Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Says He’d Never Drive This Car. Then He Reveals The Chilling Reason Why

"Why take the chance?"

Photo by: AdobeStock

By: Braden Bjella

Oct 30, at 8:00am ET

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Car recalls happen more often than you might think. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2025 Annual Report on Safety Recalls, there were over 4.4 million recalls in 2025 alone.

In a nation where there are over 278 million registered vehicles, this represents only a sliver of the cars on the road.

Still, some of these recalls can be over pretty severe issues. For example, a defective ignition switch led to the recall of approximately 2.6 million vehicles. By that time, 124 people had died as a result of incidents related to this issue, and an additional 275 people reported injuries.

Now, a catastrophic injury and death lawyer says that there are some recalls that are so bad that he would never get into these cars again. Here are the affected vehicles.

No. 1: Jeep Wrangler And Gladiator (2021 To 2025)

Gallery: 2024 Jeep Wrangler

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Source: Jeep

In a video with over 1.3 million views, attorney and TikTok user Tom Bosworth (@tommythelawyer) says that there are three cars where, if he were driving one of them, he would “pull right over and get out immediately.”

To start, he says his first car no-go is the Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators from the years 2021 to 2025.

“The defect there is that there's an electrical connection issue in the power steering wiring that can just randomly cause fires,” he shares. “[The recall] affects just over 1 million vehicles…and there were 51 fires reported and at least one injury.”

It’s true that there was a recall owing to this issue. The NHTSA’s report notes that the electric hydraulic power-steering pump wiring can have a connection issue. This, in turn, could cause combustible materials to heat and ignite, even when the car is powered off.

Consequently, the NHTSA suggests parking affected cars “outside and away from other vehicles and buildings” until proper repairs have taken place.

No. 2: Jeep Wrangler 4xe (2020 To 2025) And Grand Cherokee 4xe (2022 To 2026)

Gallery: 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe

Next on his list are two plug-in hybrids from Jeep. These are the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe.

“There's a battery component in these cars that can randomly erupt into flames, both while driving or while parked,” Bosworth states.

He further notes that there have been 19 battery fires as a result of this issue, including nine in vehicles that had already received an earlier recall fix.

This is also true, though there’s a bit of nuance around the earlier recall fix. Originally, the company attempted to solve this problem with a software fix, per the NHTSA. The vehicles with a subsequent battery fire had the early software fix in place—not a fix related to this updated recall.

For the updated recall, Jeep/Chrysler is offering an additional software fix as well as a replacement of the high-voltage battery, if such work is deemed necessary.

No. 3: Kia Telluride (2020 To 2024)

Gallery: 2024 Kia Telluride

The final car on his list is the Kia Telluride.

“There's a defect where, if there's a damaged or displaced power seat switch…it can literally just stay on, and the motor keeps running until it literally melts and erupts into flames.”

This, too, is an accurate read of the recall. In fact, this vehicle appears to have been recalled twice over the same issue.

The initial repair involved reinforcing the seat-switch assembly and replacing the slide knob. However, later reports showed that improperly performed repairs could mean that the car was still vulnerable to fires, leading to another recall. This was previously reported on by Motor1.

Should You Get Out Of These Cars ‘Immediately’?

While Bosworth’s trepidation about these vehicles is understandable, it’s wrong to suggest that the right thing to do upon encountering these cars is simply going in the other direction.

As previously stated, car recalls are totally normal. While some of these problems can be catastrophic, the important thing is to get the issue resolved quickly. Even though some of these fixes aren’t as successful as the manufacturer might initially believe, they are still crucial to the long-term safety and health of your car.

Instead of avoiding cars that have had recalls—a near-impossible task, given that every major car manufacturer has had at least one recall in the past decade—the better idea is to keep abreast of news about your specific car. By keeping up-to-date with your car’s maintenance, you can avoid issues while making sure you’ll be able to keep the same vehicle long-term.

The Lawyer Responds

In an email, Bosworth told Motor1 that cases involving vehicle fires or defective components were a “huge part” of his practice. He noted that he has been a part of “multiple cases involving the worst of the worst situations, including severe burns and amputations.”

This is why he is particularly suspicious of these vehicles.

“Each of these recalls involves a risk of spontaneous fires. Fires are inherently dangerous in any situation, but when you're driving a vehicle with a tank of gasoline that could ignite, it makes that risk all the more severe,” he writes.

As for whether he’d still avoid the car after a repair, he says, “Personally, yes. Why take the chance?”

“I've seen situations where auto manufacturers claim to have fixed a defect with a recall, and yet the same problem keeps happening,” Bosworth shared.

What do you think?

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Still, figuring out what is and is not safe is difficult.

“Unfortunately, in some of these circumstances, there's no way to tell unless and until something bad happens,” Bosworth explains. “Out of an abundance of caution, folks could have their vehicles independently assessed by a technician or mechanic after a recall fix, but with some of these defects that are electronic in nature, you may not be able to tell whether the fault has been fixed by a simple examination.”