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Fiat Chrysler expands Takata airbag recall to 3.3M vehicles

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is expanding its recall of vehicles equipped with Takata airbags, moving beyond Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to the greater US, as well as Mexico, Canada and beyond. The affected vehicles, some 3.3 million in total, were built between 2004 and 2007, with many models, including the Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500, Durango and the Chrysler 300, having been affected by Chrysler's previous recall. Despite the somewhat alarming nature that comes with a recall of this many vehicles, it seems that Chrysler is moving more out of an abundance of caution (and federal pressure) than anything else, saying: "Neither FCA US, nor Takata Corporation, the supplier, has identified a defect in this population of inflators. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers. More than 1,000 laboratory tests have been performed on these components. All deployed as intended, but FCA US continues to study the suspect inflators, which are not used in the Company's current production vehicles." Owners of affected vehicles will be notified and asked to report to dealers for a free replacement driver's side airbag. Scroll down for the official press release from FCA. Statement: Global Air-Bag Inflator Replacement December 19, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC will replace driver's-side air-bag inflators in an estimated 3.3 million older-model vehicles worldwide, in an expansion of an ongoing regional field action. Neither FCA US, nor Takata Corporation, the supplier, has identified a defect in this population of inflators. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers. More than 1,000 laboratory tests have been performed on these components. All deployed as intended, but FCA US continues to study the suspect inflators, which are not used in the Company's current production vehicles. Outside of Florida, one of the areas covered by the original action, no FCA US vehicle has been linked to an air-bag deployment of the type that has raised public concern. Nevertheless, the Company is replacing the Takata components tied to that concern. FCA US is aware of one related injury involving one of its vehicles, an older-model sedan. It occurred in a southern Florida region marked by persistent, high, absolute humidity – a condition believed to be a contributing factor in the air-bag deployments under investigation.

FCA updates 700k-vehicle recall to replace ignition switches

FCA US is revising a previously announced recall of 702,578 minivans and SUVs; now specifying that owners replace their ignition switches, rather than just a component. The campaign affects the 2008-2010 Chrysler Town & Country, 2008-2010 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2009-2010 Dodge Journey. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initially opened an investigation last summer following complaints about the ignition switches in these models. FCA US (then Chrysler Group) responded with a recall of 695,957 examples of these vehicles because the key could appear to be in the "Run" position but not be fully engaged. If it slipped out, and there was an accident, then the airbags might not deploy. The company had initially planned to install a new detent ring to fix the problem. According to the timeline in a NHTSA document (available here as a PDF), the government agency and FCA US continued their research into the problem. The automaker found that the time needed to create a new ring design and updated software would be longer than replacing the whole ignition switch. The company worked with the supplier Marquardt to negotiate an accelerated schedule to manufacture the extra replacement parts. According to NHTSA, the investigation has now been closed because of FCA's recall. Company spokesperson Eric Mayne confirms to Autoblog via email, "No additional vehicles are affected and all affected customers have already been made aware their vehicles are subject to recall." FCA US sent out an initial notification advising owners of the problem in September 2014. The company will now send out a second letter in April and will replace the parts in two phases. Repairs for affected models from the 2008 and 2009 model years will begin in April, and 2010 examples will start being fixed in August. RECALL Subject : Ignition Switch may Turn Off , 1 INVESTIGATION(S) Report Receipt Date: JUN 26, 2014 NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V373000 Component(s): AIR BAGS , ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Potential Number of Units Affected: 702,578 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY 2008-2010 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 2008-2010 DODGE JOURNEY 2009-2010 Details Manufacturer: Chrysler Group LLC SUMMARY: This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key.

Chrysler slows minivan production, hasn't built VW Routan this year

Chrysler has slowed production of its Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans this week, Automotive News reports. The Windsor, Ontario plant will cut its three shifts from eight hours each to four hours each in an effort "to align production with market demand," a Chrysler spokesperson told AN. Chrysler also builds the closely related Routan minivan for Volkswagen at its Ontario facility, but has not built a single example thus far in 2013.
Sales of Chrysler's minivans fell 15 percent for the first two months of 2013, and a large part of that has to do with the 26-percent drop of the Grand Caravan alone (the T&C was only down by one percent). According to Automotive News data, as of March 1, Chrysler had an unsold inventory of 24,713 Town and Country models and 18,547 Grand Caravans - a 69- and 43-day supply, respectively.
"No sense running full speed now, then have a lot of vehicles sitting around a few months down the line," Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson told AN. Full production is expected to resume again on March 18.