The Stellantis-controlled Jeep brand has recently identified an issue affecting the 2023 model year Grand Cherokee. A small number of sport utility vehicles may have been produced with improperly secured buckles for the second-row seatbelts.
Following the discovery of a second-row seatbelt buckle anchor bolt that had not been insufficiently tightened, FCA US LLC started looking into this matter in July 2023. Through November 2023, the Technical Safety and Regulatory Compliance organization met with the engineering and manufacturing divisions to review the problem, understand the failure mode, and determine the affected population of vehicles. In total, 53 sport utility vehicles may have been produced as such.
As noted earlier, only the 2023 model year Grand Cherokee is affected. Suspect units were assembled in the period from July 12, 2023 to July 13, 2023. After much faffing about, FCA US LLC ultimately decided to conduct a safety recall that – rather strange – is described as being voluntary. Considering that said vehicles don't meet the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210 for seatbelt assembly anchorages, the safety recall in question is anything but voluntary.
As you might have guessed by now, the remedy comes in the form of an inspection. If necessary, the dealer service technician will retorque the bolt of the second-row seatbelt buckle to the proper torque specification. Dealers and owners alike will be notified on or about August 2, 2024. Magna International manufactures the rear-seat trim kit.
FCA US LLC says that similar vehicles were assembled before or after the suspect period, yet said vehicles were repaired prior to release from the production facility. Detroit-based Jefferson North and Mack Avenue both make the Grand Cherokee.
Photo: Stellantis
The Dodge Durango comes from Jefferson North as well. Stellantis will extend production through model year 2025. Referred to as D6U, the next generation is due in 2026 on the STLA Large platform. This architecture will underpin the next Grand Cherokee as well, which – according to UAW contract negotiations – is codenamed J6U.
So far, STLA Large has three distinct applications: the Jeep Wagoneer S, the off-road-oriented Recon, and the Dodge Charger. Alfa Romeo and Maserati will use this platform as well for the replacements of the Giulia, Stelvio, Quattroporte, and Levante. Chrysler's revival depends on the STLA Large as well, with Chrysler's first STLA Large-based vehicle confirmed to be a zero-emission sport utility vehicle.
Turning our attention back to the Grand Cherokee, it appears that model year 2025 will be a bit of a bummer due to the alleged discontinuation of the venerable 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. This would leave Jeep's best-selling nameplate with nothing more than a 2.0-liter turbo inline-four engine, which serves as the basis of the Grand Cherokee 4xe.
For the time being, customers have to make a choice between the aforementioned Pentastar and plug-in hybrid. The two-row Grand Cherokee starts at $36,495 with rear-wheel drive and the Pentastar, whereas the two-row Grand Cherokee 4xe is $60,490 from the outset. At the other end of the spectrum, the most expensive specification of the bunch is the Summit Reserve 4xe at $79,150.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News