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2012 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE — UNKNOWN OR OTHER

fire · 1221032 · 2015-09-21

Vehicle

Make
JEEP
Model
GRAND CHEROKEE
Year
2012
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Miles at failure
63,690
Speed
55 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THIS VEHICLE HAD THE RECOMMENDED RECALL REPAIR FOR THE SUN VISOR COMPLETED ON 5/19/2105. WHILE DRIVING THE AREA ABOVE THE REAR VIEW MIRROR BEGAN TO EMIT SMOKE AND WITHIN ABOUT 30 SECONDS FLAMES ERUPTED FROM THE SAME AREA. THE FLAMES QUICKLY SPREAD TOWARDS THE PASSENGER SIDE SUN VISOR AS I FRANTICALLY LOOKED FOR A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER. IT WAS 5:45AM ON A DARK COUNTRY ROAD WITH NO SHOULDER. I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF, EXITED THE VEHICLE AND CALLED 911. THE FLAMES CONTINUED FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER 15 MINUTES. WHEN FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVED THEY HAD DIFFICULTY STOPPING THE BURNING THOUGH IT WAS SMALL BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT ACCESS THE BATTERY FOR THE VEHICLE (IT IS APPARENTLY LOCATED UNDER THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AND UNACCESSIBLE OTHER THAN FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE.) FIREFIGHTERS HAD TO COMPLETELY DISASSEMBLE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TO THE SUN VISORS TO STOP THE BURNING. THEY IDENTIFIED A SCREW AND WIRE THAT WERE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I RETURNED HOME AND RESEARCHED THE RECALL THAT I DISCOVERED THAT THE SCREW AND WIRE ASSEMBLY IS THE CAUSE OF THE FIRES. THIS RECALL REPAIR OBVIOUSLY IS NOT A RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. HAD THE FLAMES SPREAD TO THE DRIVER SIDE AREA I WOULD HAVE BEEN INJURED OR POSSIBLE KILLED. HAD I HAD A PASSENGER IN THE VEHICLE THEY COULD HAVE BEEN INJURED OR KILLED ALSO!!

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10766674
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown