The irony of Jeep’s latest recall is as strong as the Wrangler is in the face of nature’s challenges.
Jeep is calling back 392,464 2007-2010 Wranglers in the US, as well as 7,435 2011-2016 US-spec Wranglers with right-hand drive. A clockspring which allows the JK’s steering wheel to maintain electrical contact with the wiring in the steering column has the potential to malfunction and not allow the driver-side front airbag to deploy in the event of a collision.
What’s likely to make that clockspring go on the fritz? Dirt. You know, the kind that can get into your Wrangler when you take its top down and go off-road. According to Roadshow, “Fiat Chrysler claims the conditions rife for a ruined connection are ‘consistent with extensive off-road driving or driving with a vehicle’s top and/or doors removed.'” Whoops!
Of course, Jeep will remedy the situation by replacing the steering column shroud and putting a new cover on the back of the steering wheel.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
