Federal regulators have again pressed Jeep owners to take their recalled Liberty and Grand Cherokee models in for free repairs that will address fire risk.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been wondering for months why the recall, which affects 2002-'07 Jeep Liberty and 1993-'98 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles, has been taking Chrysler so long.
The automaker says it has nearly 400,000 parts at the ready for a fix that addresses possible fuel tank ruptures and fires, according to the NHTSA. Of the more than 1.5 million vehicles included in this recall, just 3 percent had been repaired so far at the time of the latest Chrysler report.
Over the summer, the agency ordered Chrysler to explain why the Jeep repairs have been taking so long, issuing a special order demanding documentation related to the issue. At the current pace of the recall, Chrysler will spend most of the next five years to fix the 1.56 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty vehicles affected, the NHTSA said in July.
The NTHSA consumer advisory comes after yet another death was reported in connection with the recalled vehicles earlier this week. A Michigan woman died in a Jeep vehicle this month, an incident that brought the death total in Jeep rear-end collisions resulting in fire to 52 people.
Affected owners can look up their vehicles through the NHTSA's online tool or contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753.
With this many reported deaths, why have owners delayed? The Wall Street Journal reports that the NHTSA website has nearly 300 complaints from owners who report issues with getting their Jeep vehicles repaired. A record year of recalls in the U.S. has also likely resulted in recall fatigue.
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