Jeep to recall 1.6 million SUVs

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Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- DaimlerChrysler AG will recall 1.6 million Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicles to prevent them from rolling back unexpectedly, a situation a U.S. agency is investigating in connection with five deaths.

The automaker's Chrysler unit agreed to add a part in the shifting mechanism to ensure that the 1993 to 1998 Grand Cherokee models are in park and won't roll, said Chrysler spokeswoman Angela Spencer Ford.

Chrysler hasn't found evidence of a defect and is responding to customer complaints, she said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 737 complaints including 364 crashes, 159 injuries and five fatalities, NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said.

The agency in November upgraded a probe of the Grand Cherokee rollbacks to an engineering analysis from a preliminary investigation. NHTSA opened the case June 28 after receiving complaints from owners.