Fiat Chrysler is ending the “Year of the Recall” with a problem similar to issue that earned 2014 the nickname to begin with: an ignition problem.
The company is recalling about 67,000 pickups from model year 2006 and 2007. The trucks can be started without the clutch being depressed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In May, the agency received a complaint about the death of a child due to the problem. According to the report, a child started a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 without using the clutch and the pickup moved forward hitting another child killing him.
An investigation by FCA US engineers discovered switches in certain model-year 2006 and 2007 pickups may be equipped with spring wire that differs from wire used in previous switches.
The alternate wire may break and, as a result, the vehicles may not start. In rare cases, a vehicle may – if recommended starting procedures are not followed – exhibit unintended movement when its ignition key is turned.
(FCA recalls 280,000 Dodge Rams for axle problem. For more, Click Here.)
The recall covers certain Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, 3500 and Mitsubishi Raider pickups. Switches with the alternate wire were not used in any vehicles produced before July of 2005, or after June of 2006. The Dakota and Raider are no longer in production.
(Click Here for details about Fiat Chrysler’s name change.)
An estimated 54,558 vehicles are in the U.S.; 4,356 are in Canada; 7,648 are in Mexico and 257 are outside the NAFTA region.
(To see more about Jeep closing in on 1-million unit sales mark, Click Here.)
Notification of affected customers is expected to begin Feb. 13. In the interim, customers are advised to follow recommended procedures for starting their vehicles. These procedures include activating the vehicle’s parking brake, placing its shift lever in the neutral position and pressing the clutch pedal before turning the ignition key.
It amazes me that U.S. auto makers are going back almost a decade on recalls to resolve know issues yet BMW has done nothing to resolve the NHTSA documented high pressure fuel pump failures on the X35i models from circa 2001-2006, which shut off without warning at any speed, leaving the driver with no power steering and limited brake boost. I don’t know how with NHTSA’s new expansion from the NHTSA new car tax, that BMW is exempt from recalling every single one of these vehicles and properly fixing them. It’s amazing to me. Perhaps the rules don’t apply to all auto makers?