Safety advocates have criticized FCA’s 2013 SUV recalls after a 58-year-old Ohio woman died in a crash in her Jeep Liberty earlier this week.
Last Monday, Vicki Hill was killed after her 2007 Jeep was rear-ended and advocates say FCA’s recall to prevent the fuel tank from igniting in rear-end collisions wasn’t adequately effective.
In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Jeep issued a recall of 1.56 million 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty and 1993-1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee models after more than 50 deaths were linked to deficiencies with the vehicles.
Investigations concluded that the fuel tank, located between the rear suspension and bumper, was vulnerable to leaks and fires in crashes. Consequently, the automaker equipped the vehicles with trailer hitches to help solve the issue.
However, speaking to Bloomberg, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, Jason Levine said “Here is what appears to be a tragic incident that highlights the exact problems we were concerned about 18 months ago. Our fear then and our fear today remains to be that the fix is not sufficient.”
In an email, FCA said “The 2007 Jeep Liberty meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards, including those that test fuel-system integrity in rear impacts.”
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