First Toyota, now Chrysler – Accelerator Issues!!
The last year has been the year of car manufacturer problems and car recalls.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported its popular Dodge Caliber model suffering from a sticky accelerator problem. The problem lies with the 2007 model, as it has been reported. The NHTSA website has a report on the issue that says five Dodge users have reported problems with accelerators in their cars that tend to get stuck when pressed and refuse to return to neutral position after releasing the pedal. The pedals in question were manufactured by CTS Corp, an Indiana-based supplier. Incidentally, this company also supplied the pedals that were used in the Toyota cars that were recalled a few months back.
However, both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Chrysler Group LLC have made it clear that no Dodge owner has reported any accident resulting from the sticky accelerator issues. It is a mechanical fault and not a design related one, the carmaker said in its statement. However, the company has not yet declared a recall. The NHTSA and Chrysler have differences of opinions as far as the number of affected dodge models is concerned. NHTSA feels at least 161,000 vehicles are going to be affected while Chrysler feels the number would not exceed 10000.
The owners of Dodge caliber models have been asked to approach the dealers for getting their cars inspected. Chrysler is expected to take up the matter seriously considering the fact that a similar problem led its rival Toyota Motors in deep trouble and it also had to cough up a hefty penalty.
According to Mark Huffman at ConsumerAffairs.com, ” The “sticky” accelerator problem, blamed for scores of sudden acceleration incidents in Toyotas, may also be a problem on some Chrysler vehicles. At least, federal safety investigations are exploring the possibility.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it has begun an investigation of gas pedals made by CTS Corp. for Chrysler’s 2007 Dodge Caliber. CTS also made the Toyota gas pedals that were the object of a recall of more than two million Toyota vehicles.
Chrysler sold more than 166,000 2007 Dodge Calibers. NHTSA said it has received no reports of accidents or injury involving the sticky gas pedal in 2007 Dodge Calibers.
NHTSA said it opened the investigation after receiving five complaints from drivers who said the gas pedal stuck while they were driving their Chrysler vehicles. Chrysler describes the problem as mechanical in nature, and not involving problems with cars’ electronics.
CTS is a large Indiana-based manufacturer that also supplies pedals for Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi. So far, other carmakers have reported no problems.
In September 2009, Toyota addressed the reports of sudden acceleration in some of its cars by recalling floor mats, saying they could trap the gas pedal on the floor of the vehicle. In January the automaker identified a design flaw in the pedal itself and began a massive recall to repair the pedals.
Last month Toyota agreed not to contest a $16.375 million fine for for failing to notify NHTSA of a dangerous pedal defect for almost four months. The fine, the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an auto manufacturer by NHTSA, specifically to both the “sticky pedal” and “slow to return pedal” defects, which resulted in Toyota’s massive recall.
Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/05/chrysler_sticky_pedal.html#ixzz0n92xDQLn
