Fiat Chrysler has recently issued a warning as well as a recall for a range of cars and trucks which have seen consistent problems with the cruise control feature. About 4.8 million vehicles dating all the way back to 2014 are reportedly at risk of the problematic setting. Fiat Chrysler has stated that the cruise control has a dangerous tendency to get stuck and maintain the selected speed, even after the driver attempts to manually cancel it on the steering wheel or with the brakes.
After issuing a recall for cars like the Jeep, Dodge Charger, Challenger, Ram pickup, Chrysler 200 or 300, Pacifica Minivan, Fiat Chrysler, and several others, Fiat Chrysler stated that the problem lies in the Powertrain Control Module software. For example, once cruise control goes into acceleration mode, in an effort to maintain speed while climbing a hill, problems arise.
“In certain vehicles, if such an acceleration were to occur simultaneously with a short-circuit in a specific electrical network, a driver could be unable to cancel cruise-control.” If this happens to you, Fiat Chrysler warns that the best way to cancel cruise control is to put the car in neutral, if you can, and continue to apply brakes. Eventually, the vehicle will slow to a complete stop and you can shift the car into Park.
The National Highway Transportation Administration “strongly encourages vehicle owners to follow a warning from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to stop using cruise control on the vehicles listed below until repaired. According to Chrysler, they are “unaware of any related injuries or accidents involving the affected vehicles.”
“Notwithstanding the extraordinary circumstances that must exist before a customer would experience a problem, we are taking this action because we are fully committed to vehicle safety,” said Mark Chernoby, the chief technical compliance officer and head of Vehicle Safety and Regulatory Compliance.
