The fault does not wait for the engine to be turned on, and this is the part that should keep Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator owners sleepless: the car can catch fire while parked, with the key turned to “off”, stopped in a driveway or in a garage. For this reason, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US federal road safety agency, has issued a peremptory warning: park outdoors, away from buildings and other cars, until the defect is repaired.
Over one million vehicles, 1.3 million worldwide
The recall concerns 1,076,999 vehicles in the United States (787,887 Wranglers and 289,112 Gladiators from the 2021-2025 years) to which are added the units registered outside the American borders: 106,000 in Canada, 23,000 in Mexico and approximately 125,000 in other markets, for a global total that exceeds 1.3 million vehicles. Stellantis estimates that the defect is present in 0.1% of the fleet involved, a minimal fraction which, however, on similar numbers, still makes thousands of vehicles potentially at risk.
One connector out of tolerance, and the connection melts
At the origin there is an electrical connector of the electro-hydraulic power steering pump (the EHPSP, in the acronym that occurs in the technical documents). According to the Part 573 report filed by FCA US with the NHTSA, some terminals were out of tolerance, requiring more force than expected to insert during assembly, which could widen the contacts or prevent the connector from engaging at all. The result is a loose, high-strength connection that overheats until the connection melts, and from there, in rare cases, the compartment catches fire.
Fifty-one fires, or seventy-two: two accounts that do not coincide
The numbers tell a story that has changed over time. NHTSA says it is aware of 51 fires and one injury possibly linked to the defect. Stellantis, in the report filed with the NHTSA and updated to May 18, 2026, lists 72 reports from the field, of which 35 confirmed as originating from the connector, plus 63 requests for customer assistance and one injured person. Two distinct counts, therefore, which measure the same threat from different angles: the first is the verification by the federal agency, the second the broader universe of complaints received by the manufacturer.
An investigation closed, then reopened
The chronology explains why the recall only came about now. Between May 2023 and April 2024, the Technical Security and Compliance department of FCA US had already investigated those fires, only to close the file due to an occurrence rate considered low, not such as to constitute an unreasonable risk. Then, in August 2024, the reopening, given the increase in episodes. The following month, the NHTSA also intervened, opening a formal investigation on September 6 into the fires in the engine compartment of the 2021-2023 Wrangler and Gladiator. The official recall was sent to the agency on June 4, 2026, with notification to owners initiated on the 9th.
The repair? Not before July
The definitive solution, however, does not yet exist. Stellantis made it known, through spokesperson Frank Matyok, that it is aiming for a repair by July. In the meantime, Jeep dealers will inspect power steering wiring and pumps, replacing components where necessary, at no cost to the customer. The warning letters will start from July 9th. Anyone wishing to immediately check their position can enter the chassis number in the NHTSA recall portal (the campaign is 26V363) or contact FCA customer service quoting the internal code 21D
Yet another problem in a bad season
For Stellantis it is yet another chapter in a complicated season. The recall of the petrol Wrangler and Gladiator follows by a few weeks that of 419,035 Grand Cherokees due to a software problem with the side airbags, which in some accidents could activate late, and adds to the series of “park outside” cases which have already affected the 4xe plug-in hybrid versions, this time due to the risk of fire from the high voltage batteries, an affair which had already cost a public apology from the Jeep CEO. In short, the power steering pump is only the latest component of a Wrangler that, between one problem and another, its owners have learned to look at with a certain suspicion.
