Potential 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Recall Angers Chrysler

WASHINGTON/AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — A major fight is brewing between Chrysler and the Center for Auto Safety, which is demanding that the government recall as many as 2.3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees because of a possible fire hazard.

The Grand Cherokees, which were built between 1993 and 2004, are three to four times as likely to catch fire in a rear-impact collision than other midsize SUVs, according to the petition filed by the Center for Auto Safety.

The Center contends that the Jeep Grand Cherokees in question were involved in 172 fatal fires, resulting in 254 deaths — a higher fatality rate than for the Ford Pinto, which was subject to a recall in 1978.

Chrysler fired back on Wednesday on its corporate thefirehouse.biz blog, saying that the petition "presents a simplistic, unsubstantiated review of raw accident data. Indeed, its conclusions are flawed, as they are based solely on a database that does not discriminate the cause or origin of a fire. Nor does it contain accurate critical real-world accident data that takes into account significant factors that influence crash outcomes, such as the speed of a rear impact and the weight of the vehicles involved."

The automaker added that it is "confident that a proper study which considered all the factors in all collisions including rear collisions with fire would show that the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees perform as well as or better than other vehicles in their class."

The petition contends that the fuel system in the 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee is defectively designed because the plastic fuel tank can rupture and is unshielded.

Consumer Reports notes that the petition filing "indirectly raises an interesting question of whether the U.S. government now faces a conflict of interest as a vehicle regulator and an owner with a 10 percent stake in Chrysler."

As of Thursday afternoon, NHTSA had yet to post any defect investigation or recall regarding the fuel system in the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Inside Line says: This brouhaha raises a number of ugly questions that won't be answered quickly or easily. But it is something Jeep Grand Cherokee owners should be aware of. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent