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Chrysler recalls 330,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees because rear coil spring may detach
Chrysler is recalling roughly 330,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees because the rear coil springs on some newer models could fall off when someone is driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall covers 2022 and 2023 Grand Cherokees as well as 2021-2023 Grand Cherokee L vehicles, the Michigan automaker said in recall documents filed to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The rear coil springs themselves aren’t defective, but were incorrectly placed on Grand Cherokees between December 2020 and May 2023, according to Chrysler.
About 114,300 Grand Cherokees are impacted along with 217,100 Grand Cherokee L vehicles, Chrysler said. The company is asking owners to take their Grand Cherokees to a dealership where mechanics can inspect or repair the springs for free.
“Rear coil springs that detach from the vehicle while driving may result in a hazard to operators and occupants of other vehicles, which can cause such vehicles to crash without prior warning and/or may result in injury to vulnerable road users,” Chrysler, Jeep’s parent company, said in the NHTSA documents.
Rear coil springs, part of a vehicle’s suspension system, absorb the impact from bumps and also bear the vehicle’s body weight onto the axles. Car experts say it’s dangerous to drive any vehicle with broken or missing rear coil springs.
No injuries have been reported due to the rear coil springs problem as of May 25, Chrysler said.
The company began investigating the issue on March 3 after a car owner reported the coil spring fell off their 2023 Grand Cherokee while driving. After the investigation, Chrysler said it fielded 17 warranty claims and two customer assistance records from drivers related to the part.
Chrysler said it plans to mail Grand Cherokee owners more details about the recall and possible repairs by July 28. The company also said it will reimburse anyone who paid out of pocket to repair the springs as long as the driver can show a receipt of service.
Anyone with questions about the recall can contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403 and mention recall number 64A. Drivers can also contact NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236.
The coil springs recall comes one month after Jeep recalled about 89,000 Grand Cherokees because their steering columns had been installed incorrectly. That recall centered on 2021-2023 models. No injuries have been reported from the steering column recall, Chrysler said.
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Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, targeted in possible Iran-backed cyberattack, sources say
Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, was recently notified that he was the target of a potential Iran-backed cyberattack, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News.
The apparent hackers targeted his communications, but whether they succeeded and how much access they had to the data is still being investigated, the people said.
The FBI declined to comment. CBS News had also reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
The news of Iran’s potential targeting of Patel was first reported by Semafor.
This comes after months of warnings from the FBI and other federal agencies of Iranian cyber activity targeting Trump campaign staff leading up the 2024 presidential election. In September, Justice Department prosecutors charged three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps with launching a broad hacking campaign against U.S. officials, including those close to Trump.
In August, Microsoft said that Iran was increasing its efforts to influence the November election, and in one case had targeted a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack.
Trump and his allies, including members of his first administration, have been targets of Iran since the 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, and U.S. officials continued to warn of those cyberattack campaigns in recent months.
The 44-year-old Patel served in intelligence and defense roles in Trump’s first term, including chief of staff to the secretary of defense. He was also designated by Trump to be a representative to the National Archives and Records Administration and fought a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
He is an attorney and staunch Trump loyalist who rose to prominence as an aide to former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, fighting the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
He served on Trump’s National Security Council, then as a senior adviser to acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, and later as chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
President-elect Donald Trump is considering selecting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his pick for defense secretary to potentially replace embattled Fox News host Pete Hegseth, two sources familiar with the transition told CBS News Tuesday night.
This comes after Trump and DeSantis attended a memorial for fallen law enforcement officers Tuesday in Florida.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report this story.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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