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The US Department of Transportation announced Monday that it is investigating an estimated 150,000 Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs that are experiencing sudden engine stalls and often won’t restart.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said 2022 RAM 1500 pickup trucks and 2022 Jeep Wagoneer SUV vehicles are experiencing a sudden “loss of motive power due to electrical concerns causing the engine to shutdown with intermittent ability to restart.”
The Office of Defects Investigation received 80 consumer complaints about engine stalls and loss of power in the Stellanis-manufactured vehicles. The vehicles in question are equipped with the Fiat Chrysler Automotive Group LLC (FCA) 5.7L Hemi eTorque hybrid engines.
“Many of the complaints state that the vehicle’s engine would shut off, often while travelling at slow speed, the vehicle would shift into park and apply the emergency brake,” the NHTSA said.
No injuries have been reported as a result of the malfunction and the NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation, which could lead to a recall. Stellanis told Quartz that it is fully cooperating with the investigation.
The investigation is the latest bad news for Stellanis. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram all saw declining sales in the second quarter.
Earlier this month, the government launched a recall investigation into 94,000 Jeep Wranglers. And in June, the company was forced to recall more than 1 million vehicles in North America after a software bug was found that could increase the chances of a crash.