Chrysler Will Recall 2.7 Million Jeeps

Chrysler has decided to acquiesce to a demand by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and recall 2.7 million older Jeeps federal regulators claim are at risk of catching fire in rear-end collisions.

The maker has issued a statement advising that it "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's Jeep Liberty is also on the recall list.

NHTSA set the showdown in motion in June when it declared that older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty models with gas tanks mounted behind their rear axles are at risk of catching fire in rear-end collisions. The government claims 51 people have been killed in fiery crashes resulting from what it describes as a design defect.

For its part, Chrysler claims that the Jeeps met all federal safety standards when they were produced – the Grand Cherokees targeted by NHTSA were sold between 1993 and 2004, while the Jeep Liberty SUVs were sold from 2002 to 2007.

In late-June, Chrysler issued a "white paper" in which it countered the claims of the NHTSA, concluding that it "does not intend to recall the vehicles."

Had the maker decided to rebuff NHTSA it could have followed several possible strategies. One approach might have been to cite the 10-year statute of limitations on recalls. Such a move would effectively limit the number of vehicles the government could have continued pressing to recall.

But, in the end, it is apparent that Chrysler weighed the cost of a recall against the potential harm to its image.

NAFA Fleet Management Association
125 Village Blvd., Suite 200
Princeton, NJ 08540

Telephone: 609.720.0882 Fax: 609.452.8004