USA RECALL - FCA - Jeep models from 2003/2004 recalled for possible issues related to inadvertent air-bag deployments

FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 284,089 older-model SUVs in the U.S. to replace their Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules and front and/or side-impact sensors, as required.

 

Within this vehicle population, FCA US became aware of seven injuries caused by inadvertent air-bag deployments and advised NHTSA accordingly. The affected vehicles are not equipped with Takata Corp. air-bags. The Company is unaware of any related accidents.

 

The recall is limited to certain model-year 2003 Jeep Liberty SUVs and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees. Affected customers will be advised when they may schedule service, which will be provided free of charge.

 

Additional vehicles are affected in other markets. They are estimated to number 13,411 in Canada; 6,277 in Mexico and 48,212 outside the NAFTA region.

 

Customers with additional questions may call the FCA US Customer Information Center at 1-800-853-1403.

Takata airbag cars from Honda, Toyota, Jeep, Acura, Pontiac and Dodge all recalled AGAIN for airbag issues

American Honda, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and Fiat Chrysler will do "follow up" recalls of about 2.12 million vehicles with defective electronic control units that can cause airbags to inadvertently deploy, U.S. auto safety regulators said Saturday.

The recall affects about 1 million vehicles from Toyota, 374,177 from American Honda and 753,176 from Fiat Chrysler. 

The affected vehicles are:

• 2002-03 Jeep Liberty and 2002-04 Jeep Grand Cherokees

• 2003-04 Honda Odyssey and 2003 Acura MDX (about 370,000 vehicles)

• 2003-04 Pontiac Vibe (made by Toyota); Dodge Viper; and Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Avalon.

The vehicles were recalled for the issue from 2012 to 2014, but automakers have found some cases of inadvertent deployment in vehicles that were fixed and the initial remedy was not fully effective, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

Inadvertent deployments

NHTSA says about 400 inadvertent airbag deployments, but no deaths, have occurred in the affected vehicles. That includes 39 deployments that were fixed under the initial recall, which involved installing filters or wire harnesses to protect a key circuit from electrical damage, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in a conference call.

The new remedy involves replacing the entire electronic control module, including the circuit involved in the inadvertent deployments, which is supplied by TRW. Rosekind said the agency is seeking additional information about the defect from TRW.

"TRW is supporting its customers in these recalls fully, and will cooperate with NHTSA and provide information to the Agency if requested," TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. said in a statement released late Saturday. The safety products supplier is in the process of being acquired by Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen AG in a deal valued at $13.5 billion. It is expected to close this spring.

Rosekind said the replacement modules won’t be fully available until the end of 2015, but the agency wants consumers who have not yet repaired their vehicles under the initial remedy to do so, and then return to their dealer a second time for the replacement module when they are available.

'Very complicated'

“This is going to be complicated for consumers because all of these vehicles were previously recalled to fix the inadvertent deployment problem. That fix does significantly decrease the chance of an inadvertent deployment but the remedy from those previous recalls is not fully effective,” Rosekind said.

“We’re urging vehicle owners who have not yet gone into their dealer to do so for the remedy, even if this means that they’re going to have to make another trip later for a more effective fix.”

The agency issued a safety advisory urging consumers to take their vehicles to dealerships for repairs. The advisory included FAQs for owners of the recalled vehicles.

Takata issues

Airbags have been directly or indirectly related to several million U.S. recalls in the past year. General Motors for much of 2014 dealt with a faulty ignition switch in small cars that would result in airbags failing to deploy in accidents. 

And more than 24 million vehicles equipped with Takata airbags have been recalled globally since 2008, according to Reuters estimates. At least six deaths have been linked to faulty airbag inflators made by Takata.

NHTSA said that of the vehicles affected by today's recall, about 1 million are also covered by recalls for Takata airbags that could explode upon deployment, NHTSA said.

Rosekind said nine of the inadvertent airbag deployments also involved a ruptured Takata airbag inflator, and three of those instances resulted in injury, including one eye injury.

“This makes it especially important for consumers to take action to prevent the inadvertent deployments that could cause serious injuries,” Rosekind said.

In a statement, Honda confirmed 374,000 of its vehicles are included in the U.S. recall: "Honda has received a small number of complaints of inadvertent airbag deployment in these vehicles after the original recall repair was completed. No crashes have been reported to Honda related to this issue."

Chrysler, in its statement, said its recall would also include nearly 50,000 vehicles in Canada, about 22,000 in Mexico and more than 103,633 outside of North America.

None of Chrysler’s recalled vehicle were equipped with Takata airbags, the automaker said.

Chrysler response

Chrysler issued a recall for the problem in 2012, and “a small number of vehicles affected by the initial campaign (approximately 0.003 percent of the total) were subject to post-repair inadvertent air-bag deployments,” Fiat Chrysler said in its statement.

“Some vehicle occupants suffered minor injuries from contact with the air bags; FCA US is aware of a single related accident.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, in a statement, said: "We expect the manufacturers to get this remedy right to prevent injury to drivers and their families."

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report. 

Ryan Beene

REPORT HERE

Jeep records in excess of one million sales for the first time ever, and they continue to grow.

• Jeep global vehicle sales increase 39 per cent in 2014 to all-time annual  record of 1,017,019 units
• 2014 Jeep sales total surpasses 2013’s previous record of 731,565 units
• U.S. sales increase 41 per cent to a record 692,348 units
• Fifth consecutive year of Jeep sales increases globally and in U.S.
• All Jeep models record increased sales globally and in U.S.
• Jeep Compass, Patriot and Wrangler record best-ever U.S. sales
• Jeep sales increase 42 per cent in Asia-Pacific region; up 49 per cent in China
• Sales of Jeep vehicles up 40 per cent in the Europe Middle East Africa region, while Europe sales rose by 65 per cent

The Jeep^® brand recorded sales of more than 1 million units across the globe in 2014, setting a new all-time record for the third consecutive year. Sales of 1,017,019 Jeep vehicles bettered the brand’s 2013 record of 731,565 by 39 per cent.

“2014 marks the fifth consecutive year that Jeep vehicle sales have increased both globally and in the U.S. market,” said Mike Manley, President and CEO – Jeep Brand.  “While we are especially pleased with the way the new Jeep Cherokee is resonating in the marketplace, the fact is that every vehicle in the Jeep line-up recorded significant worldwide sales gains.

“While achieving 1 million vehicle sales in 2014 was certainly a milestone, 2015 will be a transformational year in the globalization of the brand, as we begin local manufacturing in Brazil and return to local manufacturing in China after an absence of nearly a decade,” Manley added.  “We will strive to continue our sales momentum in 2015 with a full line-up of capable and efficient SUVs – including the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade, as it arrives in showrooms in markets around the world.”

In addition to its 39 per cent global increase, Jeep sales rose 41 per cent in the U.S. in 2014, with a record 692,348 total sales.

Jeep sales rose 40 per cent in the Europe Middle East Africa region, while Europe sales rose by 65 per cent and 42 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014.  In China – the world’s largest automobile market – sales rose 49 per cent. 

Jeep vehicle sales were led globally and in the U.S. by Grand Cherokee (279,567 global; 183,786 U.S.), Cherokee (236,289 global; 178,508 U.S.), Wrangler (234,579 global; 175,328 U.S.), Compass (134,629 global; 61,264 U.S.), and Patriot (122,387 global; 93,462 U.S.).

2014 marked the fifth consecutive year of increased Jeep sales, both globally and in the U.S.  

In 2013 the brand recorded increases of 4 per cent global and 3 per cent in the U.S.  The previous three years saw increases of 19 per cent global/13 per cent U.S. (2012), 41 per cent global/44 per cent U.S. (2011) and 24 per cent global/26 per cent U.S. (2010).

USA - Chrysler Group improves time frame on Jeep rear fuel tank fix.

Chrysler Group told U.S. safety regulators it could add trailer hitches to recalled Jeep SUVs by March, much sooner than the several years estimated by regulators who had urged the automaker to quicken the pace of repairs.

Chrysler's statement late Wednesday, in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, comes two weeks after the agency asked for an explanation on why it would take Chrysler so long -- until 2018 -- to make Jeep SUVs with rear fuel tanks safer by adding a trailer hitch.

In June 2013, NHTSA and Chrysler announced the recall of 1.56 million Jeep SUVs with rear fuel tanks because of an increased risk of fire in the event of a rear-end crash. As of June 2013, NHTSA had counted 51 deaths related to the issue. Affected vehicles were model years 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty and 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee.

In a nine-page response to NHTSA, the company said it was able to get its supplier to ramp up production by paying it for additional robots to make the hitches.

Chrysler said that because many of the older model SUVs were no longer on the road, and as some already had trailer hitches installed, the number needing hitches was much lower than the number of vehicles recalled.

Chrysler, a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, told NHTSA that the cost of putting trailer hitch assemblies on the recalled SUVs was about $151 million.

Chrysler told NHTSA it estimated that 87.5 percent of the Jeep Liberty SUVs and half of the Grand Cherokee SUVs would be brought to dealers to have the trailer hitches installed.

Since those models were produced, Chrysler has positioned the fuel tanks of its SUVs in front of the rear axle. Their earlier positioning behind the rear axle left them exposed to a greater risk of fire in the event of a rear-end collision, NHTSA told Chrysler when demanding the recall.

Chrysler had initially resisted NHTSA's demand for a recall of the vehicles, but then relented.

In January, NHTSA accepted Chrysler's remedy of installing trailer hitch assemblies on the Jeep SUVs. They are expected to make the vehicles safer in lower-speed crashes by increasing the distance from the rear vehicle.

CHRYSLER RECALL #1 - Active head restraint function

Chrysler Group LLC will recall approximately 490,000 cars and utility vehicles worldwide to address active head-restraint function.

Active head restraints are designed to mitigate neck injuries by automatically moving forward during certain rear-impact collisions. Potentially faulty microcontrollers in some vehicles may prevent the systems from functioning properly.

Chrysler Group is unaware of any related injuries or accidents. Airbags and shoulder-restraint systems are not affected.

The potentially faulty microcontrollers were installed in a supplied component. They entered the supply chain after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused a worldwide microcontroller shortage.

Chrysler Group will replace the component or upgrade system software as needed, at no cost to its customers.
Affected are the 2011-2013 Chrysler Sebring, 200 and Dodge Avenger midsize cars; 2011-2013 Jeep Liberty SUVs and 2011-2012 Dodge Nitro SUVs.

The campaign involves approximately 442,000 vehicles in the U.S.; 25,000 in Canada; 10,000 in Mexico; and 12,000 outside the NAFTA region.

Chrysler Group will notify affected customers. Questions or concerns can be addressed by calling 1-800-853-1403.

UPDATE - Recall halted on Jeeps faults

Chrysler Group LLC and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have resolved their differences with respect to NHTSA’s request to recall 1993-2004 Jeep® Grand Cherokee and 2002-07 Jeep Liberty vehicles.

As a result of the agreement, Chrysler Group will conduct a voluntary campaign with respect to the vehicles in question that, in addition to a visual inspection of the vehicle will, if necessary, provide an upgrade to the rear structure of the vehicle to better manage crash forces in low-speed impacts.

Chrysler Group’s analysis of the data confirms that these vehicles are not defective and are among the safest in the peer group. Nonetheless, Chrysler Group recognizes that this matter has raised concerns for its customers and wants to take further steps, in coordination with NHTSA, to provide additional measures to supplement the safety of its vehicles.

Chrysler Group regards safety as a paramount concern and does not compromise on the safety of our customers and their families.