Jeep Liberty Recalled for Problems With Air Bags
DaimlerChrysler, which earlier this month announced plans to recall 1.6 million Jeep Grand Cherokees in response to a series of accidents in which the vehicles unexpectedly lurched into reverse, also has been having problems with its new Jeep Liberty models.
The Chrysler arm of the German American car maker is recalling 102,000 of the 2002 model-year Liberty sport-utility vehicles because air bags in some have deployed too late in some types of frontal crashes. Chrysler reported the recall to federal regulators in December and has begun notifying Liberty owners.
Chrysler also reported last month that it is recalling 50,200 of its 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs to fix a fuel-valve problem that may cause spills during fueling.
The recalls were among several in December and January recently reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency issues a list of earlier recalls each month to alert vehicle owners who might otherwise have missed notification by car makers.
Other December actions reported to NHTSA included a General Motors Corp. recall of 75,816 Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Montana and Oldsmobile Silhouette minivans and Pontiac Aztek sport-utilities from the 2001 model year that were built with split bench seats or captain’s chairs that don’t meet U.S. standards for a child-restraint anchor system.
In addition, Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 81,393 of its 2000 and 2001 Sentras for installation of a tamper-proof cap over a headlight-adjustment screw, the agency said.
GM alerted NHTSA in January that it is recalling 506,377 of its GMC Jimmy, Oldsmobile Bravada and Chevrolet Blazer sport-utility vehicles from the 2000, 2001 and current model years to check and repair a faulty switch that could cause brake lights and emergency flashers to stop working;
And as reported earlier (Business, Feb. 13), Ford Motor Co. is recalling 695,260 of its 1995 Taurus, Mustang and Sable cars because a faulty bearing in an engine cooling fan may cause a fire.
