Jeep Grand Cherokee Seat Belt Buckle Issue Poses Safety Risk

A small number of 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs have been found to have an improperly secured seat belt buckle, posing a significant safety risk to occupants. The affected vehicles fail to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages, which could increase the chance of injury during a crash.

The FCA US Technical Safety and Regulatory Compliance organization became aware of this problem in July 2023. They received a report about a potential issue related to the second-row seat belt buckle anchor bolt in some 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The defect report revealed that the bolt may not have been tightened to the specified torque requirements.

In response to the defect report, FCA initiated an investigation. They conducted meetings with engineering and manufacturing teams to understand the failure mode and to determine the affected population. An analysis of field records and customer assistance records was also performed to understand the potential consequences for customers.

On May 22, 2024, FCA recognized that a build issue existed on certain vehicles and decided to issue a recall. The problem was traced back to a specific period in the production line. The suspect period began on July 12, 2023, when the first vehicle was produced with a seat belt buckle that had a low torque fastener, and ended on July 13, 2023, when vehicles with properly torqued fasteners were produced.

The vehicles affected by this recall were built with a second-row seatbelt buckle that might not have been torqued sufficiently. This could result in reduced occupant restraint capabilities, potentially leading to increased injuries in the event of a crash. Supplier traceability and vehicle production records were used to identify the suspect population. Vehicles built before or after this suspect period, or those repaired prior to release from the production plant, are not included in this recall.

Dealers will inspect and tighten the second-row seat buckle bolt as necessary. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 70B and the NHTSA campaign number is 24V-434.