CHRYSLER AND FORD RECALL VEHICLES

Automotive News

December 30, 2010 - 2:01 pm EST


CHRYSLER RECALL

DETROIT (Reuters) -- Chrysler Group LLC recalled more than 144,000 vehicles in three separate filings with federal regulators posted today.

In the largest of the three recalls reported to U.S. regulators, Chrysler said 65,180 Dodge Journey vehicles for the model year 2009 could have faulty wires within the front door wire harness.

Should those wires break, it could interrupt the circuits for the side impact sensors and de-activate the side airbag, Chrysler said in a notice to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler also recalled 56,611 Ram 1500 trucks for the model year 2011 because the rear axle bearing could seize, increasing the risk of a crash.

Additionally, the automaker recalled 22,274 model year 2008 to 2011 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 vehicles because the left ball stud could weaken and hurt the driver's ability to steer the truck.

FORD RECALL

Automotive News
December 30, 2010 - 10:00 am EST

UPDATED: 12/30/10 12:36 pm ET

DETROIT (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 20,000 new vehicles in North America, mainly its heavy duty pickup trucks, due to the chance that an electrical short could cause a fire, Ford and U.S. federal regulators said today.

Ford will inform owners of its F-series pickups, small sports utility vehicles Edge and Lincoln MKX of the potential problem by Jan. 10, according to a filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

About 15,000 of the affected vehicles were sold in the United States, and most of the rest in Canada, said Wes Sherwood, Ford spokesman.

Sherwood said the automaker is not aware of any injuries, crashes or fires resulting from the issue.

In a six-day period, a supplier not identified by Ford made body control modules that may produce an electrical short, Ford told NHTSA in a filing.

Sherwood said the suspect vehicles were built between late October and mid-November.

"If an electrical short develops, an overheating condition may occur which can result in an unattended vehicle fire," the NHTSA filing said.

Of the nearly 20,000 vehicles affected, 13,200 are Super Duty F-Series trucks, which are the F-250, the F-350 and the F-450 models.

Some 476 F-150 pickup trucks were affected. That model is the biggest selling vehicle in North America.

About 6,200 Edge and MKX models are affected, Sherwood said. Edge and MKX are also known as crossover vehicles, because they are built on a car platform rather than a truck platform as are larger SUVs.

Ford will pay for repairs performed at Ford dealerships. Sherwood said the repair time is relatively short, but he did not specify how long each repair will take or how much they will cost the automaker.