Virginia Couple's New SUV Repeatedly Shut Itself Down

After a Virginia couple’s brand new SUV repeatedly stalled on them, so did their efforts to get any recourse, they told NBC4 Responds.

Before retiring, George and Joyce Vitello decided to treat themselves to a brand new car: A 2015 Jeep Cherokee Limited with a gas saving feature called engine start-stop (ESS) technology, in which the engine shuts itself at a stop and starts up again when you continue to drive.

But while driving through an intersection, the car stalled, George Vitello said.

“The lights flashed and everything locked up,” he said.

A short time later, it quit again, he said, and it happened multiple times.

“As I made a right turn, the Jeep completely died, everything stopped,” Vitello said.

When he took the car in, service records show that particular issue even happened to one of the technicians "in the service lane." The dealership replaced a fuel pump, but the car continued to have problems, Vitello said.

But the dealership could not duplicate the stalling issue and offered no recourse.

NBC4 Responds contacted Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which said it would continue to look further into the matter. Days later, the Vitellos said things started happening.

“We stopped getting emails from the dealership,” Vitello said. “Now we got calls from Chrysler headquarters.”

NBC4 Responds found similar complaints on safercar.gov. Other 2015 Jeep Cherokee owners described stalling problems, though the complaints are unverified.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said it takes seriously its commitment to safety and continuously tracks the performance of its vehicles.

Chrysler said it agreed to provide the Vitellos with another vehicle "despite exhaustive testing." Last week, the Vitellos turned in their car and drove off with a brand new 2016 Jeep Cherokee that doesn't have ESS without spending another dime.

The company said it could not rule out unfamiliarity with the ESS technology as a possibility for the issues the Vitellos were having.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety administration said it is not investigating any stalling issues with 2015 Jeeps.

FCA US LLC provided the following statement:

  1. Despite exhaustive testing by service specialists using high-tech instrumentation, we could not duplicate the customer’s experience. One attempt was made with the customer in the vehicle. We could not rule out unfamiliarity as one possible explanation. Nevertheless, an agreement was reached to provide the customer with another vehicle not equipped with ESS – an advanced technology that saves fuel – and the customer is satisfied.
  2. FCA US LLC takes seriously its commitment to safety. In addition to NHTSA’s website, we use multiple data streams to continuously track the performance of our vehicles in the field. Our 2,607 dealers accommodate more than 20 million service appointments each year – from inspections to routine maintenance to repairs. Service records from each are automatically transmitted to Company headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., where quality teams conduct daily reviews to – in the best interests of our customers – identify emerging issues and correct them as quickly as possible. For particularly challenging situations, the Company employs technical service experts who are available to counsel dealership technicians by phone. FCA US engineers also analyze parts returned to the Company by dealers. In addition, FCA US technical advisors often travel to dealerships to provide further insight and assistance.
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