One Short Circuit, Two Failed Safety Standards: The Jeep Wrangler Camera Recall

What the record actually says

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) — the Stellantis unit that builds Jeep — filed recall campaign 24V676000 with NHTSA on September 12, 2024, covering certain 2018-2024 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. The defect, as filed: the wiring harness for the rearview camera and the center brake light may short circuit, which can disable the rearview camera image and center brake light. Classified under the back-over prevention camera system, this single wiring fault takes out two safety functions at once, and in doing so it puts the vehicle out of compliance with not one but two Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

The recall explicitly states that affected vehicles fail to comply with FMVSS 111, 'Rear Visibility,' and FMVSS 108, 'Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment.' That framing matters. A recall can be issued either because a vehicle contains a defect that poses an unreasonable safety risk or because it fails to meet a federal standard; this one cites both kinds of grounds. FMVSS 111 is the rule that, since May 2018, has required rear visibility technology — in practice, a backup camera — on new light vehicles. FMVSS 108 governs the vehicle's lighting, including the center high-mounted stop lamp, the third brake light mounted high and centered at the rear.

Why one harness controls two safety systems

On the Wrangler, the rearview camera and the center high-mounted stop lamp share a wiring path that runs to the rear of the vehicle — on this body style, frequently routed through or near the rear-mounted spare tire and tailgate area. Bundling those circuits is a packaging decision, efficient in normal operation but consequential when the harness develops a short. A short circuit in that shared path can simultaneously cut the camera feed and the brake-light supply, which is how one electrical fault produces two distinct safety failures.

Chrysler's consequence statement spells out both. A rearview camera image that does not display decreases the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash — the backup camera exists precisely to address the rear blind zone that has historically caused back-over injuries, often to children and pedestrians who are below the line of sight. Separately, a center brake light that fails to illuminate can fail to indicate to other drivers that the vehicle is slowing down, increasing the risk of a crash, including rear-end collisions. The third brake light is not redundant decoration; its high, central position is what makes braking legible to following drivers in dense traffic. Losing it degrades the signal the vehicle sends to everyone behind it.

Scope, remedy, and timeline

The affected population is broad in years but specific in model: certain 2018-2024 Jeep Wrangler vehicles, the JL-generation built across nearly the entire FMVSS-111 era. A wiring-harness vulnerability spanning that many model years points to a harness routing or design susceptibility carried forward across the production run rather than a single bad batch. Inclusion, as always, is determined by VIN. The Wrangler's open, rugged design and rear-mounted spare make the rear harness area a high-stress zone — exposed to flex, vibration, and the elements — which is consistent with a chafing or short-prone routing being the root concern.

The remedy addresses the hardware directly: dealers replaced the harness for the center brake light and rearview camera and/or the spare tire carrier/harness assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The record notes that all vehicles were repaired by January 15, 2024, with owner notification letters mailed September 26, 2024, and Chrysler assigned the action its internal number 77B. Owners can reach FCA US customer service at 1-800-853-1403. The conditional language — harness and/or carrier assembly, 'as necessary' — indicates dealers diagnose the specific failure path on each vehicle and replace what is required to restore both functions.

For owners, the practical guidance is to verify the VIN against the recall and, until the repair is confirmed, treat a blank backup-camera screen as a real loss of rear visibility — use mirrors deliberately and check directly behind the vehicle before reversing, especially where pedestrians may be present. A non-illuminating third brake light is harder for the driver to notice, which is one more reason to get the harness inspected rather than assume the system is intact. This recall is a clean illustration of a recurring theme in modern vehicle safety: as electrical systems integrate more functions onto shared paths, a single fault can cascade across multiple safety standards. Owners can confirm status through NHTSA's recall lookup or by contacting Jeep directly.

This recall is a textbook example of why federal lighting and visibility standards exist as separate, specific rules. FMVSS 111 was strengthened to require rear visibility technology after years of data showing that back-over crashes — disproportionately striking small children and pedestrians in the rear blind zone — were a preventable category of injury. FMVSS 108 governs the conspicuity of a vehicle's signals to others on the road, and the center high-mounted stop lamp was added to the lighting suite decades ago specifically because studies showed a high, central third brake light measurably reduced rear-end collisions. A single wiring short that disables both functions therefore reaches two distinct, evidence-backed safety regimes at once, which is why the recall cites noncompliance with both standards rather than a generic defect.

The Wrangler's design context helps explain the vulnerability. With its rear-mounted spare tire, removable panels, and off-road mission, the Wrangler subjects its rear wiring to flex, vibration, moisture, and temperature swings that a typical sedan's harness never sees. Routing the camera and brake-light circuits through that high-stress rear zone makes a chafing or short-prone failure more plausible over time, which is consistent with a vulnerability that persisted across the long 2018-2024 production window. The remedy's flexibility — replacing the harness, the spare-tire carrier assembly, or both as needed — reflects that the failure can originate at more than one point along that path. For owners, the lesson is to treat a dark backup screen as a real visibility loss and to get the harness verified rather than assume an intermittent fault is harmless.