Chrysler under fire from NHTSA for drawn-out Jeep recall

Chrysler has come under fire from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration for failing to ramp up parts production to resolve a fire-hazard recall.

In a June 2013 agreement with the agency, Chrysler promised to install trailer hitches on approximately 1.56 million Jeep vehicles including 2002-2007 Liberty and 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee SUVs. The accessory add-on is aimed at minimizing the risk of fuel-tank rupture and fires, which have already been associated with more than 50 deaths.

The government notes that Chrysler waited until December 2013 to select a hitch supplier, delaying the first production run until last month.

“Assuming that all of these owners will respond to the notification, it will take Chrysler at least 4.7 years and 2.06 years respectively to produce the required number of Grand Cherokee and Liberty hitches at the current rate of production,” the NHTSA’s chief counsel, O. Kevin Vincent, wrote in a letter to the automaker.

The agency has asked the company to provide a detailed explanation of its decision to use just one supplier, and the costs and lead times that would be required to add additional suppliers.

“Although NHTSA acknowledges that recall campaigns may have low completion rates for any number of reasons, the agency has no intention of allowing Chrysler, or any other manufacturer, to delay recall completion to the detriment of safety,” the scolding letter adds.

The company has argued that Jeep vehicles affected by the recall are currently safe, even without the recall fix.