Carsales Staff•5 Jun 2013
NEWS
Chrysler declines to recall Jeeps
American brand draws the line at safety authority's request to fix 2.7 million vehiclesChrysler in the US is standing its ground and refuses to recall 2.7 million units of its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee models.
The car company has issued a press release in response to a recall request received from America's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It's a test of wills between Chrysler and NHTSA based on crash statistics suggesting the two Jeep models pose an unacceptably high fire risk, according to NHTSA.
The Cherokee, known as the Liberty in the USA and built between 2002 and 2007, and the Grand Cherokee, built from 1993 to 2004, have burst into flame when struck from behind in high-energy impacts, the safety authority contends. The central tenet of NHTSA's case is that both models have their respective fuel tanks located between the rear axle and the rear bumper – and consequently pose a significant fire hazard in the event of a rear-end collision.
Chrysler argues that the design met all federal safety requirements in the US at the time the vehicles were developed. The company has also attacked NHTSA's data sample, but has stated in its press release that it is continuing to liaise closely with NHTSA – in an ongoing process since September 2010.
"The safety of drivers and passengers has long been the first priority for Chrysler brands and that commitment remains steadfast," Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne was quoted saying in the press release.
"The company stands behind the quality of its vehicles. All of us remain committed to continue working with NHTSA to provide information confirming the safety of these vehicles."
Chrysler has also published a white paper that targets some of the points NHTSA has raised and the manufacturer considers are erroneous or inconclusive.
The white paper's main points can be summarised thus:
- NHTSA's crash data sampling amounts to one incident for every million years of vehicle operation – and therefore can be considered "extremely rare and represent only a small fraction of the total number of fatal crashes."
- The vehicles concerned met ("or exceeded") all the applicable motor vehicle safety standards in place at the time they were built, including NHTSA's own FMVSS 301 standard for fuel system design.
- In the incidents cited, Jeep vehicles incurred load forces far in excess of not just the prevailing safety standards, but even current safety standards.
- One incident that was "highly publicised" concerned an impact between a semi trailer travelling at 65MPH (105km/h) and a stationary Grand Cherokee. According to the white paper: "Crash energy was estimated at more than 23 times the required performance threshold."
- Chrysler claims that the NHTSA study excluded many rival SUVs with aft-mounted fuel tanks from the peer group used to benchmark the Jeeps. NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System revealed that 24 models rivalling the Cherokee were more likely to burst into flame than the Jeep, but none of those have been the subject of a recall.
- Similarly, 54 Grand Cherokee rivals are more likely to burst into flame than the Jeep – also outlined in the NHTSA report, but the safety authority has neglected to request that companies marketing those vehicles issue recalls.
- Chrysler also claims that NHTSA's peer group showed up four non-fatal instances of combustion, but Chrysler, drawing upon the resource of NHTSA's own National Automotive Sampling System, found 15 instances. That suggests that NHTSA's study didn't include all pertinent data from its own sources.
- NHTSA has previously (2003) accepted that vehicles with aft-mounted fuel tanks can meet and exceed legislated safety requirements, the example given being the 1996 Ford Mustang.
The ball now appears to be very much in NHTSA's court...
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Jeep
Cherokee
Grand Cherokee
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Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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