Owners of more than a million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator SUVs face a fire risk that persists even after they turn off the engine and walk away. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has linked a power-steering pump defect to 51 fires and one injury across 2021 through 2025 model-year vehicles, prompting an urgent recall of approximately 1,076,999 units and a directive to park affected trucks outside and away from structures until repairs are available.
Why a parked-vehicle fire risk changes the calculus for Jeep owners
Most vehicle recalls involve a hazard that surfaces while the driver is behind the wheel, giving some chance of detection or response. This defect breaks that pattern. The fire risk can occur even when vehicles are turned off and parked, according to NHTSA, which means an owner could leave a Wrangler or Gladiator in a garage overnight and wake to a fire with no warning. That distinction is what pushed the agency to issue explicit park-outside guidance rather than simply scheduling a fix.
The persistence of the hazard after shutdown points to a residual electrical or thermal pathway inside the power-steering pump assembly that outlasts normal ignition-off sequences. In a typical shutdown, power to accessory systems is cut when the key is removed or the start-stop button is pressed. If the pump retains voltage through an internal short or if accumulated heat from a failing component reaches ignition temperature after the engine stops, the fire window extends well beyond the last moment the driver had any control. That hypothesis aligns with the complaint pattern NHTSA has tracked: engine-compartment fires appearing in vehicles that had been sitting idle.
Fifty-one fires and an open federal investigation
NHTSA said it is aware of 51 fires likely caused by the defect, along with one reported injury. The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation had already opened a preliminary evaluation, designated PE24-024, covering Wrangler and Gladiator models for engine-compartment fires before the recall expanded the affected population to include 2024 and 2025 model years as well. The total count of approximately 1,076,999 vehicles spans five model years and two nameplates, the Wrangler SUV and the Gladiator pickup, both built on the same platform and sharing the same power-steering hardware.
NHTSA’s park-outside warning is a step the agency reserves for the most serious fire-related recalls, where the risk of property damage or injury extends beyond the vehicle itself. The concern is not only the potential loss of the vehicle but also the possibility that a fire could spread to a home, attached garage, or nearby structures before anyone notices flames or smoke. That wider risk explains why the agency is urging owners to change where they park immediately, even before a repair is ready.
Owners will be notified by mail, and dealerships are expected to perform the repair at no cost once a remedy is finalized. In the interim, NHTSA advises drivers to continue using their vehicles if necessary but to avoid parking in enclosed spaces or near anything that could easily catch fire. For many households, that means shifting long-standing habits-leaving the Jeep in the driveway instead of the garage, or parking away from apartment buildings and carports.
Unanswered questions about the pump failure and repair timeline
Several gaps in the public record remain. Neither NHTSA nor the automaker has disclosed the exact failure mode inside the power-steering pump. Whether the root cause is an internal electrical short, a fluid leak onto a hot surface, or a wiring defect in the pump circuit has not been detailed in agency summaries. Without a clear description of the defect, independent experts and owners are left to infer the mechanism from the pattern of fires and the fact that the hazard can arise after the engine is switched off.
The repair itself is also not yet fully described. In many fire-related recalls, the fix can range from installing an updated wiring harness or adding a protective shield to replacing an entire component such as a pump or module. For more than a million Jeeps spread across multiple model years, the scale of parts production and service appointments could stretch over months. Until the automaker confirms whether it will replace the pumps, modify associated wiring, or introduce additional fusing or thermal protection, owners will not know how long their vehicles will remain under park-outside guidance.
The open investigation adds another layer of uncertainty. A preliminary evaluation like PE24-024 can evolve into a more detailed engineering analysis if investigators determine that the initial scope does not fully capture the risk or if new incidents emerge. While the recall already covers a broad range of Wranglers and Gladiators, ongoing data collection could refine the understanding of which configurations are most vulnerable, such as certain engines, trim levels, or production periods.
For now, the practical advice is straightforward but inconvenient. Owners should check their vehicle identification number on NHTSA’s recall lookup tool or the automaker’s website, follow the park-outside instructions, and watch for official notifications about the remedy. Until the root cause is publicly explained and the fix is widely available, the safest assumption is that any affected Wrangler or Gladiator could pose a fire risk long after the key is out of the ignition.
