Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is voluntarily recalling an estimated 553,950 vehicles worldwide to tighten a windshield-wiper fastener. The vehicles include certain 2019 and 2020 Jeep Compass SUVs, and certain 2019 and 2020 Ram 1500 Classic, and Ram 1500 pickups, produced before March 3rd of this year.
FCA released in a statement that the improperly formed wiper arm head joint may not properly form the splines of the head joint on the wiper arm, this can allow the joint can strip and result in the wiper arm failing to operate properly when the system is activated. Prior to complete wiper system failure, the driver may notice that one or both wipers do not clear the windshield properly or that the wipers are no in their proper rest positions.
According to documents sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 316, 626 Ram 1500 and Ram 1500 Classic models are affected. The suspect period began when a new wiper nut was introduced into production on April 28th, 2019 at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP), on May 17th, 2019 at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant (WTAP), and on June 19th, 2019 at the Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant (STAP) and ended on February 7th, 2020 at SHAP, February 3rd, 2020 at WTAP, and March 3rd, 2020 at STAP, when the new wiper nut was no longer used in production. Plant production records were used to identify the start and end dates of vehicles built with the new wiper nut.
Chronology :
• On January 27th, 2020, FCA US LLC (“FCA US”) Product Development Quality notified the FCA US Vehicle Safety
and Regulatory Compliance (“VSRC”) organization of increased warranty claims on some Ram 1500/1500
Classic and Jeep Compass vehicles experiencing loose windshield wiper arms.
• From January 28th, 2020, through March 3, 2020, FCA US VSRC reviewed field data to understand the scope of
the issue.
• Between February 27th, 2020, and March 30, 2020, FCA US VSRC, FCA US Engineering, and FCA US Current
Quality, met to review the issue, the potential safety consequence, and understand the suspected scope of
vehicles affected.
• As of March 26th, 2020, FCA US has identified zero CAIRs, 439 warranty claims, and zero-field reports
potentially related to this issue.
• As of March 26th, 2020, FCA US is not aware of any accidents or injuries potentially related to this issue.
• On April 2nd, 2020, FCA US determined, through the Vehicle Regulations Committee, to conduct a voluntary
safety recall of the affected vehicles.
FCA will conduct a voluntary safety recall to retorque the wiper nuts to the required torque on all affected vehicles of the recall. FCA will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the wiper nuts, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on May 29th, 2020. Owners may contact FCA customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA’s number for this recall is W25. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Additional vehicles will be subject to recall in Canada (est. 76,280), Mexico (est. 3,280) and certain markets outside North America (48,802).
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