Chrysler recalled nearly half a million vehicles because of malfunctioning of the active head-restraint in several makes and models.
Chrysler, the Michigan-headquartered automobile company, has recalled nearly 490,000 cars and utility vehicles worldwide due to the malfunctioning of active head-restraints. These restraints are designed to prevent neck injuries by automatically moving forward in rear-end collisions.
The recall affects all Chrysler Sebrings, Chrysler 200s and Dodge Avenger midsize cars, Jeep Liberty SUVs manufactured between 2011 and 2013 and Dodge Nitro SUVs model 2011 to 2012.
Chrysler Group LLC, released a statement Wednesday, saying the microcontrollers in the head restraint, which entered the supply chain after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, caused the malfunctioning in vehicles built around this time.
Chrysler noted that most of the affected vehicles, nearly 442,000 in the United States, 25,000 in Canada, 10,000 in Mexico and 12,000 elsewhere will be called in by the dealerships and be repaired at no cost. No injuries have been reported so far due to this problem. Chrysler will replace the defective component or upgrade the system software for normal functioning.
The company is contacting the affected customers proactively.
The news comes just two weeks after the recall of 2.7 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty SUVs for fire risks. Chrysler also recalled around 14,800 Dodge Dart compact cars over an engine stall defect, earlier in June. The company said it had to recalibrate their powertrain control modules.
