Feds Plan To Punish Fiat Chrysler For Safety Lapses

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles faces hefty fines from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which accused the maker of misleading federal safety regulators.

FCA officials came in for sharp criticism during a hearing in Washington in late-June, with NHTSA officials accusing the maker of repeatedly keeping it "in the dark" about safety problems. The unprecedented session was called to examine Fiat Chrysler’s handling of 23 separate recalls covering eleven million vehicles.

FCA has been accused of failing to meet federal guidelines on reporting potential safety problems. It has also been cited for the slow pace in which it has handled repairs on some recalls. That includes the millions of Jeeps targeted by a 2014 service action because of a potential fire problem.

While automakers are generally required to advise federal regulators within days of learning of a defect, notification sometimes took months, noted Jennifer Timian, acting Director of NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation. She called the lapses, "widespread."

Responding to the harsh criticism at the hearing, Chrysler Senior Vice President of Vehicle Safety Scott Kunselman acknowledged that regulators had "legitimate concerns." The company had "fallen short" and "could’ve done better," he said.

Some critics have said FCA’s sometimes confrontational approach has come from the top down. CEO Sergio Marchionne was openly critical of NHTSA’s call for a recall of Jeeps equipped with gas tanks mounted behind the rear axle, and threatened to fight the government in court. He backed down just before the deadline – but only after NHTSA agreed to reduce the number of vehicles covered by the recall. And since then, by FCA’s own count, less than a quarter of the Jeeps covered by that service action actually have been repaired.

What NHTSA will do next is uncertain, but the agency appears to be in a position in which it will have to take tough action. Late last month, safety regulators faced sharp criticism of their own actions during a Senate hearing. Lawmakers were responding to a harsh auditors report that found numerous failures at NHTSA.

Among other things, the agency has been criticized for failing to uncover the ignition switch problems at General Motors that has so far been blamed for more than one hundred deaths, as well as airbag problems involving Takata safety systems that have led to the recall of 36 million vehicles.

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