In a Friday announcement, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revealed that it has recently initiated a preliminary probe into complaints that the engine of Jeep Patriot SUV suddenly stalls at highway speeds.

According to the documents posted on the NHTSA website, the agency has received 12 complaints thus far about the Jeep Patriot's engine stalling without warning at a speed of 65 mph or more. The issue affects Jeep Patriot's of the 2011 and 2012 model years.

While most of the complainants said that the engine of their Jeep Patriot stopped suddenly when they hit highway speeds of over 65 mph, one of the drivers of the affected vehicles also alleged that the sudden stalling of the vehicle's engine had resulted in a crash and injury.

Noting that nearly 112,000 Jeep Patriots were manufactured by the `Jeep' brand owner, Chrysler Group, for the mentioned model years, the safety officials said that the preliminary investigation will largely look into the scope, the frequency of occurrence, and potential safety risk, linked to the engine-stalling problem.

The NHTSA further said that its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will chiefly assess the seriousness of the problem and its possible effect on safety; and added that the preliminary evaluation may or may not result in a more exhaustive "engineering analysis" and a potential recall of the affected Jeep Patriot models.