Chrysler Recalls 2.7 Million Sedans
DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler unit said Tuesday that it was recalling about 2.7 million sedans for ignition lock problems that may have caused one death and about 20,000 new Dodge Durango sport utility vehicles because their throttle could stick.
The recall includes various mid-size and large sedans from the 1993 through 1999 model years and involves about 127 accidents, 17 injuries and possibly one death, company spokeswoman Angela Spencer Ford said. The 2004 Durango recall, which involves a problem that may have resulted in one accident in which there were no injuries, includes 5,000 already sold to customers, she said.
Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, issued the recall as it was trying to assure customers that it had improved the quality of its vehicles. The new Durango is among 25 new vehicles that Chrysler plans to introduce over three years in a bid to end five straight years of market-share losses.
The car recall covers the 1993 to 1999 model Chrysler 300M, Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Dodge Intrepid and Eagle Vision; the 1995 to 1999 model Chrysler Cirrus, Dodge Stratus and Plymouth Breeze; and 1996 to 1999 Sebring convertibles, Chrysler said.
The company believes that only about 10% of the 2.7 million cars are defective and that they are primarily in commercial and rental-company fleets, Ford said. The gear shifter can be damaged when drivers use “excessive force” to change gears when the key isn’t in the ignition, she said.
The fatality happened in 2001 in a 1999 Chrysler LHS that was owned by a rental company after it was sold at auction, she said. The automaker is aware of 600 complaints linked to 1998 and 1999 model vehicles alone.
Chrysler began reviewing the problem last year as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating. The agency in July upgraded its probe of 217,000 vehicles. DaimlerChrysler decided to recall more than 10 times that number because the design of the vehicles was the same, Ford said.
The Durango problem occurs on models with 3.7-liter and 4.7- liter engines when water freezes in a housing for the cable that opens and closes the throttle and determines whether the vehicle accelerates, according to a Chrysler letter to NHTSA.
The cable, supplied by auto-parts maker Teleflex Inc., will be sealed with a new housing to prevent leaks, according to the NHTSA letter. The cable will be replaced on any models where damage is found, the company said.
