3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees in safety probe

By Ben Rooney, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into gas tanks that could pose a fire danger on an estimated 3 million older Jeep Grand Cherokees, documents showed Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it launched the preliminary investigation on Monday in response to a petition it received in October from consumer watchdog the Center for Auto Safety. The probe does not mean the vehicles are being recalled.

CAS claims that Jeep Grand Cherokees made between 1993 and 2004 have defective fuel tank storage systems that present a fire hazard in crashes. The group said federal records indicate that the Cherokees in question were involved in 172 fire crashes where 254 people died. But it did not say specifically that defective fuel tanks were to blame.

According to CAS, the plastic gas tank on the Jeep Grand Cherokees from those model years was placed behind the rear axle and below the bumper, where it could be ruptured in a rear-impact collision. The tanks in question also had inadequate shielding, the group said.

In response, NHTSA reviewed the records going back to 1992 and identified 10 crashes where the alleged defect may have been a factor. Those crashes resulted in 13 deaths, the agency said.

Scott Brown, spokesman for Chrysler Group, which makes Jeep, said that the company is fully cooperating with NHTSA in the investigation.

"The 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety and has an excellent safety record," Brown wrote in an e-mail to CNNMoney.com. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Find Your Next Car
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.