The 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee, one of the vehicles covered by Chrysler's ignition switch recall.
General Motors isn’t the only automaker facing problems with ignition switches. Chrysler is recalling 349,442 older sedans, wagons and SUVs because of a problem that could inadvertently lead vehicles to shut off while being driven.
The announcement is one of the latest involving faulty ignition switches, though the most notorious case involves 2.6 million small cars produced by GM that were recalled last February and which have since been blamed for at least 21 deaths.
In the case of Chrysler, the ignition switches may inadvertently slip out of the Run position without a driver’s intervention. In some cases, that will simply shut off accessories such as the windshield wipers. But if the key turns all the way to the Off position, the vehicle’s engine may then shut off, leading to a potential loss of control and possible crash.
The vehicles covered by the recalls were all produced in 2008 and include the Dodge Charger muscle car, the Dodge Magnum wagon, the Chrysler 300 sedan and two Jeep SUVs, the Grand Cherokee and the Commander.
(US recall tally tops record 40 million with weekend announcements. Click Here for the latest.)
There have been a number of ignition switch problems reported in recent months, part of an industry-wide campaign to isolate and correct problems in the face of intense media and regulatory scrutiny.
GM has itself had a wide array of ignition switch issues, though most have been caused by the design of keys that may accidentally push the switches into the Off position if, for example, bumped by a driver’s knee.
The February recall was linked to a design defect that GM first became aware of at least a decade earlier, but which it decided not to respond to. The maker acknowledged that delay as it ordered the belated recall, linking it to 13 deaths and a number of injuries.
(Even Ferrari stung by recall frenzy. Click Here to find out why.)
Under heavy pressure from Congress and others, CEO Mary Barra authorized creation of a special Victim’s Compensation Fund that is expected to eventually pay out between $400 million and $600 million to those injured or killed as a result of that defect. So far, fund manager Kenneth Feinberg has received more than 100 claims and has already approved payments of $1 million or more to the surviving families of 21 people he has determined were, in fact, killed as a result of the defect.
(For the latest on the GM ignition switch debacle, Click Here.)
GM also is facing a number of lawsuits, both for wrongful injury and death claims, and for the claimed loss of value of GM vehicles covered by the recalls. Separately, the maker is facing probes by 45 states’ attorneys-general, along with a potential criminal liability investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.
In Chrysler’s case, there has been no suggestion the maker covered up the ignition switch defect. The smallest of the Detroit makers says it knows of only one crash linked to the problem.