- An Illinois couple alleges its parked 2022 Gladiator caught fire in 2024.
- FCA tried to force the fire claims into arbitration but a judge refused.
- The alleged issue now anchors a 1.07 million-vehicle Jeep recall.
A lawsuit over a 2022 Jeep Gladiator that allegedly caught fire while sitting outside an Illinois family’s home is moving forward in federal court. The plaintiffs say the pickup burned in 2024 because of a defective power steering pump electrical connector. In the process, it damaged their home. FCA US attempted to send the dispute to arbitration, but a judge rejected that. It’s especially awkward because the alleged trouble spot is now the subject of a 1.07 million-vehicle fire recall.
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Sandra and James Teuber leased the Gladiator in September 2022. According to a July 6 federal court order, first brought to greater attention by CarComplaints, the truck caught fire on July 5, 2024. At the time, it was parked in front of their Bull Valley, Illinois, home. James reportedly spotted black smoke from the front of the house, then found the Jeep fully engulfed. The couple says flames damaged the garage door and trim, while the fire destroyed the vehicle and its contents.
Read: Jeep Fire Risks Spark Another Lawsuit
Gas allegedly spilled onto the property and was only put out after firefighters lifted the truck to extinguish the fire. The suit seeks damages under product-liability, negligence, warranty, and Illinois consumer-fraud laws. Importantly, these are allegations that remain to be proven.
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The Alleged Issue Is Now A Recall
When the Teubers sued in early 2025, the power steering connection was the subject of a federal investigation covering a smaller batch of Jeeps. In June, though, FCA recalled 1,076,999 model-year 2021–2025 Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators over an electrical connection in the electric-hydraulic power steering pump wiring.
The concern is a high-resistance connection that can overheat and ignite nearby combustible materials, even when the vehicle is turned off. At the time of its park-outside warning, NHTSA said it knew of 51 fires and one injury likely tied to the issue. Owners of affected trucks and SUVs were told to park them outside and away from buildings and other vehicles until repaired. For the Teubers, that warning came roughly two years after their Gladiator went up in flames beside their home.
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