Jeep Cherokee gas tank

[Donald]

If you are so inclined to write:

Jeep Customer Care
PO Box 21-8004
Auburn Hills, MI 48321-9004


Their decision to not do a voluntary recall will surely come back to bite them. The NHTSA will most likely declare the vehicle defective and order a recall. That opens them up for law suits due to a defective vehicle. Then there is the PR nightmare. Do they really want to be put in the same category as a Pinto?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)


Agreed however a 1990-1994(last year of production) still has life well left in it.

 

[TheBig2003]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)


Agreed however a 1990-1994(last year of production) still has life well left in it.

+1

 

[Jarlaxle]

Huh? The ZJ ran 1993-98.

 

[doitmyself]

Sorry you are in this dilemma, Donald.

It's not the first time auto mfg. have done stuff like this. I owned an early Ford Escort and they released a safety notice stating that some timing belts might fail prematurely. But, they said they would only address the matter and assist the customer if the belt actually failed.

My thought at the time was what happens if the belt fails as I'm passing someone and results in an accident? Nothing happened and I replaced the belt at the recommended interval. But, I thought it was a risky stance for Ford to take.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)


Agreed. I don't think any automaker should be forced into a recall for a 10, 15 or 20 year old vehicle.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)


Agreed. I don't think any automaker should be forced into a recall for a 10, 15 or 20 year old vehicle.


X2 and especially when the vehicle met all required safety standards when it was made. Where do you draw the line? Start recalling 1955 Chevy's because they didn't have air bags? Those Jeeps were deemed safe when built and Chrysler should not be forced to recall and update all of those vehicles. Just ludicrous.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Here's an idea.

We need to get people to:
- PUT DOWN THE CELL PHONE
- STOP DRINKING AND DRIVING

I guarantee you could have gas tanks BEHIND the rear bumper and not have a problem.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Huh? The ZJ ran 1993-98.


Jeep carried the vulernable design forward into the 99-2004 too. They also refuse to do anything about the 2002-2007 Liberty's which are also recent vehicles and also being investigated.

It is norm now for automakers to recall things built in the last 10 years or so. At least the ones who care about safety reputation. Bean counters determined settling the court cases is cheaper. The executives just cannot figure out of cost or chance of looking terrible if a family burns up in one. I say 50/50 chance on that.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

What can they do to fix the problem? There's really not a lot of space to put a gas tank elsewhere on any of these.

 

[kschachn]

They could issue a windshield sticker for every other vehicle on the road, warning you not to rear-end a Jeep Cherokee

Originally Posted By: Miller88
What can they do to fix the problem? There's really not a lot of space to put a gas tank elsewhere on any of these.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

My best friend brother was rear-ended while driving a ugly green metalflake a pinto (back in the 70's) by a drunk driver going 40 MPH - Drunk Hit him so hard the pinto was bent up in the middle with the roof peaked and the doors popped open - this car did not leak fuel or burn. This happened on State route 28 at RT133 in Andover, MA at on of the few stoplights existing back then.
I goota ask - So how fast do you have to rear end these cars to get them to burn? 50MPH by a Silverado 3500 Dually?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
What can they do to fix the problem? There's really not a lot of space to put a gas tank elsewhere on any of these.


They have fixed the problem on newer vehicles; the tank is mounted amidships in front of the rear axle. On existing vehicles, the fix is reportedly a metal skid pan that apparently protects the tank better. This side pan, to my understanding, is the same one that came with the Up Country suspension package during that era, so there should be a Chrysler part number for anyone wanting to add the pan to their vehicle. There will likely be very few of these pans available from a salvage yard; very few Grands were optioned with the Up Country package.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)


Tell that to the mother of one of the 51 people who were killed in fires due to the gas tank being behind the rear axle.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Miller88
What can they do to fix the problem? There's really not a lot of space to put a gas tank elsewhere on any of these.


They have fixed the problem on newer vehicles; the tank is mounted amidships in front of the rear axle. On existing vehicles, the fix is reportedly a metal skid pan that apparently protects the tank better. This side pan, to my understanding, is the same one that came with the Up Country suspension package during that era, so there should be a Chrysler part number for anyone wanting to add the pan to their vehicle. There will likely be very few of these pans available from a salvage yard; very few Grands were optioned with the Up Country package.


I may order the skid plate myself, its in the $350 range, if Jeep is forced to do a recall they will cover the cost.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Miller88
What can they do to fix the problem? There's really not a lot of space to put a gas tank elsewhere on any of these.


They have fixed the problem on newer vehicles; the tank is mounted amidships in front of the rear axle. On existing vehicles, the fix is reportedly a metal skid pan that apparently protects the tank better. This side pan, to my understanding, is the same one that came with the Up Country suspension package during that era, so there should be a Chrysler part number for anyone wanting to add the pan to their vehicle. There will likely be very few of these pans available from a salvage yard; very few Grands were optioned with the Up Country package.


I may order the skid plate myself, its in the $350 range, if Jeep is forced to do a recall they will cover the cost.


I wouldn't mind getting a free skid plate out of the deal ... but I'm not covered.

Plus, my cherokee is high enough that any little car is just going to drive UNDER me and take out the rear axle before anything.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Miller88
What can they do to fix the problem? There's really not a lot of space to put a gas tank elsewhere on any of these.


They have fixed the problem on newer vehicles; the tank is mounted amidships in front of the rear axle. On existing vehicles, the fix is reportedly a metal skid pan that apparently protects the tank better. This side pan, to my understanding, is the same one that came with the Up Country suspension package during that era, so there should be a Chrysler part number for anyone wanting to add the pan to their vehicle. There will likely be very few of these pans available from a salvage yard; very few Grands were optioned with the Up Country package.


Too bad they couldn't just stamp out 100k of these skidplates, and make them free to anyone who owns said vehicle. Or charge "at cost" and/or free install at the dealer. You get the idea. Low cost, and makes it look like they are doing due diligence in keeping their customers safe.

I agree, at some point it's not their fault. It'd be nice if they could make low cost fixes for those holding onto old(er) vehicles, but it's hard to blame OEM's for not making it high priority to support old platforms.

If the average age of vehicles is around 11 years old, then, statistically speaking, at what point does a certain vintage "no longer exist"?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: supton
Too bad they couldn't just stamp out 100k of these skidplates, and make them free to anyone who owns said vehicle.


They could. I think it's more accurate to say, "too bad they've chosen not to just stamp out 100k of these..."

Originally Posted By: supton
If the average age of vehicles is around 11 years old, then, statistically speaking, at what point does a certain vintage "no longer exist"?


I absolutely agree. It'd certainly be unreasonable to make Jeep recall, for example, a CJ-7 for something. It's certainly reasonable to hold Jeep accountable to recall, for example, a 2007 Liberty for something. I think we all agree on that. But where to do you draw the line in the middle?

It occurs to me that nobody who has said that this recall is ridiculous has offered a suggestion on how to define what is a reasonable age and what is an obsolete age.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...this is a non-story. The vehicles met all safety standards when built, and recalling a TWENTY YEAR OLD vehicle is just stupid. (The so-called "problem" dates to the 1993 ZJ Grand.)


Tell that to the mother of one of the 51 people who were killed in fires due to the gas tank being behind the rear axle.


Sure. Sorry about your loss. Driving is inherently dangerous. You can and may die every time you get behind the wheel. The cars were made to the applicable safety standards at the time of production. We can't make everything 100% safe all the time. It's just that simple. The cars met the stnadards when they were made and that's that.

And this is coming from someone who thinks Chrysler's are the biggest POS's on the road and they should have gone out of business in the 80's when Iaccoca was begging the govt for money.