DaimlerChrysler is recalling 1.6 million Jeep Grand Cherokees for a problem with the vehicle’s automatic transmission that is said to make them susceptible to slipping out of park.
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DC will recall Grand Cherokees built between 1993 and 1998 to installation a secondary detent system in the floor shifter mechanism to help ensure drivers fully engage their vehicles in park, Chrysler officials said.
This will be one of the largest recalls announced by a vehicle maker in the past three years.
This issue has been bubbling away since last year and was the subject of a number of stories in the US automotive press.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating complaints and has collected information that implicates the Grand Cherokee – though not the 1999 model year-on versions built since mid-1998 – in 364 accidents, 159 injuries and five deaths.
Chrysler will also recall 316,148 Jeep Wranglers made between June 1989 and December 1995 to fix parking brakes that can release on their own without warning.
The problem with the parking brake has come under suspicion in 11 injury-related incidents.
Chrysler is also to recall 269,000 vehicles built during the first half of 2000 to fix a hazardous alternator wire that had apparently caused two fires, according to officials at the vehicle maker.
