Chrysler Group is recalling 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander SUVs because a transfer case electrical failure causes unintentional shifting into neutral.
Almost 300,000 Jeeps are affected by the safety defect that can cause a rollaways thereby increasing the risk of a crash or personal injury. A Mexican-built transfer case controller from Magna is the cause of the defect. At least one Jeep after a remote start rolled away.
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the final drive controller that governs the transfer case with new software, free of charge as is required by U.S. safety regulations. The recall will begin in June 2013.
Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753 about campaign number N23. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.safercar.gov.
In a separate Jeep recall, 2008-2012 Wrangler right-hand-drive vehicles manufactured February 1, 2007, through October 10, 2011 have bad airbag clockspring assemblies that could experience broken airbag circuits rendering them inoperative. This recall supersedes NHTSA recall 11V-528. Chrysler’s recall campaign number is M31.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
