agent Entrepreneur logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

U.S. Regulator to Chrysler’s Marchionne: Get Act In Gear on Jeep Recall

U.S. government safety regulators on Thursday told Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne that the company “have to get their act in gear” to speed up repairs of recalled Jeep SUVs that face a heightened fire risk, reported Reuters. David Friedman, deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was asked by reporters ... Read More »

November 24, 2014
2 min to read


U.S. government safety regulators on Thursday told Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne that the company “have to get their act in gear” to speed up repairs of recalled Jeep SUVs that face a heightened fire risk, reported Reuters.

David Friedman, deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was asked by reporters if he was satisfied with Chrysler’s performance in adding trailer hitches to affected Jeep SUVs to protect them in lower speed rear-end crashes.

Ad Loading...

“No. In fact, this morning I sent a letter to the chairman and CEO of Chrysler telling them they have to get their act in gear. They have to make sure they’re getting those parts in the hands of consumers,” Friedman said.

Chrysler is a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Marchionne is chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group as well as CEO of Fiat Chrysler.

Earlier this month, Chrysler said it was intensifying its effort to reach owners of the 1.56 million older model recalled Jeep SUVs because so few were bringing them in to dealerships to have the trailer hitch assemblies installed.

Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne on Thursday said the company has again stepped up its efforts to reach owners. Only about 137,000 of the 1.56 million owners have shown up at dealers to have trailer hitch assemblies installed, Mayne said.

As of Thursday, the Chrysler spokesman said, the company has 488,000 trailer hitch assemblies in stock.

Ad Loading...

Still, on Thursday, Friedman of NHTSA said, “They’ve told us they have nearly 400,000 parts and yet we’re getting complaints from consumers saying the dealers are telling them there aren’t any parts. Something is wrong there.”

Chrysler is committed to the safety of drivers and passengers in its products, the spokesman said.

“Chrysler Group leads the industry with a recall-repair completion rate of nearly 80 percent. The industrywide average is approximately 70 percent,” Mayne said.

After initially resisting NHTSA’s requests for a recall, Chrysler in June 2013 announced the recall of 1.56 million Jeep SUVs. They were the model years 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty and 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee, with rear fuel tanks.

More Industry

Group photo of men outside storefront.
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 28, 2026

Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers

The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.

Read More →
Hallway with lockered wiring and computer
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMay 28, 2026

Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs

U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.

Read More →
Gray-scale photo of a line of Mini cars in a dealership parking lot
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 27, 2026

Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great

A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Closeup photo of the front of a white car
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 21, 2026

New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative

A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.

Read More →
Nissan logo on front of building
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMay 21, 2026

Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop

Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.

Read More →
Couple talking with auto salesman next to new car inside dealership
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 20, 2026

April Less Affordable

Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Wooden people figures of different colors in a row, similar to board game pieces
IndustryMay 20, 2026

Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency

Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.

Read More →
Ingredient card, policies and procedures, fixed operations, variable operations, data security, audit
Industryby Jim GantherMay 19, 2026

Recipe for Compliance

The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.

Read More →
Photo of new Chevrolet Bolt parked on a beach
Industryby Hannah MitchellMay 14, 2026

EVs Getting More Attractive

A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Benchmark bar graph showing April 2026 EV Sales
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMay 14, 2026

EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge

North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.

Read More →