Fiat Chrysler is telling the owners of about five dozen Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durango sport utility vehicles to immediately stop driving them.þþThe vehicles, from the 2015 model year, have a suspension component that could fail, causing rear-end instability and possibly reduced braking power, the automaker said on Sunday in a news release.þþThe action comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is preparing to hold a hearing Thursday into whether Fiat Chrysler failed to promptly fix safety defects in about 20 separate recalls covering at least 10 million vehicles. The company has defended its performance.þþIt is unusual for a recall to be so serious that the automaker tells owners to stop driving, and the company plans to call the owners of approximately 65 vehicles to arrange for inspections at their homes. Loaner vehicles are available for customers whose vehicles are being recalled, a spokesman, Eric Mayne, said by email.þþMark R. Rosekind, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at a congressional hearing this month.þ þAlmost 7,700 other 2015 Grand Cherokees and Durangos — including about 5,100 in the United States — also need to be inspected, but those vehicles are either on their way to dealerships or on dealer lots. No more than 13 percent of those vehicles are thought to have the defect, Mr. Mayne said. Federal regulations prohibit the sale of new vehicles before a recall is carried out.þþThe automaker said a component called the rear control arm was not properly heat-treated and could break. Fiat Chrysler was not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the problem, which was detected by the supplier.þ
Source: NY Times
