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Fiat Chrysler recalls 4.8M cars for cruise control problems

It requires a weird sequence of events to make the defect occur.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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It's a very rare circumstance, but it could happen.

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Even though Chrysler's latest recall is huge, the chance of actually running into the problem is rather small.

FCA has issued a recall for approximately 4.8 million vehicles in the US, all of which have automatic transmissions and gas engines. The full list is below:

  • 2015-2017 Chrysler 200
  • 2014-2018 Chrysler 300
  • 2017-2018 Chrysler Pacifica
  • 2015-2018 Dodge Challenger
  • 2014-2018 Dodge Charger
  • 2014-2018 Dodge Journey
  • 2014-2018 Dodge Durango
  • 2014-2018 Jeep Cherokee
  • 2014-2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  • 2018 Jeep Wrangler
  • 2014-2019 1500
  • 2014-2018 Ram 2500, 3500, 3500/4500/5500 chassis cab

The issue stems from the cruise control. If the cruise control were to initiate acceleration -- for example, when driving uphill to maintain speed -- while a short-circuit simultaneously occurred in a specific part of the electrical control, the cruise control might become impossible to defeat.

In the event this happens, drivers have a few ways to bring the vehicle to a stop. The brakes will overpower the engine, so leaning heavily on the brakes is the first option. Owners can also shift the car to neutral and brake to a stop. Once the vehicle has come to a stop, placing the car in Park will finally cancel the cruise control. Thankfully, FCA has no record of any injuries or accidents related to this issue.

FCA dealers will upgrade the powertrain control module software in order to remedy the issue. Affected owners will receive notifications as early as next week. In the meantime, FCA suggests not using cruise control at all if your vehicle is on the list above. 

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