Jeep Recalls 1.08 Million Wranglers and Gladiators Over a Parked Car Fire Risk

Owners of more than a million Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators are being told to park outside and away from their homes, garages and other vehicles right now. Stellantis has confirmed that a wiring fault in the power steering system can spark a fire even when the ignition is off and the Jeep is sitting still, and the automaker wants every affected vehicle kept clear of structures until a dealer fixes it.

The recall covers 1,076,999 model year 2021-2025 Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles built with the electric hydraulic power steering system, known internally as EHPS. Federal safety regulators say the defect has already caused 51 fires and one injury, and the scale of the recall means one in every few Wranglers and Gladiators sold in the past four model years needs attention.

What Is Actually Wrong With These Jeeps

The problem sits inside the wiring connector for the EHPS pump, the component that powers the steering assist on these Jeeps instead of a belt-driven hydraulic pump. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a bad electrical connection at that pump can overheat nearby combustible materials and ignite them. That heat buildup does not require the engine to be running or the key to be in the ignition, which is why Stellantis is telling owners to keep their vehicles away from garages, carports and other cars rather than waiting for a service appointment.

Stellantis, which builds Jeep vehicles under its FCA US arm, opened its investigation after NHTSA began tracking a cluster of Wrangler and Gladiator fire complaints under case number PE24024. That federal probe is what pushed the recall from a quiet internal review into a public safety action, and it explains why the “park outside” warning is worded so bluntly. NHTSA rarely tells owners to avoid parking near their own homes unless the fire risk is judged to be active and ongoing rather than a remote possibility.

How Many Fires Regulators Have Linked to the Defect

NHTSA’s own count puts the fire total at 51 incidents tied to the EHPS wiring fault, along with one reported injury. That figure comes directly from the agency’s investigation files rather than from Stellantis marketing language, and it reflects only the fires that have been reported and matched to this specific defect so far. Owner notification letters only began going out in July, so safety researchers expect the confirmed fire count to climb as more owners connect a past incident to the recall and file a report.

What makes this recall unusual is the parked-car element. Most vehicle fire recalls involve a fault that surfaces while the engine is running, under load, or shortly after a hot shutdown. Investigators say several of the 51 fires linked to this defect started hours after the Jeep had been parked and switched off, which is why the remedy timeline matters so much to owners who park in attached garages or carports.

How to Check If Your Jeep Is Affected

Owners can confirm whether their Wrangler or Gladiator is part of the recall by entering their 17-digit VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, searching recall number 26V363. Stellantis’ own lookup tool at recalls.mopar.com pulls from the same database and will show whether a remedy has been assigned to a specific vehicle yet. Owners can also call FCA customer care directly at 800-853-1403, or reach NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 with questions about the fire risk itself.

Dealers will inspect the EHPS wiring connector and repair or replace the harness and pump as needed, free of charge, once parts are available. Stellantis began mailing owner notification letters on July 9, but a nationwide recall of this size typically means parts availability varies by region for weeks or months after the first letters go out. Owners whose local dealer does not yet have the fix in stock should still schedule an appointment, since many dealers are triaging vehicles based on mileage and garage-parking habits while supply catches up.

Until that repair happens, Stellantis’ guidance is specific: park away from your house, your garage and any other vehicles. That instruction applies whether the Jeep is being driven daily or sitting mostly idle, since the fires NHTSA has documented were not limited to vehicles that had just finished a drive.

This Is Not Wrangler’s First Brush With a Fire Recall

Wrangler and Gladiator owners have been here before, just with a different mechanical cause. An earlier recall covered certain 2018-2020 manual-transmission Wranglers and 2020 Gladiators, where an overheating clutch pressure plate could crack the transmission case and expose hot debris to ignition sources nearby. That fix targeted a mechanical wear issue tied to stick-shift models specifically.

The current EHPS recall is a separate defect affecting a newer generation of Wranglers and Gladiators, including both manual and automatic models, and it stems from an electrical wiring fault rather than a mechanical one. Two distinct fire recalls on the same nameplate within roughly five years puts Wrangler and Gladiator owners in a small group of vehicles that safety advocates watch closely, since repeat fire-risk recalls on one model line often draw closer regulatory scrutiny on future model years as well.

What Happens Next for Owners

For now, the burden sits with individual owners to check their VIN, keep their Jeep parked outside, and stay in contact with a dealer about parts availability. Stellantis has not published a firm date by which every affected Wrangler and Gladiator will have parts in stock, which is typical for a recall of this size covering more than a million vehicles across every U.S. state.

Owners who bought a 2021-2025 Wrangler or Gladiator used, especially through a private sale where the notification letter may have gone to a previous owner, should check their VIN directly rather than assume the recall does not apply to them. NHTSA’s recall lookup ties results to the vehicle itself, not the current mailing address on file, so a used buyer will see the same recall status as the original owner.

Anyone who has already experienced a fire, smoke, or burning smell connected to their Wrangler or Gladiator, even one that seemed to resolve on its own, should report it to NHTSA through the agency’s website in addition to contacting their dealer. Those reports are what feed the fire count regulators use to track whether the recall’s scope needs to expand.

Sources:

• NHTSA: Consumer Alert on the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator fire recall
• Motor1: Jeep recalls 1.1 million vehicles that might catch fire
• Consumer Reports: Prior Wrangler and Gladiator manual-transmission fire recall
• Motoring Chronicle: Jeep recalls 419,000 Grand Cherokee SUVs over side airbags