Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator Recall Australia: 9,199 Owners Told to Park Outside Over Power Steering Fire Risk

Image credit: Jeep Australia

If you own a Jeep Wrangler or Gladiator built between 2020 and 2024, this one is worth reading before you park in the garage tonight. Stellantis Australia has issued recall REC-006656, covering 9,199 JL Wranglers and JT Gladiators over an electrical connection at the power steering pump that can overheat and start a fire. The fix is not ready yet. Until it is, Stellantis is asking owners to park these cars outside and away from other vehicles.

It is the Australian slice of a global campaign that covers just over 1.3 million Jeeps worldwide. In the United States, regulators have logged 72 vehicle fires and one reported injury tied to the fault. There have been no reported incidents in Australia so far. That matters for how you weigh the risk, but the parking guidance is the same regardless.

What is actually going wrong

The affected cars use an Electric Hydraulic Power Steering Pump, or EHPSP. That pump sits at the front of the engine bay and drives the hydraulic assist for the steering rack. It is fed by an electrical connector carrying a lot of current whenever you turn the wheel. On the recalled cars, that connector can develop what engineers call a high resistance joint. A loose pin, a bit of vibration, and the contact patch shrinks. When current keeps flowing through a smaller and smaller contact patch, the connector body gets hot.

The bit that makes this recall an urgent one rather than a paperwork one is what surrounds the connector. Wiring insulation, plastic looms, and general engine bay materials will all take fire if the connector runs hot enough for long enough. On the vehicles at the centre of the global campaign, that has already happened 72 times. Most of those fires have started while the vehicle was parked, which is why Stellantis is asking owners to move them away from anything that would go up with them.

Before it gets to that point, you will usually notice steering that feels heavier than normal, or a Service Power Steering warning on the dash. Treat either of those as a call to stop driving and get in touch with Jeep Australia. The message is not always coincidence.

Which Jeeps are on the list

Notably absent from REC-006656: the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee L, Cherokee, Compass and Avenger. The petrol only Wrangler sold in Australia is on the list, but the Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid is not part of the Australian campaign because Stellantis Australia has never sold it here. Overseas the 4xe has separate, earlier fire risk recalls tied to its battery, which is a different problem to this one.

What Stellantis Australia wants owners to do right now

Two clear instructions. Park the car away from structures or other vehicles until the recall remedy is complete. And if you notice a loss of power steering assist, a Service Power Steering message on the dashboard, or any burning smell coming from the front of the car, stop driving and call the Jeep Australia Customer Care line on 1300 133 079.

The parking guidance sounds dramatic. It is not new territory for a power steering recall of this size. The reason it is worded strongly is that the fault has been documented starting fires with the vehicle switched off and unattended. Garage next to a wooden house, carport shared with the family Corolla, tight underground apartment stack. Those are the scenarios Stellantis is protecting against by asking you to move the car until it can put the fix on your VIN.

Image credit: Jeep Australia

Why there is no fix yet

This is the frustrating part of a large global recall. Stellantis has identified the fault, notified regulators in every market, but has not yet released the workshop procedure or the replacement parts to Australian dealers. The company estimates the remedy will launch some time in the third quarter of 2026, which means between now and the end of September. Once it is ready, Stellantis Australia will reach affected owners by mail, email or phone, and any authorised Jeep dealer can carry out the campaign work.

The fix, in every market that has revealed it, is a replacement of the connector and its wiring, plus updated fastening to stop it working loose again. It is not a full pump replacement. That keeps the workshop time reasonable and the parts supply solvable, but it also means the queue at your local dealer will move quickly once the campaign opens. Book early rather than late and you will avoid the rush.

Every recall action is free under Australian Consumer Law. If a dealer tries to charge you a diagnostic fee or a parts contribution, that is not right. Politely refuse and call the Jeep Australia Customer Care line to escalate.

What to do this week

1. Check your VIN. Punch your 17 digit VIN into the recall lookup at jeep.com.au/vehicle-recalls.html or search REC-006656 on vehiclerecalls.gov.au. Both will confirm whether your car is on the campaign.
2. Move the car outside. If you are on the list, park it away from other vehicles, buildings and anything you would not want to lose. Do not garage it overnight until the fix is done.
3. Watch for warning signs. Loss of power steering assist, a Service Power Steering message, or any smell of hot plastic or wiring from the front of the car. Any of those is a call to stop driving and phone Jeep Australia on 1300 133 079.
4. Wait for the recall letter. Stellantis Australia is contacting affected owners once the remedy is ready. Keep an eye on your mail, inbox and phone. If you have moved house since delivery, update your details with your Jeep dealer today so the notification finds you.
5. Book the fix promptly. When Stellantis Australia opens the campaign, book in fast. The parts supply will be tight in the first weeks and you want to be out of the interim parking regime as soon as possible.

How this sits against Jeep Australia's recent recall pattern

Stellantis Australia has had a bumpy 18 months on recalls. The Grand Cherokee 4xe battery recall in the United States has not directly hit us because Australia never got that model, but the Jeep brand has processed several campaigns on JL Wranglers already, including earlier steering damper issues and rear axle bearing checks. REC-006656 is the biggest single Wrangler and Gladiator campaign the local arm has handled in that window.

Practically, if you own a 2020 or 2021 Wrangler, it is worth spending five minutes on the recall lookup to see every open campaign against your VIN, not just this new one. A dealer visit for this recall is a good chance to bundle up any older open items into one workshop trip. Retailers can process multiple campaigns on the same visit which saves you a second day off work.

Our take from the CarSorted database

Cross referencing this recall against the CarSorted directory, the Wrangler sits in a lonely part of the Australian market. A 2026 Jeep Wrangler Sport S four-door opens the range at $75,950 before on-road costs, the Overland runs $84,950 and a four-door Rubicon lands at $90,450. Every variant runs the 2.0-litre turbo petrol four with 200kW and 400Nm through an eight-speed automatic. The Gladiator dual-cab ute is the same platform in a tray body. Between them, they are the only body-on-frame petrol only 4WDs still on sale here at that price point.

The sales pain is what makes a recall like this land harder than the raw number suggests. VFACTS has the Wrangler selling 724 units in 2024 and 433 in 2025, its worst full year in Australia on record. Total Jeep brand sales for 2025 hit 1,682, the lowest since VFACTS started tracking in 1997. Losing another few weeks of showroom confidence over a fire risk campaign is the last thing the local arm needs. It also raises the cost of a service network that is already thin outside capital cities. If you are the one Wrangler owner in a regional town, a campaign like this often means a two hour drive to the closest authorised Jeep dealer.

Where does that leave anyone thinking about buying used? A well maintained 2022 Wrangler Rubicon 4-door with the campaign closed is arguably a better buy this month than it was last month. Sellers know the news is out. Private ads on cars that have not had the fix will move slower until the remedy is available, which means room to negotiate on price. Anyone in the market can safely wait a few weeks, ask the seller to complete REC-006656 before settlement, and take the keys with the campaign paperwork already stamped.

If you are shopping a used Wrangler or Gladiator right now

Three practical points for anyone in the used 4WD or off-road ute market on Wednesday.

First, use the recall as a filter. Ask the seller to run the VIN through jeep.com.au/vehicle-recalls.html and screenshot the result. If REC-006656 is still open, the seller either needs to complete it before settlement or accept that you will not garage the car until you do. That is a real conversation, not a hypothetical.

Second, use it as leverage. A 2022 Wrangler Overland listed at $65,000 that has not had this recall done is worth $1,500 to $3,000 less than one that has, once you factor the interim parking hassle and the risk of waiting on parts. That is genuine, not manufactured, negotiation room.

Third, cross shop wider than you would have three months ago. A CarSorted comparison of the Wrangler against a Ford Ranger Raptor, a LandCruiser 70 Series or a Toyota Prado GX-L for similar money tells you the Wrangler is not the only interesting 4WD around, particularly if you rarely need the two-door short wheelbase or the removable roof. A used Ranger XLT bi-turbo at $58,000 tows more, seats five in more comfort, and has never had a fire risk campaign of this size.

What this means for buyers

For current Wrangler and Gladiator owners, the routine changes for a few months. Park outside, keep an eye on the dash, watch your mail for the Jeep Australia letter, and book the fix as soon as it is available. The car is otherwise fine to drive on your daily route. Just do not park it inside a wooden garage attached to your house, and do not leave it charging in the corner of an apartment stack next to twelve other cars overnight.

For buyers cross shopping the Wrangler against a Ford Bronco, Ineos Grenadier or LandCruiser 70 Series, this recall does not remove the Wrangler from consideration, but it does change what a fair used price looks like on a car that still has the campaign open. Filter your search accordingly. On new cars, Stellantis Australia dealer stock has already been through updated quality checks on the connector, and any new car sale from now on will have the fix applied at the pre-delivery stage once the remedy is available.

For anyone shopping the compact off-road SUV segment more broadly, the incoming 212 T01 from BAW at a rumoured $81,990 is now landing into a segment where the incumbent is on the back foot. That is genuinely relevant context. Chery Stockman, Ineos Grenadier, and the incoming Toyota FJ share the same window. Compare properly rather than defaulting to what you know.

Compare more 4WD options: Build your own comparison | Browse the CarSorted directory.

Jeep Australia contact

Jeep Australia Customer Care: 1300 133 079

VIN recall lookup: jeep.com.au/vehicle-recalls.html

ACCC recall reference: REC-006656 on vehiclerecalls.gov.au