Recalls on any vehicle can be costly to a manufacturer, both from a financial and public relations perspective. When one falls upon a brand new and highly anticipated model, you can be sure frantic and feverish meetings are held in boardrooms at the highest level.

Jeep has issued a recall on the Gladiator pickup, a truck that has been hotly anticipated and selling well. At issue are certain trucks that may have a rear driveshaft assembled without grease in the monoblock joint portion of the shaft. The suspect population was determined by
reviewing the supplier’s driveshaft production records from the beginning of production of this driveshaft to identify which driveshafts may have been assembled without grease.

A joint without grease may overheat and seize, possibly causing the driveshaft to fracture, resulting in a sudden loss of drive power. If the driveshaft completely separates from the vehicle it may become a road hazard and, as one would expect, either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.

Thanks to the nature of this problem, a stop sale order has been issued for any affected Gladiators loitering on dealer lots. A total of 3427 trucks are affected, built between the middle of December 2018 and the end of June this year.

FCA US will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driveshaft, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 18, 2019. Owners may contact FCA US customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US number for this recall is V95 and the NHTSA campaign number is 19V636000.