NHTSA Complaint #11654407 — 2019 JEEP CHEROKEE

The contact owned a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact parked the vehicle and went inside a restaurant for approximately 30 minutes. Upon returning to the vehicle, the contact opened the front driver’s side door as black smoke poured out of the vehicle. The contact stated that all four windows were covered with black soot. The windshield was cracked. The heater vents and ignition had melted and had fallen to the floor. The dashboard and instrument panel were severely burned with several wires exposed because the contact was able to see inside the dashboard. The authorities were called, but no assistance was provided because there was no active fire. A Police report was filed over the phone. No injuries or property damage were reported. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed by the Insurance provider to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was later deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle remained with the Insurance provider. The failure mileage was approximately 181,000.