2012 Armored B6 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit 4x4 on 2040-cars

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What's really going on with the 2014 Jeep Cherokee's transmission issues?

On September 23, Automotive News reported that Chrysler had idled the second shift workers it hired just five weeks prior at its Toledo Assembly Complex to build the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. At the time, Chrysler said it had "built the critical number of vehicles we need to stock dealerships once containment is released" and did not want "to put additional strain on our logistics partners ... upon release." That reasoning was not only unusual, it didn't seem to make sense.
It appears the center of the nine-speed issue is software, not hardware.
That same day, the Detroit News ran a piece claiming workers at the Toledo factory said the halt was due to issues with the Cherokee's transmission. It put the number of already-built Cherokees needing fixes at 1,000 and said that some of the workers not laid off had been instructed "to take the Jeep on long test-drives." That made more sense. Three days later, on September 26, Automotive News reported that the 500 workers laid off had been reinstated, with engineers "speeding repairs on the SUV's powertrain software." The AN piece didn't put a number on how many units are being fixed, but it did say that 12,000 have been built and are awaiting delivery to dealers. The best it could say about when dealers will get them, however, is that "progress on a fix is being made. It's unclear when shipments to dealers will start."

Jeep reveals annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari concepts

Jeep has unveiled its annual spate of concepts before the Easter Jeep Safari. Those start with the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Concept (below left), complete with the company's EcoDiesel V6 engine. Designers threw in a set of 35-inch Mickey Thompson tires wrapped around 17-inch Rubicon wheels, and a set of custom fender flares help keep all that rubber under wraps.
Meanwhile, the Wrangler Mopar Recon (below right) packs a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 good for 470 horsepower. All that grunt gets to the ground via a five-speed automatic transmission and a set of a Dana 60 axles frond and rear with 4.10 gears. The Recon also makes use of a 4.5-inch prototype long-arm kit and a set of prototype eight-lug bead lock wheels.
The Wrangler Stitch (below left) builds on the momentum of the Wrangler Pork Chop Concept. Engineers once again set out to strike as much weight as possible from the vehicle, and actually managed to trim the curb weight down to 3,000 pounds. That effort has given the machine the same power to weight ratio as the Grand Cherokee SRT8. Plenty of carbon fiber, door deletes and a chrome moly roll cage all help trim those pounds, and a set of DanyTrac Pro Rock 44 axles with 4.88 gears and ARB lockers front and rear let this machine scramble over whatever is in its path.

China orders Jeep to investigate Wrangler fire risk

It's been some time since we've heard anything about fires related to the Jeep Wrangler (foreign or domestic), but it sounds like the go-anywhere SUV could be in hot water once again in China. Bloomberg is reporting that the Chinese government is ordering Jeep to investigate the matter and, in the meantime, also recommending Wrangler owners to not drive their vehicles in "extreme conditions" due to a "relatively high risk" of catching on fire.
There is no indication as to how many vehicles or which model years are affected, but the previous fire problems in both the US and China - which led to investigations but no recalls - were traced back to automatic transmission fluid leaks. The article, however, does not say what the potential problem is this time around as Jeep has not released a comment on the matter. The official notice, in Chinese, can be found here.