FBI investigate potential disorders with the Jeep Grand Cherokees

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does investigate vehicles from time to time. The bureau has just begun another investigation. There could be a design flaw within the Jeep Grand Cherokee. There could possibly be lots of automobiles affected by the defect. About 3 million, in fact. A petition for an investigation was turned in by the Center for Auto Safety to look into a possible severe safety issue. The difficulty is with a potential fire hazard, caused by awful design within the fuel system of the SUV.

Precisely what might be wrong with the jeep grand Cherokee

Jeep Grand Cherokees is being investigated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched the inquiry, as outlined by CNN. There are over 10 model years being looked at. The years in question are automobiles from 1993 to 2004. There might be a fire hazard with the fuel tank, according to the Center for Auto Safety. There have been 172 crashes involving a fire, resulting in 254 deaths in Jeep Grand Cherokees. Chrysler insisted the Cherokee was completely safe.

Difficulty probably caused by undesirable gas tank

The issue with jeep grand Cherokees is with the plastic fuel tank. The tank is mounted below the rear bumper and behind the rear axle. That’s where the risk lies, according to the CAS. The organization, founded by Ralph Nader, insists the tank can rupture in rear end accidents and thus poses a fire danger. The NHTSA has identified 44 accidents, according to ABC, where the fire caused more damage than the crash itself. There were also accidents where fire caused greater bodily harm than the crash. Of those, there were 55 fatalities. There were 10 crashes where fires were involved and 13 deaths believed to be due to the automobile being rear ended.

Jeep stealing magic from the Pinto

Jeep has offered a skid plate as an option for the Grand Cherokee that covers the fuel tank, but only as an add-on for off-road driving. A brush guard was added in 1999. In 2005, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was redesigned with the fuel tank moved to the middle of the car. The problem is actually somewhat similar to the Pinto. Both cars could have the fuel tank’s top sheared off in a rear-ending accident.

Further reading

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/Blotter/jeep-grand-cherokee-abc-station-reported-gas-tank/story?id=11473270 and page=1

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2010/08/24/autos/Jeep_Grand_Cherokee/index.htm