I just got my free Grand Cherokee trailer hitch

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installed this week. This was one recall I never expected to see happen since they've been saying a "parts shortage" has been keeping them from doing the fix for about 2 years. I was shocked to get the notice to bring my vehicle in. Took them a little under 3 hrs to perform the work. I feel safer now.
 
No. This was the recall on older Grand Cherokees (mines a 1996) where a rear end crash could make the gas tank explode. The fix Chrysler came up with was to install a class III trailer hitch on all models that didn't come standard with one. The hitch protects the gas tank.
 
That's a pretty big oops..

I find it hilarious everyone gives GM so much crud but after a few big fines now several other car company's are finding out about theses problems at the same time..
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
That's a pretty big oops..

I find it hilarious everyone gives GM so much crud but after a few big fines now several other car company's are finding out about theses problems at the same time..


I believe when the recall first came out it was only on 1993 thru 1998 model GC's, which would mean the NEWEST vehicles effected were at least 16 years old now. This recall has been being discussed for years on certain Jeep forums and most had decided that Chrysler was trying to delay the repair waiting for all the older models to die of old age. That's why I was surprised when I got the notice this week that parts were now available and to schedule an appt. Btw, my Jeep was rear ended at 40mph about 10 years ago and it did no damage to the gas tank. Guess I was lucky.
 
Where's my free hitch? My Camry is lacking one. Can I get one too?

As much as I dislike Chrysler for past mistakes, they must be getting real serious in the game--fixing 16 plus year old vehicles? I'm sure this only costs them a few mil; but that's still a cost no bean counter could have approved.

Or are they hoping to get people in the door, see the new merchandise, and hope for new sales? I mean, anyone holding onto a 16 year old vehicle has got to be at least thinking about moving on at times.
 
Except they met the safety standards at the time.

Also I read the stats show the GC had lower incidence of deaths from fire vs other cars from that time frame.

Guess some folks will get nice class IV hitches on their old Grands.
 
I've put in for an ignition switch for my HHR and the part isn't in yet. I could get a free rental car... a whole car... for weeks or months but it's not my style.
 
My wife's winter driver is a '93 Grand Cherokee and has a hitch. It's still pretty clean with minimal rust underneath, but around here most that are still on the road of the early vintage are very rusted. I'll bet the installation of that added hitch will be a bit snotty on those. Dan Mpls. Mn.
 
Every car maker has recalls... but Chrysler got serious only when the government got very unhappy with the near-total lack of progress on their original "3 year plan" to install the hitch receivers.
 
Originally Posted By: whip
According to this article, Chrysler was pretty defiant with the Feds about this recall. It seems to be a new trend.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/20/nhtsa-jeep-grand-cherokee-liberty-trailer-hitch-recall/


Defiant as in "refusing to recall the vehicles": http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/business/regulator-slow-to-respond-to-deadly-vehicle-defects.html

Here's the please-speed-things-up-Chrysler story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/07/16/chrsyer-jeep-hitch-recall-fuel-nhtsa/12761783/

I noticed the autoblog article statement "Chrysler's argument throughout this battle has been that the Jeeps in question are no more susceptible to fires than comparable vehicles from the same time period, a position that NHTSA has seemingly arrived at as well."

Apparently fire likelihood is the same, but once a fire starts death by fire is more common then other vehicles: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/jeep-recalls

"The entire vehicle was swallowed up by flames. In that instant, they burned to death," Embrey said. Later, Embrey was sitting in a patrol car with the state trooper leading the investigation as he wrote up his report.

"The officer shook his head and said, 'That's the same vehicle that killed the Roe family,'" Embrey said. "He just sat and stared into the burned-out Jeep. Everybody knows this is happening. Why can't we do something about it?"
 
So when are they going to recall all the Cherokee's too?

This one was a very slippery slope. The vehicles met all the safety requirements in place when the vehicles were sold. Their fire rates are no different (and in fact in some cases better than) their other vehicles from the same time frame. When will all of them be recalled as well?

I am not disputing that the placement of the fuel tank is less than ideal. (Full disclosure - I owned a Cherokee for many years). I am only pointing out that this recall campaign appears based more on an effort from a certain lobbying group than based on facts and statistics. Not a good trend.
 
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
So when are they going to recall all the Cherokee's too?

This one was a very slippery slope. The vehicles met all the safety requirements in place when the vehicles were sold.

By that logic, no vehicle manufacturer would need to have safety related recalls. All would be foreseen and foreknown.

Originally Posted By: MNgopher

Their fire rates are no different (and in fact in some cases better than) their other vehicles from the same time frame.

Please re-read my post. While the total number of fires is the same as other vehicles, when a fire does happen it is more likely to have a death by fire. That is why Chrysler eventually had to give in.
 
Convenient quoting on your part Hangfire. By breaking my statement in two, you twist the meaning.

I'm not going to debate the issue when the stats bear out these vehicles are comparable to its peer group from the same era, yet they are not the subject of any forced recalls.
 
Didnt Chrysler mention the 99-04 Grands as well? The 99-02 models had a thinner "brush guard" over the fuel tank. I can think of a few running around town that are rusted through. The later models were upgraded with a thicker skid plate. The frame hitch isnt a bad thing to have either.

My jeep did have the airbag module recall that I had to get replaced last Feb. I want to say there were around 3 reported instances where the passenger side airbag deployed unnecessarily.. Considering the number of units on the road, that isnt too bad. Certain years of KJ Liberty and WJ Grand were affected.
 
Stupid recall...100% pure shakedown. Recalling a twenty year old truck that met all safety standards when built is idiotic. It's on the same level as recalling my Dakota for not having a passenger airbag.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Stupid recall...100% pure shakedown. Recalling a twenty year old truck that met all safety standards when built is idiotic. It's on the same level as recalling my Dakota for not having a passenger airbag.


Exactly.

There needs to be some sort of standard set where the mfgr is only liable for X number of years.

This whole recall thing is getting out of hand. It's going to cause Tort reform...
 
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