Keller Rohrback is investigating allegations that Jeep used false claims about some of their vehicles’ green electric capabilities to market their 4xe hybrid line. Were you misled?
These allegations contend that the company’s claims about the 2021-2022 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe hybrid vehicles misled customers about the functionality of the vehicles’ electric capabilities for which consumers paid a premium.
Jeeps’ 4xe models are advertised as being able to run on an “all electric range” for 21-25 miles depending on the model, which would be enough to “get around town solely on electric power.” However, according to the allegations, this feature becomes functionally unusable “for months at a time during cold weather” due to an engineering function.
A detailed description of the technical reason for this issue can be found below.
Keller Rohrback understands that cars are a significant investment and that consumers deserve transparency around any known issues their vehicles may have. If you own or lease a Jeep 4xe hybrid and are concerned that you didn’t get the electric range that you paid a premium for, or that the resale value of your vehicle has been impacted, we want to hear from you. Please contact us at [email protected], (800) 776-6044, or by using the contact form on this page.
More about the Jeep 4xe design defect
The 4xe vehicles combine a gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE) with a separate electric motor powered by an electric battery. As the gaskets and seals in gas engines shrink and expand due to changing temperatures, small amounts of gasoline can get into the oil that lubricates the engine’s moving parts. Ordinarily, when the oil gets warm, these small amounts of gasoline evaporate and do not dilute the oil. But in hybrid vehicles, and especially in cold weather, if the ICE function runs for only a few minutes before the electric motor takes over, the engine oil may never get hot enough to evaporate the gasoline seepage. To solve this problem, Jeep’s engineers developed a work-around they call the FORM (“Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode”) cycle, wherein the ICE engine activates until the engine has run long enough at a hot enough temperature to make sure all the gasoline is evaporated out of the oil. However, In cold weather, the FORM cycle allegedly triggers for long periods of time, which renders electric-only operation and range functionally unavailable.
About Keller Rohrback L.L.P.
Keller Rohrback L.L.P. has been appointed by courts to leading roles in high-profile automotive defect litigation against General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Fiat Chrysler, Nissan, and other automakers and suppliers, and in the landmark “Dieselgate” emission fraud cases against Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Jeep, and Ram. With offices in Seattle, Phoenix, Portland, New York, Missoula, Oakland, and Santa Barbara, Keller Rohrback serves as lead and co-lead counsel in class actions throughout the country. Our Complex Litigation Group is proud to offer its knowledge and experience to clients nationwide, and our trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements in excess of $78 billion.
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