Chrysler said it had received a letter Monday from NHTSA proposing a recall of 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Liberty vehicles, which the agency says have defective fuel systems that pose an unreasonable risk to safety in rear-impact collisions.
The automaker said in a statement that it has been sharing data on the issue with NHTSA since September 2010.
"The company does not agree with NHTSA's conclusions and does not intend to recall the vehicles cited in the investigation. The subject vehicles are safe and are not defective," Chrysler said in the statement.
"We believe NHTSA's initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the agency to resolve this disagreement," the statement said.
In a related document, Chrysler argued that its analysis showed fire incidents involving the named vehicles occurred "less than one time for every million years of vehicle operation."
But in the letter to Chrysler, dated Monday, NHTSA said its investigation "revealed numerous fire-related deaths and injuries," and the agency's defect investigation office believes that the vehicles "contain defects related to motor vehicle safety."
The government's top auto safety official reiterated concerns about the Jeep vehicles in a statement issued late Tuesday.
"Our data shows that these vehicles may contain a defect that presents an unreasonable risk to safety, which is why we took the next step of writing Chrysler," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in a statement. "The driving public should know that NHTSA is actively investigating this issue and is requesting that Chrysler initiate a safety recall and notify all affected owners of the defect. NHTSA hopes that Chrysler will reconsider its position and take action to protect its customers and the driving public.”
Rare denial
It is rare for an automaker to deny a request from NHTSA for a recall, said Allan Kam, a former senior enforcement attorney at the agency.
The main reason is that NHTSA has the authority to order an automaker to recall their cars. Usually, if a car company initially refuses to recall its cars, the company will later settle with NHTSA to minimize costs and unfavorable publicity.
"Even if they believe in their hearts that a safety-related defect does not exist, a manufacturer will not get involved in a public controversy with the agency over 70,000 vehicles," Kam said. "When you're talking about millions of vehicles, and hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, those are the rare occasions where a manufacturer digs in their heels."
By refusing to recall the vehicles, Chrysler will avoid those costs for the time being, and avoid giving legal ammunition to Jeep owners who are suing over accidents in which their vehicles caught fire. To go along with NHTSA's request, Chrysler would need to send Jeep owners a letter saying their cars have a safety-related defect. Chrysler has insisted, including in today's white paper, that they do not have a defect.
"I think a jury would give such a letter a lot of weight," Kam said.
Push for recall
An influential safety advocate has been pushing for the recall.
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Automotive Safety, wrote a letter to NHTSA director David Strickland in May 2012 to alert him to the high number of most harmful event, or MHE, rear impact fire crashes reported in 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees.
Ditlow said testing by the Federal Highway Administration and the Center show that the Grand Cherokee suffered catastrophic fuel system failures at energy levels far below NHTSA standards.
Ditlow urged NHTSA to order a mandatory safety recall if Chrysler refused to voluntarily recall the vehicle.
When reached for comment today, Ditlow accused Chrysler of putting profits before safety.
"When you get right down to it, the U.S. government bailed out Chrysler. Chrysler's since paid the money back, but there would be no Chrysler but for the U.S. government," he said. "The way I look at it is, Chrysler owes the American public a recall."
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