Only two days after refusing to comply with a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall 2.7 million vehicles with defective fuel tanks, Chrysler has voluntarily recalled 630,000 Jeep SUVs for unrelated reasons.
Over 400,000 Jeep Patriot and Compass SUVs were recalled with model years of 2012 or 2010. The carmaker said the seatbelts and airbags in those vehicles might not function properly in the event of a rollover. Most of the recalled Chryslers were located in the US and Canada, though the company said nearly 130,000 were located outside of North America.
"The upgrade was deemed necessary after it was discovered that seatbelt pre-tensioners and side-curtain air bags may not function properly during slow-developing rollovers," the company said.
The recall also affected over 180,000 Jeep Wrangler SUVs with a model year of 2012 or 2013. Chrysler said that power steering fluid in these vehicles could wear holes into the cooler line, causing leaks.
"A power-steering component may rub against the line and compromise transmission function," the automaker said in a statement. "The issue was discovered during routine testing."
Earlier this week, Chrysler rejected a request from the NHTSA to recall 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokees with a model year of 1993-2004 and Jeep Liberties from 2002-2007. The government found that faulty fuel tanks in these models had caused as many as 44 fatal fires, 10 of which were the result of a rear-end collision.
Chrysler disagreed with the government's assessment, however, and in a stunning move, chose not to recall the vehicles in question.
"The company does not agree with NHTSA's conclusions and does not intend to recall the vehicles cited in the investigation," the company said in a press release. "The subject vehicles are safe and are not defective. We believe NHTSA's initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the Agency to resolve this disagreement,"
It's unknown yet if Chrysler will eventually comply with the government request or if the government will eventually compel Chrysler to execute the recall.
