The 2010 Chrysler Town & Country is one of more than 1 million vehicles that are part of a NHTSA investigation into ignition switch issues similar to those at General Motors.
As GM CEO Mary Barra testified at a congressional committee hearing that ignition switch issues could be an industry-wide problem, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it has opened two probes into similar possible ignition switch defects in about 1.25 million Chrysler vehicles.
The investigation, which Chrysler officials said they are co-operating with, actually has a tie to GM’s recent issues, according to the safety agency.
“(The investigations) are an outcome of NHTSA’s communication with automotive manufacturers and suppliers regarding air bag design and performance related to the position of the vehicle ignition switch,” which began as a result of GM’s recalls, NHTSA said.
The queries cover about 700,000 2008-2010 Dodge Journey SUVs and Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country minivans and about 525,000 2006-2007 Jeep Commanders and 2005-2006 Jeep Grand Cherokees. There have been no deaths or injuries linked to the issues.
“The investigations involve issues of inadvertent ignition key rotation from the ‘run’ position to the ‘accessory’ position,” the agency’s statement said. “While NHTSA has received complaints of stalling related to these models, the agency is not aware of any related incidents involving air bag non-deployments at this time.”
(Barra withstands scrutiny of Congressional queries. For more, Click Here.)
In the case of the Journeys and minivans, the spring in the switch can pop the switch back to a position beyond “run” and “accessory” after the vehicle is started and in that position. As is the case with the aforementioned GM recalled ignitions, they are vulnerable to turning off the engine if bumped or jarred.
(Click Here to get details on JD Power’s list of top quality vehicles.)
The 2010 models were already recalled in 2011 for the switch, but the agency has had additional complaints about the vehicles that were fixed. The second ignition investigation covers situations where the driver’s knee can bump the ignition and move it out of “run.”
(To see more about GM’s recall issues,Click Here.)
During her testimony today, Barra noted that key chains laden with excessive items could be hazardous for any vehicle ignition. She believes that the entire industry may face issues similar to GM’s ignition switch recall.