The US Department of Transportation announced on Monday that it is investigating approximately 150,000 Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs due to issues with sudden engine stalls that often prevent the vehicles from restarting.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the affected vehicles, including the 2022 RAM 1500 pickup trucks and the 2022 Jeep Wagoneer SUVs, are experiencing sudden loss of power attributed to electrical problems that cause the engine to shut down, along with intermittent difficulty in restarting.
The Office of Defects Investigation has received 80 consumer complaints regarding engine stalls and power loss in these Stellantis-manufactured vehicles, particularly those equipped with the Fiat Chrysler Automotive Group LLC (FCA) 5.7L Hemi eTorque hybrid engines.
Many complaints indicated that the vehicles shut off unexpectedly, often while moving at slow speeds, resulting in the vehicle shifting into park and engaging the emergency brake, according to the NHTSA.
Fortunately, no injuries have been reported stemming from this malfunction, but the NHTSA has initiated a preliminary investigation that could potentially lead to a recall. Stellantis has stated it is fully cooperating with this investigation.
This comes as more negative news for Stellantis, as sales for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands declined in the second quarter. Additionally, earlier this month, a recall investigation was launched for 94,000 Jeep Wranglers, and in June, over 1 million vehicles in North America were recalled due to a software glitch that could heighten the risk of a crash.