NHTSA may investigate Grand Cherokees over fuel-tank fire hazard

The Jeep Grand Cherokee from the 1993 to 2004 model years may be investigated by federal safety regulators after a complaint that its fuel tank is an exposed fire hazard that may have contributed to hundreds of deaths.

Last month the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety complained that the SUV's fuel tank extends below the rear bumper and is inadequately protected from crashes and rollovers.

The vehicle's fuel filler neck also tears off in crashes, said the center's petition for an investigation and recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is deciding whether enough evidence exists to support opening an investigation of the 3 million Jeeps whose models fall within the 11-year period, the agency said on its Web site.

NHTSA's "defect petition," which began Friday, Nov. 6, can take months or even years.

Overall, this is NHTSA's seventh pre-investigative review of an alleged defect since Jan. 1, 2008, an agency spokesman said.

NHTSA, a unit of the U.S. Transportation Department, said it has received reports of a dozen Jeep Grand Cherokee crashes involving a fuel tank leak or a fire potentially related to this kind of leak.

Chrysler confident

Reports of one death and nine injuries have been made to the agency.

In a statement, Chrysler said it is aware of the defect petition and "will cooperate fully with NHTSA's investigation process."

"Chrysler Group is confident that a study which considered all factors in all collisions -- including rear collisions with fire--would show that the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees perform as well as or better than other vehicles in their class," the statement saida. "The 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards and has an excellent safety record."

The Center for Auto Safety, founded by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, said NHTSA's own files show that the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in 172 fire crashes leading to 254 deaths from 1992 to 2008.

"The fuel tank of the Grand Cherokee is plastic and extends below the rear bumper so there is nothing to protect the tank from a direct hit in a rollover or by a vehicle with a low front profile or one lowered by pre-impact braking," said the center's Oct. 2 petition, signed by Executive Director Clarence Ditlow.

Moving the fuel tank

In 2005, when DaimlerChrysler AG owned the Jeep brand, it moved the fuel tank and shielded it. Since that change, only one crash resulting in a fatal fire has occurred, the petition said.

The 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee has a fatal-crash-with-fire rate that is quadruple that of SUVs made by other companies, the petition contended.

The Center for Auto Safety also cited two lawsuits alleging that fatal crashes in Long Island, N.Y., and New Jersey could be traced to the exposed fuel tank.

These crashes "demonstrate the unique hazards of an unshielded tank extending below the rear bumper where it can be engaged by the lowered front of a striking vehicle and shoved up into the structure of the vehicle above the tank and ruptured," the center's petition said.

In recent weeks, Ford Motor Co. has recalled 4.5 million vehicles and Toyota Motor Corp. 3.8 million in connection with potentially lethal defects. NHTSA last week began an investigation of Honda Motor Co.'s recalls of 444,000 vehicles.

By Neil Roland- Automotive News