2006 Jeep Commander 4X2 recalls and problems

Chrysler is conducting a safety recall of approximately 643,618 model year 2006-2007 Jeep Commander and model year 2005-2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles to address the problem of ignition turning off while driving (see NHTSA recall 14V-438 for more information).According to Chrysler, these vehicles may experience an unintended change in ignition switch position while driving, which may result in loss of engine power, power steering, and braking assist, increasing the risk of a crash and disabling one or more of the vehicle's safety features including the frontal air bags.Most of the reported incidents occurred as a result of driver interaction with the ignition key.Based on the recall action taken by Chrysler, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed.Additionalinformation on this closing resume, and the investigation are in the PE14-017 public file available online at SaferCar.gov.The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers: 10101116 10103300 10106060 10112589 10116788 10126986 10128093 10130780 10145501 10146213 10153018 10155291 10156396 10158165 10162933 10166746 10178559 10183305 10186545 10189530 10192237 10193106 10194092 10199552 10199986 10221500 10222283 10227253 10231011 10328609 10358324 10392364 10577532 10585326 10585976 10599142 10604990 10605091 10605209 10606494 10606610 10607043 10607614 10607785 10608196 10615565 10615671 10615761 10616124 10633266 10633313 1…

ON MAY 5, 2008, CHRYSLER LLC (CHRYSLER) SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO NHTSA CONCERNING AN ENGINE CALIBRATION ISSUE THAT COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALL IN APPROXIMATELY 24,461 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2006 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 4.7L V-8 ENGINE AND BUILT FROM FEBRUARY 25, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 11, 2006.ACCORDING TO CHRYSLER, THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) WAS PROGRAMMED WITH SOFTWARE THAT MAY ALLOW THE ENGINE TO STALL DURING CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS.CHRYSLER DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE PCM SOFTWARE IN THE RECALLED VEHICLES. INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CHRYSLER DURING PE07-009 AND EA07-007 INDICATED THAT A REVISED ENGINE CALIBRATION WAS IMPLEMENTED IN PRODUCTION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 12, 2006 FOR THE MY 2006 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.7L V-8 ENGINES.ODI'S ANALYSIS OFCONSUMER COMPLAINTS, FIELD REPORTS AND OTHER DATA RELATED TO FIELD EXPERIENCE WITH ENGINE STALLING IN MY 2006 THROUGH 2007 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.7L, 4.7L AND 5.7L ENGINES IDENTIFIED AN ELEVATED RATE OF STALLING INCIDENTS IN THE MY 2006 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.7L ENGINES THAT WERE MANUFACTURED BEFORE THE CALIBRATION CHANGE.ODI INTERVIEWED OVER 70 CONSUMERS WHO REPORTED STALLING INCIDENTS IN EARLY PRODUCTION MY 2006 4.7L VEHICLES.INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THOSE INTERVIEWS INDICATED THAT THE STALLING INCIDENTS WERE OCCURRING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, OFTEN OCCURRED DURING TURNS AND TYPICALLY OCCURRED MORE THAN ONCE.THE INTERVIEWS DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY CONCERNS WITH RESTARTABILI…

ODI HAS RECEIVED 76 VEHICLE OWNER COMPLAINTS ALLEGING INCIDENTS OF ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2006 THROUGH 2007 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES (SUBJECT VEHICLES).SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS REPORTED ONE OR MORE INCIDENTS OF ENGINE STALL WITH A SIMULTANEOUS LOSS OF SOME OR ALL LIGHTING SYSTEMS, INCLUDING HEADLAMPS.TWO ENGINE STALLS RESULTED IN A VEHICLE CRASH.IN ITS RESPONSE TO A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION (DCC) INDICATED THAT IT HAS NOT DETERMINED THE CAUSE OF ENGINE STALLING IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND THAT IT HASFORMED A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TASK FORCE TO INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE. THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA07-007) TO FURTHER ASSESS THE FREQUENCY, SCOPE AND POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.

ODI RECEIVED A PETITION REQUESTING A DEFECT INVESTIGATION CONCERNING UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN THE 2006 JEEP COMMANDER STEMMING FROM A FATAL INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED IN DELAWARE IN DECEMBER 2005.AFTER A CAREFUL REVIEW OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THIS INCIDENT, ODI FINDS NO EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THE INFLUENCE OF A MANUFACTURING DEFECT.LIKEWISE, NO SIMILAR COMPLAINTS CONCERNING THIS MODEL EXIST IN THE ODI COMPLAINT DATABASE.ACCORDINGLY, THE PETITION IS DENIED.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISIT THIS ISSUE IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CIRCUMSTANCES WARRANT.