Chrysler Group to recall 840,000 cars

DETROIT - Reuters

Chrysler will draw back 840,000 vehicles in the US and other countries. REUTERS photo

Chrysler Group will recall 840,000 vehicles in the United States and other countries, mostly for active-restraint head rests that are possibly flawed.

Five separate recalls include nearly 500,000 cars and SUVs for the active-restaint head rest issue, and another 282,000 minivans for possible malfunctioning air bags, Chrysler said on July 3.

While Chrysler has improved its scores on third-party quality assessments such as Consumer Reports in recent years, it has issued 12 separate recalls since early June involving about 4 million vehicles.

This figure includes 2.7 million older Jeep models Chrysler recalled after initially resisting U.S. regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler is majority-owned by Italy’s Fiat SpA), which took over management of the Michigan-based company in 2009.

Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne said the recalls are “an indication of our aggressive quality-control protocol.”

Chrysler said there have been three reported accidents and one “minor” injury as a result of the air bag issue in the minivans and that it is not aware of any injuries or accidents related to the head rest issue. Most of the affected vehicles are in the U.S.

Included in the recalls announced on Wednesday are about 490,000 cars and SUVs that have potentially faulty micro computer components for head rests that are designed to move forward during rear-end crashes.

This recall affects 2011-2013 Chrysler Sebring, Chrysler 200, Dodge Avenger and Jeep Liberty vehicles, as well as 2011-2012 Dodge Nitro SUVs.

“The potentially faulty microcontrollers were installed in a supplied component,” Chrysler said in a statement.