Jeep Recall – Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg

You may have heard about a major recall of a US-manufactured automobile in the past week.  We’d like to spend this blog explaining what caused the recall, and what goes into a given automobile recall.  This one in particular concerns the Chrysler-produced Jeep Wrangler.

Chrysler is recalling roughly 87,000 Jeep Wranglers in the United States and elsewhere because of a risk of fires.  The recall has only been issued in relation to Wranglers from the model year 2010 that have automatic transmissions and were constructed prior to July 14^th of 2010.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provided information on the recall.  According to documents provided by the NHTSA, it is possible for debris to get trapped in between a plate that serves as a transmission protector and the catalytic converter — the result can cause a fire.

The catalytic converter uses a great deal of heat — with precious metals — to control the amount of pollution produced by the car.  Chrysler said that debris can get trapped when the Jeep Wrangler is driven off-road. At least 14 complaints of fires with the 2010 Wranglers are confirmed.  At this time, Chrysler isn’t sure whether or not the fires caused injuries, but there is obviously always the risk that someone can get injured if a car starts a fire.  Chrysler will fix the problem for free by replacing the transmission-protecting plate with a bar so that debris can’t get caught.

Recalls can be ordered either by the independent manufacturer or by the NHTSA—in either case, the NHTSA oversees the recall process to ensure that consumers are taken care of and that the manufacturer of the recalled automobile properly remedies the problem.  The company that is responsible for the manufacturing of the vehicle in question is required to issue a public report which outlines the safety-related defect, the vehicle in question/equipment group, the major incidents that led to the recall determination, a description of the solution, and a schedule for the recall.

The manufacturer is also required to attempt to notify owners of the automobile being recalled.  The letter sent to the owners must contain the following information: description of the defect, the risk or hazard posed by the problem, and a description of the free remedy.  Even if you do not receive a notification from the manufacturer, and you are an owner of the affected vehicle, you are wholly entitled to a free remedy of the issue.  The only time issue concerning recalls is related to tires.  If there is a recall that concerns the tires of the vehicle, according to the U.S. Safety Act, the owner must have the recall work completed within 60 days of receiving the notification—all other recall issues may be remedied and covered for the lifetime of the product.

If you have any questions, there are answers available to you.  You can contact the NHTSA directly for information on what you are entitled to expect.

If you believe you may have been injured as a result of a vehicle defect, please contact one of the attorneys at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg by calling us at 561-266-9191 or emailing us at daronberg@build.simple.biz.

Views: 0