NHTSA Questions Timeliness of Jeep Recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is demanding answers from Jeep regarding the timeliness of a recall that affects 1.56 million older Jeep SUVs.

NHTSA says that it is worried that the automaker is not moving fast enough to repair the Jeeps, which were recalled in June 2013 due to a fire risk caused by a ruptured fuel tank in rear-end collisions. At least 51 deaths have been linked back to this issue, the fix for which is the installation of a trailer hitch assembly which protects the gas tank.

Now, NHTSA wants to know why it took Jeep until December to select a hitch supplier, why a purchase order wasn’t issued until January 29th and why the hitches didn’t begin being built until May of 2014. Chrysler says that the recall itself will begin on August 1, 2014.

SEE ALSO: Chrysler Refuses to Recall 2.7 Million Jeeps

NHTSA says that it will take Chrysler “at least 4.7 years and 2.1 years respectively to produce the required number of Grand Cherokee and Liberty hitches at the current rate of production.” The government agency “is therefore concerned that Chrysler does not have, and will not have, sufficient production capacity to ensure that enough hitches will be available to ensure that the recalled vehicles will be remedied expeditiously,” NHTSA said in the letter.

Chrysler defended its process, saying that it takes time to engineer and build the correct parts, especially in such a large quantity. Since the beginning, Chrysler has stated that a recall was not necessary, but on urging by NHTSA the automaker finally gave in.

NHTSA is demanding answers to its questions by July 16.

[Source: Detroit News]

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