Jeep Grand Cherokee = “modern-day Pinto for soccer moms.”

NYSpeed Automotive
1

… So says the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety based in Washington.

Basically lots of older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty vehicles have fuel tanks mounted behind the rear axles. Some of them like to catch fire when in accidents.

The “experts” want Chrysler to recall them (1.56 Million vehicles) while Chrysler has been insisting they’re safe. Now Chrysler has proposed a way to fix them…

… by installing trailer hitches:

For 1.56 million Liberty and older Grand Cherokee vehicles, a hitch assembly will be installed if one isn’t there now, the company said in an e-mailed statement. If a vehicle has an aftermarket hitch not made by Chrysler, it may be replaced.

Well, they can’t very well redesign the whole truck after-the-fact and it’s only a proposal at this time.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-06-18/chrysler-agrees-to-recall-suvs-on-fire-risk-after-u-dot-s-dot-probe

2

Sweet im getting a free trailer hitch :tup:

If you look at the years that have the issue and the number of times its happened its insanely slim

One of the examples they cited was a Jeep sitting in traffic getting him by a semi doing 60mph :lol:

3

The design was considered safe by the NHTSA when the models came out. I was really hoping Chrysler stuck to their guns and continued to tell them to go fuck themselves, but they caved due to the bad PR it would bring them.

4

Yea that is another solid point…

Maybe they should go back over all old models and make them update to meet current standards lol

5

“On about 1.14 million Grand Cherokees from model years 1999 through 2004, no action will be taken on those without a hitch.”
so if i have a 99 without a hitch im sol or?

6

Maybe they wrote it wrong?

It seems like they would inspect after market hitches and install hitches on those with out?

7

Exactly, where does it end? Should Ford recall the 65 Mustang since it didn’t have airbags and ABS?

8

That is my thought as well. I could really use a free hitch!

9

That would be awesome I would love new disk brakes all around on my pony!

10

I was hoping they were going to replace the check valves/fill necks… It would have been sweet to not have to deal with the overflow issue on my wife’s Jeep anymore.

11

I agree.