Top US auto safety regulator says Chrysler to face sanctions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fiat Chrysler will be punished soon for failing to follow the law in 23 recalls involving more than 11 million vehicles, the nation's top auto safety regulator said Thursday.
[...] Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wouldn't say what action the agency will take until after a public comment period closes on July 17.
Rosekind spoke after a two-hour public hearing in Washington on Fiat Chrysler's recall performance that featured agency officials detailing an alarming litany of failures to notify customers of recalls, delays in making and distributing repair parts, and in some cases failing to come up with repairs that fix the problems.
Todd Anderson of Connecticut, who lost his 17-year-old son when the family's 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee was rear-ended and exploded in flames, asked the agency to order Fiat Chrysler to buy back the recalled Jeeps to get them off the road.
The 23 recalls involved problems as serious as rear-mounted gas tanks that can leak and cause fires in a crash, air bags that can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel, and ignition switches that can abruptly shut off, causing engines to stall.
In one case, Fiat Chrysler delayed distribution of parts to fix a nut that can come loose from Ram truck drive shafts, said Scott Yon, chief of vehicle integrity for NHTSA.