Chrysler Group said it had “resolved” differences with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over NHTSA’s request to recall 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-07 Jeep Liberty [exported as Cherokee] vehicles and would now conduct a voluntary campaign 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 recognises 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,” the automaker said in a statement.
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Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs said: “We haven’t seen all of the details of the voluntary recall so we don’t know what precisely Chrysler and NHTSA have agreed to. But Chrysler obviously calculated the risks and benefits and concluded that the cost to repair these vehicles isn’t as expensive as the potential long-term damage that could come from bad PR.
“This was probably the right decision by Chrysler. Last year there were 659 recalls issued by NHTSA, and none of them appear to have had a lasting negative impact on any brand. Once the smoke settles, I expect that this will be just a minor blip in Jeep’s history.”
Edmunds.com reckons there are 2.771m affected Jeeps on the road: 850,000 Liberty and 1.9m Cherokee.
The most heavily concentrated areas for the models in the US are large cities where the most cars are sold – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago. New York has the most of both vehicles.
The New York Times reported the “tense standoff” between Chrysler and federal regulators over the safety of the millions of Jeep SUVs “was resolved in one last high-level phone call”.
The paper, citing an anonymous sources, said the call was between Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler’s chief executive, and David Strickland, NHTSA head.
It led Chrysler to agree to the voluntary campaign.
The NYT said the move by Chrysler defused what had become an unusual confrontation between a car company and the nation’s vehicle safety agency after Chrysler initially rejected the recall.
It also helped the automaker allay growing concerns from its customers about the safety and quality of its popular Jeep brand of vehicles.
During the call, Marchionne agreed that Chrysler would voluntarily put trailer hitches on some older-model Jeeps to protect them in the event of rear-end accidents. In return, Marchionne asked that regulators refrain from continuing to describe the vehicles as defective. That, the paper said, was a crucial point for Chrysler, which is seeking to avoid lawsuits generated by the safety agency’s three-year investigation of the Jeeps.
Marchionne’s offer reportedly satisfied Strickland, whose agency had recommended in early June that Chrysler recall 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicles. At issue was the placement of fuel tanks, and whether it made the SUVs vulnerable in collisions and prone to petrol leaks and fires.
“Though the Chrysler data points to no flaws in their vehicles, the voluntary recalls show how important they want the drivers in their vehicles to feel safe,” Jared Rowe, president of Kelley Blue Book, told the New York Times.
NHTSA has said it would continue its investigation of the Jeeps, including further review of new documents provided by Chrysler.
