Advocates: Defective Jeeps still pose threat despite recall

FCA is under pressure from regulators and safety advocates to expand its efforts to reach owners of Jeep SUVs that are the subject of a fire-related safety recall.
Bloomberg reports that the Center for Automotive Safety has documented multiple incidents relating to gas tank fires since the recall was announced in 2013, potentially including the death of a pregnant Michigan woman in November of last year.

Nearly 1.6 million vehicles are affected by the campaign, however fewer than 120,000 had been brought into service centers as of early November. It is unclear if the lack of interest is partly related to the controversy surrounding the recall, or its drawn-out timeframe, though low response rates are not unusual for older models.

Safety advocates had been pushing for a recall since 2009 or earlier, citing hundreds of deaths from vehicle fires. The fuel tank is located behind the rear axle on the 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Liberty, leaving little protection if the SUVs are involved in rear-end collisions.

Chrysler fought with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over the issue, eventually settling on trailer-hitch installation as a resolution. The company still maintains that the models are perfectly safe.