Have you been hearing a rattling noise coming from the back of your 2015 or 2016 Jeep Renegade? If so, your vehicle could be covered under a new recall campaign.
FCA is going to recall 8,561 US-market 2015-2016 Jeep Renegades built from August 25, 2014, to June 25, 2016 because the optional trailer hitch assembly on them may not have been properly attached. The assemblies on these particular baby Jeeps may have been secured with only one fastener on each side, not the required three. According to Edmunds, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said, “Without the proper number of fasteners, the trailer-hitch assembly may separate from the vehicle, and any towed vehicle may no longer be properly connected, increasing the risk of a crash.”
At this point, FCA hasn’t set a date for the recall campaign. When it does get up and running, dealers will install two more fasteners on each side of the trailer hitch assembly. In the meantime, you can call FCA’s recall hotline for more information at 1-800-853-1403.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
