Chrysler Speeds Up Jeep Recall Repairs

Stephen Elmer
by Stephen Elmer

Chrysler says that it can have a recall to fix around 1.56 million Jeeps finished by March, much sooner than the timeline of a few years the company estimated as first.

The American automaker said as much in a statement on Wednesday, about two weeks after NHTSA pressed the company for an explanation on why it would take so long, until 2018, to have all of the vehicles fixed. The recall involves installing trailer hitches to protect the fuel tank on 2002 through 2007 Jeep Libertys and 1993 through 1998 Grand Cherokees.

SEE ALSO: NHTSA Questions Timeliness of Jeep Recall

The American brand has accelerated the process in a number of ways. First, the company says many of the older models that were recalled are no longer on the road, and many of the Jeeps are already fit with hitches. Chrysler also urged its supplier to ramp up production on hitches, and even paid for new robots to help the process.

Chrysler says that roughly 87.5 percent of the Jeep Liberty SUVs and half of the Grand Cherokee SUVs invloved in the recall actually need to be fixed.

Originally, Chrysler resisted the entire recall, saying that there was no defect in its vehicles according to its own data. Eventually, it gave in to NHTSA’s request.

[Source: Auto News]

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Stephen Elmer
Stephen Elmer

Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>

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