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Chrysler Recalling 700k Vehicles For Ignition Switch Woes

General Motors isn't the only automaker with ignition switch problems. Chrysler is fighting it too and is now announcing a recall of 695,957 examples worldwide of the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans from the 2008-2010 model years, plus the 2009-2010 Dodge Journey. According to a statement from Chrysler, the models have a bad wireless ignition node detent ring in the ignition switch, making it possible for drivers to appear to have the key in the "Run" position but for the spring not to fully engage. It can then slip back to the "Accessory" position and shut the car off. If this happens, the vehicle loses power steering, brake boost and the airbags. There is some disparity about the number of vehicles affected under this recall. In its statement, Chrysler claims that it covers 525,206 vehicles in the US, 102,892 in Canada, 25,591 in Mexico and 42,268 elsewhere. However, the recall announcement posted by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists an estimated 438,109 vehicles in the US. Chrysler spokesperson Nick Cappa told Autoblog via email that the reasoning for the different figures "will become clear at a later date." To fix the problem, Chrysler will install a new detent ring in the vehicles. It will begin contacting owners soon, and obviously the repair will be free of charge. This isn't the first time this problem has cropped up in these models. Chrysler issued a recall for 248,437 vehicles in 2011 for certain 2010 model year examples. A few weeks ago, NHTSA also began investigating the 2008-2010 model years of the affected models for ignition switch problems. At this time, it's not clear whether that evaluation and this campaign are linked. Chrysler told Autoblog that it has no reports of injuries related to the problem. Scroll down to read the company's statement and the NHTSA recall report. Statement: Expansion of Wireless Ignition Node (WIN) safety recall July 1, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Out of an abundance of caution, Chrysler Group is expanding a previous safety recall to install a more robust WIN module detent ring. A previous recall in 2010 included 196,000 Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Journey vehicles built August 2, 2009 through June 17, 2010. The expansion includes an additional 695,957 vehicles manufactured January 29, 2007 through August 1, 2009.

Our video tribute to Star Wars with a Stormtrooper Charger

When the refreshed Dodge Charger debuted, the white one was immediately compared to a Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet. Chrysler recently ran with that idea and decorated a fleet of cars, including some Chargers, for use in a marketing stunt to hype its wares alongside the no-hype-necessary Episode VII: The Force Awakens film. We got our hands on one for a day and had some fun making a few videos. Above are a few shorts with names that we at least think are funny. There's one that includes the latest example of video producer Chris McGraw's patented nightlapse technology (it's a hyperlapse shot at night, which just looks plain neat). In the clip below, you can see all of the car's various Stormtrooper-inspired details. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The car started out as a bright white Charger R/T Scat Pack and was treated to a partial vinyl wrap on the body and the glass. The fantastic 485-horsepower Hemi V8 was left alone. Watch the videos and then tell us how they're non-canon in the comments. Humor Dodge Videos Original Video star wars dodge charger scat pack

A look at the Dodge Demon's drag settings, modes, and go-fast tech

In the same video that gave us a peek at the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon's performance stats, there's a serious dump of info on the tech and tools that will likely help this muscle coupe slaughter drag strips. Dodge has outlined a few of them for us and we're using the power of inference to figure out the rest. Here's what we've gathered. A lot of these hints come from the Demon's version of Performance Pages, the infotainment screens that show what SRT models are doing and let the driver change the powertrain and chassis setup. There are a lot of Demon-only features, including line lock, a quick cooldown mode for the supercharged engine, and data recording. And of course there are pages to show a digital time slip with acceleration and braking figures, a g-load plot, and lots of gauges to track temps and levels. The engine output is shown in the video on a special Dyno page. It tracks horsepower and torque over time on the upper graph, and engine rpm and shift points on the lower graph. And we think it's still hiding something. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Any good drag car has a line lock, allowing the driver to lock the front brakes and leave the rears free to do a nice tire-warming (or tire-shredding, depending on length) burnout. Ford has it on the Mustang, Chevy puts it on the ZL1, and now Dodge is adding it to the Demon. It should help get the giant Nitto tires up to temp for a drag run. And once the tires are warm, there's launch control, just like on the SRT Hellcat, with selectable rpm to dial things in for the conditions. The Demon also has a shift light in the cluster, and the driver can set a shift point individually for each gear. After each drag run, you can activate Quick Cooldown, which Dodge says uses the first production application of After-Run Chiller – it runs the cooling fan and intercooler coolant pump with the engine off until the coolant reaches its target temp. It's shown in one of the slides above. The checklist on the left side of that page suggests it requires a set of conditions be met to work: engine off, hood open, and sufficient battery level. This further reinforces our theory that the supercharger is going to make big boost, beyond the Hellcat's 11.6 psi. And while you're waiting for the supercharger to cool off for another run, you can review the performance data the car records.