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FCA recalling 63k Jeeps, Vipers and Ram ProMaster City vans

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced a pair of recalls cover nearly 63,000 vehicles. The bigger of the two actions covers manual-transmission-equipped vehicles from 2006, including the Jeep Liberty and Wrangler, as well as the Dodge Viper. FCA engineers uncovered that the clutch ignition interlock switches use a kind of wire that was part of a previous recall campaign. Because of this, the company said that affected vehicles may not start, although in rare cases, "if recommended starting procedures are not followed," the affected vehicles may lurch forward after turning the key. Those recommended starting procedures "include activating the parking brake, placing the shift lever in neutral and pressing the clutch pedal before turning the vehicle's ignition key." Recall number two affects the company's 2015 Ram ProMaster City cargo and passenger vans. Owners will need to report to dealers to have a piece of tape removed from the side-curtain airbags. The tape is added during assembly and in some cases, may not have been removed. That could prevent the airbags from deploying in the event of a crash. Just under 59,000 vehicles are included in the first recall, including 43,874 in the United States, 11,309 outside of North America, 2,944 in Canada and 706 in Mexico. The ProMaster City recall includes just over 3,900 vehicles. FCA claims it's unaware of any injuries, fatalities or accidents related to either recall and will perform repairs free of charge. Scroll down for the official press release on both campaigns. Related Video: Statement: Clutch Ignition Interlock Switch April 23, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is launching a voluntary recall of an estimated 43,874 older-model U.S.-market cars and SUVs equipped with manual transmissions. The Company will replace their clutch ignition interlock switches at no charge to customers. The action follows an investigation by FCA US engineers that discovered these vehicles are equipped with switches that contain a certain type of wire implicated in a previous campaign. The wire, which was temporarily substituted by a supplier for the specified material, may break. As a result, the vehicles may not start, and in rare cases – if recommended starting procedures are not followed – a vehicle may exhibit unintended movement when its ignition key is turned. FCA US is unaware of aware of any related injuries or accidents involving this population of vehicles.

Ron Burgundy calls Durango a 'terrible car,' yet his ads help sales climb by 59% [w/videos]

Ron Burgundy was put on this planet to do one thing: to read the news. If that ever falls through, though, the womanizing, scotch-drinking anchorman could have a great career just as a Dodge salesman. Bloomberg points out that sales of the 2014 Dodge Durango have rocketed up 59 percent in the first month of Chrysler's funny new ad campaign (which began in early October). But then again, the entire year has been strong for the big SUV, with year-over-year sales increases in the double and even triple digit percentages - including an increase of 117 percent in August.
Of course, the Durango has also received a wealth of new content and a freshened look for 2014 in addition to the Burgundy campaign, and that has to be helping close sales, too. Whether or not the spots themselves are leading to more sales may be a moot point, since they are definitely getting plenty of attention. Almost two months into the marketing tie-up between Dodge and the movie Anchorman 2, Dodge's YouTube videos have received well over seven million views. More than just YouTube shorts and television commercials, the Durango has even received late-night attention, including when Will Ferrell showed up in character as Ron Burgundy on Conan earlier this week.
In the interview, he calls the Durango a "terrible car" that "cracked in half," a joke that probably had Dodge ad execs squirming uncomfortably in their Barcaloungers. Scroll down to watch the Conan interview as well as some of our favorite Burgundy-pitched Durango ads. And there's still plenty of time to "touch" Ron to win a new Durango.

FCA issues recall for 300k Dodge Chargers over airbag sensor

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has issued another recall, this time for the Dodge Charger. The issue stems from an overly sensitive control module that could deploy the side-curtain airbag and seatbelt pretensioner if the door is kicked or slammed too hard. The recall affects certain Charger sedans from the 2011-2014 model years, specifically those manufactured between May 6, 2010, and June 5, 2014. All told, that amounts to an estimated 322,078 units, including 284,153 in the United States, another 13,169 in Canada, 2,484 in Mexico, and 22,272 overseas. Owners of those vehicles will be asked to bring their vehicles in to their local dealers to have the Occupant Restraint Control module recalibrated, and are being advised in the meantime to "exercise caution when closing doors." If this issue sounds familiar, that's because the automaker issued a similar recall for Ram trucks just last week, affecting over 667,000 four-door pickups in the United States alone. Following a further investigation into its passenger cars, FCA found a similar problem with the Charger, whose door design mandated specific calibration of the module in question for that model. The company says it is aware of three minor injuries potentially related to the issue, but no accidents. This campaign is just the latest in a string of recall-related issues to have emerged from Auburn Hills recently. The Ram truck recall was issued in tandem with another airbag-related recall for a further million pickups. Prior to that it called in another 1.4 million vehicles to update their infotainment system software due to a security issue. Another 350,000 Dodge Journeys were called in before that to have their engine covers secured. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to issue the company a massive hundred-million-dollar fine for failing to follow proper procedures related to safety and recall issues. Meanwhile, another NHTSA investigation that could have affected 4.7 million units was closed with no further action deemed necessary. And an appeal court judge in Georgia reduced the damages the company will be ordered to pay the family of a child who died in a fire in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Statement: Occupant Restraint Control Module August 1, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is conducting a voluntary safety recall to recalibrate control modules on approximately 284,153 U.S.-market sedans to prevent inadvertent side-curtain air-bag and seatbelt pre-tensioner deployment.