Chrysler Refuses to Recall

The federal government has issued a warning to Chrysler and Chrysler car owners that certain models have defective properties that make them incredibly dangerous; however, the carmaker is declining to officially recall the models.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked Chrysler to recall 2.7 million Jeep vehicles. The 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee models and the 2002-2007 Liberty models are all at risk to cause deadly fires.

At this point, fifty-one people have died in these models after being rear-ended and then trapped in a burning vehicle. These specific cars have fuel tanks that are behind the rear axle; and a collision from behind can cause a leak in the tank, which then creates a fire that quickly engulfs the Jeeps.

NHTSA has confronted Chrysler with the problem, but the company has not complied with establishing a recall or a solution. It has until June 18 to issue a formal response to NHTSA explaining why it will not recall the vehicles.

Chrysler stands by its models, claiming that safety is a top priority when manufacturing each vehicle. According to its CEO, Sergio Machionne, “[Chrysler] stands behind the quality of its vehicles.” The company supposedly rejects the recall because the dangers of any rear-end collision are high, and its Jeeps are not to blame specifically for the fatalities.

Though the millions of Jeeps that are under question passed original safety standards, NHTSA does not feel that that is enough to ignore an overlooked defect that it causing dozens of deaths. NHTSA has not provided a way to fix the issue at this point; however, alerting drivers of the dangers and getting the vehicles off of the road officially is a good first step.

Whether you have been injured in an accident due to a defect or something else, contact a Los Angeles accident attorney. A lawyer can assist you in finding negligence, filing claims and can award to you the highest possible compensation for the damages that you have suffered.