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Jeep Liberty under investigation for door fires

The Jeep Liberty has already had plenty of attention for possible fires thanks to the first-gen model's fuel tank, but now the midsize Jeep is under the microscope of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for another fire-related concern. NHTSA has opened an investigation for the 2012 Liberty after receiving two reports of electrical fires in the driver's door.
According to the investigation summary, around 80,000 vehicles could potentially be affected by this problem. In both reported fires, the drivers noticed smoke and then flames from the master power window switch, and they had to pull to a stop and exit through the passenger side of the SUV. According to Autoguide, there was one injury to a motorist who suffered burned fingers while trying to open the driver's door.
Interestingly, the Dodge Nitro is not yet involved in this investigation, even though it was still around for the 2012 model year; the Nitro ended production in 2011 about a year before the final Liberty rolled off the line for the 2013 model year. Scroll down for the official NHTSA investigation summary.

Jeep recalls 92k Grand Cherokee SUVs over electrical issue

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Chrysler is recalling 91,559 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs from the 2014 model year due to some serious electrical issues. All of the affected models were built between January 8 and August 20, 2013.
The NHTSA report states that, "Due to a disruption of computer communications and loose alternator ground wires, the affected vehicles may experience random illumination of multiple instrument cluster warning lights, loss of cluster illumination and loss of anti-lock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) function." The loss of ABS or ESC would greatly reduce a driver's ability to control the vehicle if things get squirrely, and since these failures would not be illuminated on the dashboard display, drivers would not be warned of the issue, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall is expected to kick off sometime this month. Chrysler will notify affected Jeep owners and dealerships "will update the ABS and instrument cluster module software and tighten the alternator ground wire," according to NHTSA.

Dirt Every Day tries to find the best 4x4 for under $4k

If you want to build a cheap truck that can still do dirty deeds off the beaten path, it's best to start with solid axles and a solid V8 engine. That sums up the lessons learned after watching the 2014 Cheap Truck Challenge from the Dirt Every Day video crew, who took to the deserts and surrounding areas near Reno, NV, in an attempt to find the best 4x4 for under $4,000. Fortunately for us, the whole sordid journey was captured on video.
This isn't the first time the boys from DED filmed a Cheap Truck Challenge, and this year's festivities pitted together a 1993 Chevy S10 pickup, a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 1975 International truck in a series of challenges ranging from donuts to drag races, with plenty of hill-climbing and rock-crawling action in between. We don't want to spoil all the fun, but suffice it to say one competitor was found to be lacking while the other two performed (mostly) well. See for yourself in the video above.