated leather finish. And of course there's that trailer. Designed to mimic the Renegade's rear-end styling, the appendage will be used on the floor of the Geneva Palexpo to showcase the vehicle's Uconnect Live infotainment system through an oversized pop-up touchscreen display that mirrors the new 5- or 6.5-inch display that'll soon be available on the littlest of Jeeps, offering streaming content including music, news, social media and traffic conditions. We have no indication that a similar trailer could be going into production (minus, of course, the infotainment stuff), but it's worth noting that Jeep has indeed done something similar before. Feel free to read more in the press release, below. Related Video: 27 February 2015 Renegade Hard Steel Jeep Showcar The Renegade Hard Steel Jeep showcar, which blends style, off-road vocation, and technology, will be making its debut and the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show. Created by the Jeep brand, in collaboration with the Mopar brand and backed by the FCA Style Centre, the showcar "explores" the potential of a model that provides countless customization options, while also providing an outlook for potential future Mopar accessories dedicated to the new Renegade. Based on the Trailhawk - the off-road version of the range - the prototype is not a simple customisation in aftermarket but a design project that, with due respect to the peculiarities of original models, has led us to the creation of a unique and fascinating article.

Jeep to stop using bad Takata airbag inflators next week

FCA is gradually ceasing to produce vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflaters found to be inherently faulty. These airbags, which lack a certain drying agent, have been linked with dangerous premature ruptures. According to FCA, the only vehicle still in production with the named airbag is the 2016 Jeep Wrangler, and in this case they are passenger-side airbags. Fiat Chrysler says it isn't aware of any incidents involving these air bag inflaters in Jeeps, but amidst concerns that vehicles with failure-prone airbags are still being marketed to customers, North American-market 2016 Wranglers will cease to be equipped with them starting next week. As per FCA's statement, global production is expected to end by mid-September. In addition to Toledo, Ohio, the Wrangler is produced in Egypt. FCA isn't going to sell the cars with the deemed-faulty airbags without disclosing the fact to the customers: anyone buying a 2016 Wrangler will be notified that the vehicle will most likely be subject to a recall in the future, even if there is not currently a recall announced for them. NHTSA has specified a "Coordinated Remedy Program" recall schedule for the coming years, and the airbag inflaters will degrade over a time frame of several years, when subjected to a humid environment. Related Video: News Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, The Wall Street JournalImage Credit: Julien Amado / Autoblog Quebec Plants/Manufacturing Recalls Chrysler Jeep Ownership Safety Takata airbag recall