2007 jeep grand cherokee ignition switch recall

DETROIT — The ignition switch defects that engulfed General Motors are now a rapidly growing problem at Chrysler.

Chrysler said Tuesday it is recalling up to 792,300 older Jeep SUVs worldwide, including almost 30,000 in Canada, because the ignition switches could fall out of the “run” position, shutting off the engine and disabling air bags as well as power-assisted steering and braking. That’s the same problem that has forced GM to recall more than 15 million cars over the last six months.

Chrysler’s recall covers 2005-2007 Grand Cherokees and 2006-2007 Commanders. The company said it is not sure exactly how many will be recalled, but said it will notify customers by mid-September.

Chrysler said an outside force such as a driver’s knee can knock switches out of the “run” position. Engineers are working on a fix.

The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said it knows of no related injuries and only one accident. But it said owners should keep clearance between their knees and keys until repairs are made.

The precise number of affected vehicles will be determined by the investigation. Approximately 792,300 are implicated — 649,900 in the U.S.; 28,800 in Canada; 12,800 in Mexico and 100,800 outside of the NAFTA region.

The Commander is no longer in production and the Grand Cherokee has since been completely redesigned; newer models are not subject to the recall.

Chrysler has now recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles for ignition-switch problems. In June, the company added 696,000 minivans and SUVs to a 2011 recall to fix faulty ignition switches. Those recalls covered Dodge Journey SUVs and Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan and Volkswagen Routan minivans — which Chrysler made for the German automaker — from the 2007 to 2010 model years.

Tuesday’s recall is the outgrowth of two investigations opened by U.S. safety regulators last month as part of a broader probe into ignition-switch and air-bag problems across the auto industry. The agency wouldn’t say Tuesday whether its investigation could lead to recalls at other automakers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in June that it was investigating Jeep Commanders and Grand Cherokees after getting 32 complaints that a driver’s knee can hit the key fob or key chain, causing the ignition switch to move out of position.

The federal investigation is still open. The agency said Tuesday that it is requesting additional information from Chrysler to ensure that its repairs will be effective.

The investigations and recalls come after GM bungled an ignition-switch recall of older small cars. GM acknowledged that it knew of the ignition problem for more than a decade but failed to recall the cars until earlier this year, when it recalled 2.6 million small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt. Subsequent safety reviews caused GM to recall millions more vehicles for faulty switches.

“The GM Cobalt recall brought to light new information that NHTSA will use in the future to evaluate stalling issues,” NHTSA said in a recent statement. “While there is no specific standard regarding ignition-switch torque and no standard regarding the amount of weight from key chains and keys that an ignition switch must be able to handle, NHTSA will continue to conduct research to determine additional improvements that can be made to the nation’s fleet.”

Meanwhile Chrysler announced a separate recall Tuesday of an estimated 21,000 vehicles to inspect and, if necessary, replace the shocks or struts or both on certain 2014 Ram 1500 pickups, 2015 Jeep Cherokee SUVs and 2015 Chrysler 200 sedans assembled within a 16-day period ended June 6.

Some of the vehicles may have been assembled with shocks and struts that do not meet the company’s quality standards and “accordingly, the components may break free from their mounts, which could potentially lead to reduced shock damping and possible loss of vehicle control.”

An estimated 14,300 of the vehicles are in the U.S., 5,300 are in Canada, 160 are in the Mexico and 2,000 are outside the NAFTA region.

Sign up to receive Driving.ca's Blind-Spot Monitor newsletter on Wednesdays and Saturdays

By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

Thanks for signing up!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Driving.ca's Blind-Spot Monitor will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again