NHTSA Complaint #11710924 — 2018 JEEP WRANGLER

UNKNOWN what failed because it burned to the ground. August 8, 2025 The Jeep was running and driving normal. I pulled over into Robert Louis Stevenson Park parking area to let my kids (ages 3 and 4) out for a potty break. I left the vehicle running since it was hot and the AC was on. As I was getting my first child out smoke started pouring out of the passenger side wheel well and hood, coming from the engine compartment. I got my kids out in a hurry and there were flames within about 45 seconds. The Jeep was fully engulfed within about 2 minutes. Fire department took 12 minutes to arrive on scene and extinguish the Jeep fire and accompanying tree that had caught on fire. All of my belongings inside the vehicle were destroyed and not covered under the vehicle insurance policy. I am grateful I managed to get my kids out of the car and to safety and that we are all okay, but this was an extremely dangerous situation and we are lucky we pulled over where we did. I reached out to Stellantis, and they sent out an investigator, but he was bound by privacy rules with them, and nobody ever told me what they found other than Stellantis sending a letter saying "they are not led to believe it was a manufacturing responsibility." Additionally, there was a police report filed with Napa, CA California Highway Patrol Office, as another car was melted a bit during the incident. There were ZERO warnings that anything was wrong with the vehicle while driving. Nothing to indicate that something catastrophic was about to happen or that anything was wrong at all. The Jeep only had 27,000 miles on it and had been dealer serviced its entire life and only 1,000 miles prior to this incident as well.