Jeep asks Cherokee owners to park outside over fire risk

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Jeep is asking the owners of older Cherokee models to park their vehicles outside, away from other cars, due to the risk a short-circuit in a computer in the vehicle could cause a fire even when it’s not running. In Canada, roughly 23,000 Cherokees, from model years 2014 through 2016, are affected; globally, the number of affected vehicles is about 219,000.

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Cherokees with power liftgates are affected specifically; on these vehicles, water can seep into the liftgate control computer. This in turn could cause an electrical short, and that could start a fire. Jeep parent Stellantis says it has yet to come up with a fix for the problem. Owners of vehicles with this defect may find the liftgate stops working before catching fire.

While it’s unclear how many Cherokees have caught fire due to this issue, Stellantis has said it is unaware of any injuries related to the problem. The automaker previously recalled more than half of these Jeeps over a similar issue, in 2015.