Stellantis, a leading French-Italian-American automobile manufacturer, has issued a voluntary recall for more than 24,000 plug-in hybrid minivans worldwide because of the possibility of battery fires. The company has urged the owners to park their minivans outside of their residential area and to immediately stop charging them to prevent a fire from breaking out.
Stellantis announced recently that certain Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrids manufactured from the 2017 to 2021 model years will be affected by this recall. These include 3,000 vehicles in Canada, 19,500 vehicles in the US, and 1,700 outside North America. The multinational corporation Stellantis owns many top vehicle brands, including Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and more. The brand revealed that it is currently investigating the reasons for the recent mishap. However, the automaker has also detected a rare abnormality in battery cells integrated into the minivans. Notably, Chrysler hybrid minivan owners can reduce the risk of fires if the battery is depleted.
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According to Stellantis, seven incidents have been reported so far related to the recent recall. Some of these incidents happened while the electric vehicles were being charged; on the contrary, in some cases, vehicles were turned off. Moreover, four people reportedly suffered symptoms of smoke inhalation after the fire started.
The company is currently working on finding a solution that includes a software update that can be used to detect battery abnormalities. Stellantis dealerships will replace the battery if a problem is found. The brand will not charge any fees from customers, and the whole vehicle will be inspected thoroughly. The plug-in hybrid minivan owners will be notified through mail during the service.
