Stellantis has announced it is recalling just under 20,000 Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivans due to a fire hazard.
An internal investigation found 12 instances of fires with models belonging to the 2017 and 2018 model years. In each case, the vehicle was parked and turned off at the time the incident occurred; eight were in the process of recharging.
“Stellantis is working to confirm the cause of the fires. “The remedy, when developed, will be provided free of charge, and affected customers will be advised when they may schedule service.”
- Stellantis statement
The voluntary recall affects 19,808 vehicles, the majority of them in the United States and Canada. The impacted models are equipped with batteries manufactured by a subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd, LG Energy Solution Ltd, an entity spun off from the company in an IPO last month. It confirmed that Stellantis has not yet established the cause of the fires.
According to a statement by the Korean company, “There is no confirmed root cause of fires in the Stellantis vehicles that is subject to the recall, or proof directly linking to the battery.”
This will of course be something to follow. Recall that last October, it was GM that was at odds with LG over the recall of its Bolt. There too, a fire hazard was involved and in the end, the fault was attributed to LG, which agreed to pick up the tab for replacing the faulty components.
We're keeping an eye on this recall.
