The faulty ignition flu of 2014 is spreading among the car makers of greater Detroit. Months after General Motors began recalling millions of vehicles for defective ignitions that resulted in at least 13 deaths, and a month after NHTSA began looking into possible similar problems at Chrysler, the company has announced a recall of around 800,000 Jeeps to fix ignition switches that might turn off inadvertently.
Chrysler says the recall involves some 2006-2007 Jeep Commanders and 2005-2007 Jeep Grand Cherokees. Like the defective GM cars, the ignitions in these Jeeps could be turned off while the car is in operation, deactivating the airbag and making the vehicle more difficult to control.
And like GM, the Jeep maker is asking owners of the recalled vehicles “to assure there is clearance between their knees and the keys,” and “to remove all items from their key rings, leaving only their ignition keys.”
Chrysler claims to know of no injuries resulting from faulty ignitions, but admits to receiving 32 customer complaints — including a pair of rear-end collisions — and 465 warranty claims of inadvertent engine shutoff while driving.
It’s taken more than a year for Chrysler to begin fixing 1.6 million Jeeps recalled for increased risk of engine fires, but the company appears to be moving more quickly with this recall; it plans to notify affected owners by mid-September.
Chrysler recalls 800,000 SUVs for ignition problems [Detroit News]
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
