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By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. auto safety agency said on Monday it is opening an investigation into more than 781,000 newer Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator sport utility vehicles after reports of underhood fires.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has nine reports of fires and one injury in the investigation covering 2021 through 2023 model year Wrangler and Gladiator SUVs, with most reports saying the fires occurred while the ignition was off.
Jeep-manufacturer Stellantis said it is cooperating with the preliminary evaluation, the first step before NHTSA could seek to require a recall.
NHTSA said it contacted Stellantis and learned of several fires originating at the power steering pump electrical connector in the Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles. The agency said that part was located at the passenger front side of the engine compartment and coincides with the majority of fire reports.
Some fires were reported soon after the vehicles were purchased. The owner of a 2021 Jeep Wrangler in Rumson, New Jersey said it started smoking and within 10 minutes burst into flames. The owner told NHTSA "my daughter, dogs and I were able to make it out of the car, but very scary."
Another owner in Arizona said a 2021 Jeep Wrangler with just 1,900 miles on it caught fire. The owner saw black smoke coming from the engine compartment and told NHTSA, "by the time I pulled over and got out of the vehicle it was on fire, and within minutes the entire car was engulfed by flames and it was a total loss."
An Auburn, Washington owner told NHTSA a 2022 Gladiator after just 1,758 miles driven burned while parked next to the owner's house despite not having been driven for about two weeks. "There were no warnings of symptoms and our Jeep app showed everything was normal when last driven," the owner said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Mrinmay Dey and Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Bill Berkrot)
