According to Stellantis, its production facilities built Dodge Hornets and Alfa Romeo Tonales with missing or malfunctioning safety equipment for roughly eight months. As a result, it’s recalling 4,660 crossovers in an effort to remedy the situation. Affected units may not meet minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles.
That sound is the one made by hybrids and EVs when in reverse which serves to alert pedestrians to the presence of a car. Stellantis says in a filing to the NHTSA that the pedestrian alert siren could be disconnected or missing altogether in affected Hornet and Tonale models. It only realized the potential problem after building each model that way for about eight months.
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The suspect build period began on December 13th, 2022 and only ended on September 12th, 2023 when the plant implemented a fix. That time span saw the production of 2,032 Dodge Hornets included in this recall and a further 2,628 Alfa Romeo Tonales. Both the 2023 and 2024 model years are included in the recall.
Notably, this recall only affects hybrid versions of the Tonale and Hornet. In addition, owners should have little trouble telling whether or not their vehicle has the problem described above. Shifting into reverse should initiate a warning sound. If it doesn’t, then there’s a good chance that the system is missing or disconnected.
Affected owners can contact their local dealer to get the issue fixed. Once in the shop, the dealer will either connect the system or install it for the first time depending on what’s required. It’s worth noting that Stellantis says it’ll notify dealers and owners on December 12th, 2023 so it’s possible that they won’t be aware of the situation til then.
