DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowan is suing Jeep’s parent company as a result of a potential safety risk.

JB Conlin purchased a Jeep Wrangler 4xe Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) in 2022. This vehicle has a hybrid engine and a rechargeable EV battery pack.

Last month, he filed a lawsuit against Stellantis, the makers of the vehicle. He told WHO 13 News that his goal with the lawsuit is to raise awareness among other consumers about the potential safety risks associated with the vehicle’s EV battery.

The lawsuit comes after Conlin watched a YouTube video posted by a Michigan firefighter that exposed the potential dangers of the vehicle. In the video, the firefighter showed footage of what he said was a Jeep 4xe exploding in Belgium. He also showed other videos of the vehicle on fire.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued five recalls since this vehicle was launched. Three of them were related to EV battery failure, loss of power, fire, or explosion. A recall issued in October advises consumers to park the car outside and away from structures or other vehicles because of the risk of fire when the car is on or off.

The battery is located inside the vehicle, as opposed to having the battery under the hood like in other vehicles. The battery is located under the backseat, which is a typical location where children sit,

“I’ve got nieces and nephews that would ride in it and my family… if I’m driving it, they were freaking out,” said Conlin.

Conlin now keeps his car parked outside of his garage at a distance from his home.

“So, I basically have a $60,000 lawn ornament. And so, I’m not driving it much at all right now because of the safety concerns and I don’t feel comfortable selling it to somebody now, so I and other consumers are kind of stuck,” he said.

In Iowa, new motor vehicle owners are protected under the Iowa Lemon Law.

According to the Attorney General’s website, for a vehicle to qualify as a “lemon,” one or more of the following must be true:

• The vehicle has been in the shop three or more times for the same problem and the problem still exists;
• The vehicle has been in the shop one time due to a defect likely to cause serious bodily injury or death and the problem still exists;
• The vehicle has been out of service for any number of problems for 20 or more days, and a problem still exists. The days do not need to be consecutive.

If the Attorney General’s office deems the vehicle a “lemon” after the manufacturer has had a reasonable opportunity to repair the car, then the manufacturer has to either buy the vehicle back from the customer at the price they paid or give the customer a similar vehicle.

Conlin said Stellantis has failed to do that and failed to fix the problem.

A spokesperson for Stellantis declined to comment as a result of pending litigation.

The Iowa Department of Transportation told WHO 13 News that there were 482 Jeep Wrangler PHEV 4xe vehicles registered in Iowa as of December 31, 2024.