More than 228,000 Jeep Cherokees, majority of them located in North America, will be recalled to sort out a software issue that could force the side airbags to inflate unexpectedly.
The recall covers Jeep Cherokees from the 2014 and 2015 model years, and proves that automakers are still stepping things up and being as quick as possible when it comes to recalling defective vehicles. Still, the high number of recalls from 2014 and the first few weeks of 2015 remains distressing, especially the numerous airbag recalls, such as those related to faulty Takata airbags that release shrapnel and debris when deployed.
According to Jeep parent company Fiat Chrysler, airbags have deployed at random on a “small number” of Cherokees from the aforementioned model year, but this happens when drivers make an abrupt change of angle on the road. Canadian government regulators, on the other hand, claim that the problem manifests primarily in off-road driving. If an airbag deploys randomly, this could throw drivers off and potentially lead to crashes, but Chrysler is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the recall problem.
Jeep dealers will fix the problem free of charge by recalibrating the airbag software so that the threshold for inflation is increased.