A federal investigation that began with reports of Jeeps catching fire while parked and switched off has formally ended in the United States, but the safety campaign that resulted from it remains highly relevant for owners on both sides of the border. U.S. regulators closed their probe after Stellantis recalled nearly 1.08 million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles over an electrical problem involving the power-steering system.
The issue is not confined to the United States. More than 106,000 Wranglers and Gladiators are covered by a corresponding Canadian recall, where owners have also been told to park affected vehicles outdoors and away from buildings until repairs are completed. The investigation’s closure marks an important regulatory milestone, but it does not cancel the recall or mean unrepaired vehicles are suddenly considered safe.
The U.S. Investigation Is Closed, but the Recall Is Not
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation closed preliminary evaluation PE24-024 on September 24, 2026. Regulators had opened the case on September 6, 2024, to investigate underhood fires involving 2021 through 2023 Jeep Wrangler SUVs and Gladiator pickups. The original estimated population was 781,459 vehicles. Investigators were particularly interested in reports describing fires that began with the ignition turned off, sometimes around the passenger-side front portion of the engine compartment.
Closing that investigation should not be confused with ending the safety recall. FCA US had already filed recall 26V-363 in June 2026, and NHTSA determined that campaign directly covered the vehicles and defect being investigated. Rather than continue demanding additional information through the preliminary evaluation, the agency closed the file after the recall expanded protection beyond the original investigation population. NHTSA has also said it will continue monitoring how affected vehicles perform and retains the ability to take further action if circumstances warrant.
The Problem Centres on the Power-Steering Pump Connection
Despite being categorized partly as a steering issue, the most serious concern is fire. The affected Jeeps use an electric hydraulic power-steering pump, commonly abbreviated EHPSP. FCA told U.S. regulators that some vehicles may have an electrical connection at the pump that is susceptible to unusually high resistance. Electrical resistance generates heat, and under certain conditions that heat can become sufficient to overheat nearby combustible materials.
FCA’s investigation identified several factors capable of contributing to a poor electrical connection. The company found that the pump header on some components had been manufactured outside specified tolerances, potentially increasing the force needed to connect the wiring properly. That could contribute to spread terminals or an incompletely seated connector. FCA also investigated a condition in which an electrical terminal could push out of position. The common concern was high resistance at the connection. By April 2026, FCA had confirmed through its investigation that a loose connection could melt and potentially lead to a vehicle fire.
A Fire Can Develop Even After the Jeep Has Been Switched Off
One detail made the case more concerning than a typical malfunction that occurs only while driving: reported fires sometimes happened while the Jeep was parked with the ignition off. NHTSA’s original investigation specifically described ignition-off underhood fires and noted that such incidents can offer occupants or nearby property owners little warning. Early reports often pointed toward the passenger-front area of the engine compartment, which coincided with the location of the electric hydraulic power-steering pump connector.
That explains why regulators and Stellantis issued unusually strong parking instructions. NHTSA advised affected American owners to park outdoors and away from buildings and other vehicles until the repair was performed. Transport Canada issued essentially the same direction for affected Canadian vehicles. Parking outside cannot correct the electrical fault, but it can reduce the possibility that a vehicle fire spreads to a garage, home or another parked vehicle. That recommendation is particularly important because switching the ignition off does not eliminate the identified fire risk.
Nearly 1.08 Million Vehicles Are Included in the U.S. Campaign
The U.S. recall involves 1,076,999 vehicles, considerably more than the roughly 781,000 vehicles considered when NHTSA first opened its investigation. FCA’s recall filing divides the American population into 787,887 Jeep Wranglers and 289,112 Jeep Gladiators. Both nameplates are covered across the 2021 through 2025 model years, although actual eligibility ultimately depends on the individual vehicle and its production history rather than the model year alone.
For Wrangler, the suspect production period began June 24, 2020, and continued through December 2, 2024. For Gladiator, it began August 18, 2020, and also ended December 2, 2024. FCA said production records were used to establish those boundaries. The expansion is important because the original federal investigation concentrated on 2021 through 2023 vehicles. Once FCA defined the broader potentially affected population, the resulting recall reached later model years that were not part of NHTSA’s initial estimated group.
More Than 106,000 Canadian Jeeps Are Affected Too
Canada has its own corresponding campaign, identified by Transport Canada as recall 2026-271. It covers Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles from the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 model years. Stellantis Canada said when the recall was announced that 106,258 vehicles were affected nationally, making Canada a significant part of what became a much larger international safety action.
The Canadian notice describes essentially the same defect as the U.S. filing. On certain vehicles, the electrical connection for the electric hydraulic power-steering pump can become loose. If that happens, the connection can overheat and melt, creating a fire risk even while the vehicle is parked and turned off. Canadian involvement also predates the latest recall. FCA’s investigation chronology records a key-off fire involving a Canadian-market 2021 Gladiator reported in January 2022. The company obtained that vehicle and later determined that the fire originated near the electric hydraulic power-steering pump in the front passenger side of the engine compartment.
Investigators Spent Years Trying to Reproduce the Failure
The final recall followed a lengthy technical investigation rather than a single discovery. FCA records show the company had been examining various underhood fires for several years. Between May 2023 and April 2024, its safety organization investigated Wrangler and Gladiator fires associated with the power-steering pump connection. The investigation was initially closed because the occurrence rate was considered low, but FCA reopened it in 2024 after the number of incidents increased and additional information emerged about the connector.
Reproducing the problem proved difficult. Between June and December 2025, FCA attempted to recreate the failure through bench testing without success. Its wider work included buying back vehicles, examining returned components, conducting CT scans and X-rays, performing material analysis, comparing vehicle designs and carrying out additional bench testing. FCA and NHTSA also held meetings to review the accumulated evidence. Eventually, investigators were able to establish the link between a loose electrical connection, excessive resistance, melting and the potential for a fire, leading FCA to determine in May 2026 that a safety defect existed.
Regulators Had Dozens of Fire Reports by the Time of the Recall
The scale of the evidence changed substantially from the beginning of the investigation. When NHTSA opened PE24-024 in September 2024, its public resume listed nine vehicle-owner questionnaire reports, one death-and-injury reporting-system entry and additional field reports. The agency said most incidents involved fires with the vehicle switched off and suspected origins near the passenger-front portion of the engine compartment. No fatalities were identified in the opening summary.
By the time the recall was announced in June 2026, NHTSA said it was aware of 51 fires and one injury likely connected with the issue. FCA’s regulatory filing provided a broader global picture. As of May 18, 2026, the automaker reported 72 field reports across all markets potentially related to the issue, with 35 confirmed as originating at the electric hydraulic power-steering pump interface. FCA also listed 63 customer-assistance records and 12 other potentially related service records. The company reported no known crashes and one potentially related injury across all markets at that time.
The Repair Is More Than a Simple Software Update
This is fundamentally a hardware issue, so the remedy involves inspecting physical components rather than sending an over-the-air software patch. FCA’s U.S. recall documentation describes the remedy as an inspection followed by repair or replacement of affected components when necessary. In Canada, Transport Canada says dealerships will inspect the electric hydraulic power-steering pump and its wiring and replace them if required.
That distinction matters because there is no universal indication from the driver’s seat that every recalled vehicle has already developed the dangerous condition. FCA’s U.S. filing states that some customers could experience a loss of power-steering assist or receive a “Service Power Steering” diagnostic warning, but the absence of those symptoms does not replace a recall inspection. The campaign was structured around potentially affected production populations, not simply vehicles already displaying obvious failures. Owners therefore need to check the status of an individual VIN and complete the prescribed dealer repair rather than assuming normal steering operation means the Jeep is outside the risk population.
Closing the Probe Does Not Mean NHTSA Declared the Issue Harmless
A regulatory investigation and a recall serve different purposes. NHTSA opened its preliminary evaluation to determine the cause, scope and frequency of reported fires. Once FCA issued a recall covering the investigated vehicles and expanded the campaign to the wider affected population, keeping the preliminary evaluation open was no longer necessary for the agency to pursue the same defect through that particular investigative process.
The wording of the closure is important. NHTSA did not say the fires were imaginary or that the recalled Jeeps no longer required repairs. Instead, the recall was the reason the investigation could be closed. The campaign directly addressed the vehicles and issue being examined, and regulators said FCA was not required to provide additional information through PE24-024 “at this time.” NHTSA also explicitly reserved the right to take additional action based on future circumstances. In practical terms, closure signals that the investigation produced a corrective safety campaign—not that an outstanding recall can be disregarded.
Canadian Owners Should Still Check Their VIN and Complete the Repair
For Canadian Wrangler and Gladiator owners, the most useful takeaway is straightforward: the American investigation’s closure does not alter Transport Canada recall 2026-271. Affected owners are still instructed to keep their vehicles outdoors and away from other vehicles and buildings until the recall repair has been completed. FCA Canada is responsible for notifying owners and directing affected vehicles to dealerships for inspection and, when required, replacement of the power-steering pump and wiring.
VIN-level verification is important because a broad model-year listing does not automatically establish that every Wrangler or Gladiator built during those years is part of the campaign. Transport Canada provides recall-search tools, while Jeep owners can also check through the manufacturer. Owners who have changed addresses or purchased vehicles used should make sure their contact information is current so recall notifications are not missed. The headline development may be the end of a two-year U.S. federal probe, but for an unrepaired vehicle in a driveway, the more consequential milestone is still completion of the recall work.
