When we drive our car, we expect the features of the vehicle to work. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and sometimes our car’s features fail to operate in the way that they should. One vehicle feature that especially needs to function well while in use is the cruise control feature. Recently, the automaker, Fiat Chrysler, has issued a recall for almost 4.8 million of their vehicles. The recall comes after the discovery that in rare circumstances drivers may be unable to turn off the cruise control feature of their vehicle.
Fiat Chrysler is urging those who own vehicles that are effected by the recall not to use their cruise control until the vehicle can be fixed with a software update. The company has stated that the cruise control can become stuck if the cruise control is accelerating when an electrical short-circuit occurs. The brakes in the vehicles have been designed to be able to overpower the engine and if this occurs, the vehicle may still be able to be stopped. In some cases, tapping the brake or turning off the cruise control button will not work to stop the cruise control, but shifting into park will stop it.
The problem with the cruise control was discovered while the company was testing the computer network of the vehicles. After the discovery of this problem, the company has gone over customer complaints to see if any may be related to the problem. The company found one report that it believes may be related to the problem that occurred in Kansas with a rental vehicle. In this incident, the vehicle was traveling at 70 miles per hour on cruise control when the windshield wipers activated on their own and the throttle became stuck. The driver was unable to deactivate the cruise control by either tapping the brakes or turning off the cruise control button. The driver needed to slam on the brakes to get the vehicle to the side of the road.
15 Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and Ram models from six different model years are included in the recall. All of the recalled vehicles have gas engines and automatic transmissions. Drivers are urged not to use the cruise control in these vehicles until the necessary repairs have been made. Fiat Chrysler will begin notifying owners of the recalled vehicles this week. The company is also urging drivers not to use their cruise control and to get the vehicles repaired as soon as possible.