The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated an investigation into the 2022 Ram 1500 and 2022 Jeep Wagoneer equipped with the 5.7-liter V8 eTorque system.
This move follows complaints from owners that the vehicles can unexpectedly lose power, shift into park, and apply the emergency brake.
According to NHTSA, there are currently 80 complaints related to this issue. Owners have reported that the engine would shut off, often while traveling at low speeds, causing the vehicle to shift into park and engage the emergency brake. Following these incidents, the vehicles could sometimes be restarted, though many complaints mentioned a malfunction warning light with a battery fault symbol appearing on the dashboard. Additionally, a “low voltage condition fault” was often present, preventing the vehicle from restarting.
This issue appears to be distinct from a previous recall involving 2021 Ram 1500s with the 5.7-liter eTorque system, where a software problem caused an incorrect fuel mixture, leading to engine stalls. Stellantis has stated that the current loss of power issue in the 2022 models is likely not due to an over-rich fuel condition but may be related to an electrical concern causing the engine to shut down.
The investigation could potentially affect up to 150,000 vehicles, but no recall has been issued at this stage as NHTSA is still in the investigative phase. There have been no reported accidents, injuries, or deaths linked to the issue under investigation.
This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.
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