1997 Chrysler Concorde

ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2004, MR. ROBERT GALENTY OF ISELIN, NJ, PETITIONED THE AGENCY TO CONDUCT DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS OF CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1993-1997 VEHICLES PRODUCED BY DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION.HIS PETITION IDENTIFIED THREE ISSUES OF CONCERN: 1) FUEL LEAKING FROM THE FUEL INJECTOR RAILS; 2) BRAKE FLUID CONTAMINATION RESULTING IN BRAKE FAILURE; AND 3) SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE VEHICLE FRAME TO DAMAGE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING TOWED.MR. GALANTY ALLEGED THAT HIS 1996 DODGE INTREPID HAD EACH OF THESE THREE PROBLEMS.CONCERNING FUEL RAIL LEAKAGE, DAIMLERCHRYSLER COMMENCED A RECALL (98V-184) OF APPROXIMATELY 722,600 VEHICLES TO ADDRESS ENGINE FUEL RAIL LEAKS THAT COULD LEAD TO A FIRE, INCLUDING THOSE VEHICLES CITED IN THE PETITION AND THE PETITIONER'S 1996 DODGE INTREPID.ON OCTOBER 7, 1998, NHTSA OPENED A RECALL QUERY INVESTIGATION (RQ98-018) TO EVALUATE THE ADEQUACY OF THE RECALL REMEDY.THAT INVESTIGATION WAS CLOSED ON JULY 8, 2002 WITHOUT REQUIRING FURTHER ACTION BY DAIMLERCHRYSLER.VERY RECENTLY, ON JUNE 9, 2004, NHTSA DENIED A PETITION (RP04-001) TO REOPEN RQ98-018 AFTER FINDING THAT THERE WAS NO NEW INFORMATION THAT WOULD INDICATE ANY BASIS FOR REOPENING IT.THIS IS STILL THE CURRENT POSITION OF NHTSA ON THIS ISSUE.CONCERNING BRAKE FLUID CONTAMINATION AND FRAME ALIGNMENT, A REVIEW OF NHTSA'S DATABASE SHOWS NO OTHER COMPLAINTS ON EITHER ONE OF THESE ISSUES ON THE VEHICLES CITED IN THE PETITION.

THE MANUFACTURER REPORTS ABOVE ARE BASED ON DAIMLERCHRYSLER?S (DC) ANALYSIS OF MODEL YEAR (MY) 1998 (POPULATION = 356,384) AND 1999 (POPULATION = 486,948) JA, JX AND LH FAMILY SUBJECT VEHICLE DATA (EARLIER MYS EXCLUDED).THE POPULATION NUMBER INCLUDES ALL MYS.THE PRECISE NUMBER OF DUPLICATES BETWEEN ODI AND DC REPORTS CANNOT BE DETERMINED DUE TO MISSING OR INCOMPLETE INFORMATION.THE FATALITY INCIDENT INVOLVED AN ELDERLY PERSON WHO ATTEMPTED TO STOP A ROLL AWAY VEHICLE AND RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES.ODI ALSO GATHERED INFORMATION ON MY 1997-99 PROWLER VEHICLES IN THIS INVESTIGATION. THE PROWLER VEHICLES WERE MANUFACTURED WITH A DIFFERENT DESIGN SHIFTER MECHANISM (THE SHIFT LEVER IS SHORTER).THERE ARE NO COMPLAINTS OF PROWLER INTERLOCK FAILURE IN ODI?S DATABASE, AND DC HAS RECEIVED NO REPORTS EITHER.THE PROWLER IS EXCLUDED FROM THE RECALL SCOPE.THE INVESTIGATION INVOLVED A CONDITION WHERE THE INTERLOCK SYSTEM COULD FAIL (OR BE MADE INOPERATIVE BY THE OPERATOR) DURING VEHICLE USE, POSSIBLY INADVERTENTLY.THE INTERLOCK SYSTEM IS REQUIRED UNDER FMVSS 114.WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN THE PARK POSITION AND THE IGNITION KEY OFF, THE COMBINED ACTION OF PRESSING THE SHIFT BUTTON AND PULLING THE SHIFT LEVER REARWARD MAY RESULT IN THE OPERATOR OVERCOMING THE INTERLOCK SYSTEM AND CAUSE THE MECHANICAL LINKAGE OF THE SYSTEM TO DISCONNECT.WHEN THIS OCCURS, THERE IS NO OVERT INDICATION TO AN OPERATOR THAT THE SYSTEM IS DEFEATED, AND AN INCREASED RISK OF VEHICLE ROLL-AWAY EXISTS.UNDER RECALL 04V021, DC WILL REPLACE DAMAGED SHIFT MECHANISMS, AND WILL INSTALL ON ALL VEHICLES A DEVICE WHICH INHIBITS THE OPERATOR?S ABILITY TO OVERCOME THE INTERLOCK AND DEFEAT THE SYSTEM.BEGINNING WITH MY 2000, DC INCORPORATED A BRAKE AND TRANSMISSION SHIFTER INTERLOCK (BTSI) SYSTEM INTO THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.INTRODUCTION OF BTSI INVOLVED DESIGN CHANGES TO THE SHIFT MECHANISM, ONE OF WHICH RESULTED IN REDUCED MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE (RMA) OF THE SHIFT BUTTON.THE RMA SHIFTER REQUIRES INCREASED FORCES TO OVERCOME THE INTERLOCK SYSTEM, MAKING THE SHIFTER LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO DAMAGE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 CHRYSLER CONCORDE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 125,000. .... UPDATED 10-17-13 *BF UPDATED 10/24/14*CN

NHTSA ID

10536567

Incident

Feb 13, 2013

Mileage

100,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 CHRYSLER CONCORDE. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 98V184000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM) AND THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. EIGHT YEARS AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED SHE NOTICED FUEL LEAKING FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE IT WAS PARKED. THE CONTACT STATED FUEL WOULD ALSO LEAK WHILE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THE FUEL INJECTOR SYSTEM WAS LEAKING AND THE O-RING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.

NHTSA ID

10410014

Incident

Jun 30, 2008

Mileage

100,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 CHRYSLER CONCORD. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT A SPEEDS OF 45 MPH, ENGINE COOLANT, WATER AND STEAM POURED FROM UNDER THE DASHBOARD AND INTO THE INTERIOR CABIN OF THE VEHICLE WITHOUT WARNING. BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SUFFERED FIRST DEGREE BURNS TO BOTH FEET. THIS WAS THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSIS OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT YET RECEIVED THE RESULTS. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 48,000. UPDATED 05/19/10. *LJ

NHTSA ID

10325804

Incident

Apr 13, 2010

Mileage

48,000 mi

MY VEHICLE, DRIVEN BY MY STEP SON, CROSSED THE MEDIAN, SPUN AROUND AND SLAMMED BACKWARDS INTO A POWER POLE. HE HIT WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO PUSH THE REAR BUMPER AND THE TRUNK IN ALMOST 3 FEET AND YET THE AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. THE SUDDEN STOP BROKE THE FRONT SEAT LOOSE FROM THE FLOOR AND RIPPED HIS GLASSES OFF HIS HEAD AND FLUNG THEM INTO THE BACK WINDOW. FORTUNATELY HE HAD HIS SEAT BELT ON, OR THE RECOIL WOULD HAVE SENT HIM THE FORWARD MOMENTUM FROM THE RECOIL WOULD HAVE SENT HIM THROUGH THE FRONT WINDOW. STILL THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE ACCIDENT IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION AND IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER HE WAS UNCONSCIOUS FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME FROM THE ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ID

10292195

Incident

Oct 11, 2009

Mileage

85,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 CHRYSLER CONCORDE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE CAN REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION WITHOUT PLACING THE VEHICLE INTO PARK. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ISSUE WAS REPAIRED IN 2004, BUT HAS RECENTLY RECURRED. THE CONTACT WILL CHECK WITH THE MANUFACTURER FOR ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000.

NHTSA ID

10278523

Incident

Jul 13, 2009

Mileage

96,000 mi

BAD CRADLE BUSHINGS GRINDING NOISE WHEN DRIVING,TURNING,AND BREAKING LOUD BANG WHEN OVERDRIVE IS INITIATED AND VERY BAD ALIGNMENT FRONT DRIVER TIRE STARTED SMOKING AND THE BRAKE ROTOR WAS HOT ENOUGH TO BURN FLAT SPOTS ON MY FINGER TIPS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10262095

Incident

Sep 30, 2008

Mileage

60,000 mi

I HAVE EXPERIENCED ALOT OF PLAY IN THE STEERING OF MY CHRYSLER CONCORDE 1997. AFTER INSPECTION IT WAS FOUND THAT THE FRONT CRADLE BUSHINGS WHERE WORN AWAY. I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR 2 YEARS. I LOOKED AT A WEB SITE CONCERNING THIS AND OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THIS AND OTHER CHRSLER MODELS. AND IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE ISSUES RELATED TO SEVERE AND CATASTROPHIC FAILURES WITH THESE VEHICLES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10259198

Incident

Feb 14, 2009

Mileage

143,500 mi

I HAVE A 1997 CHRYSLER CONCORD. I HAD A SEVERE CLUNKING NOISE IN FRONT END. AFTER SEVERAL TRIPS TO THE GARAGE AND ALMOST $1000 LATER I HAD REPLACED BOTH INNER TIE ROD ENDS, ALL 4 CRADLE BUSHINGS AS WELL AS BOTH SWAYBARS IN FRONT END. NOT TO MENTION FRONT END ALIGNMENTS AFTER EACH REPAIR. THEN MY LEFT TIE ROD HAD TO BE REPLACED AGAIN WITHIN A BOUT A MONTH. THE PROBLEM WAS EVENTUALLY FIXED AND NOISE STOPPED UNTIL NOW. SIX MONTHS LATER I'M EXPERIENCING THE SAME NOISES AND A LOSE TIE ROD AGAIN. I HAVE SEEN ALL THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT CHRYSLER AND NOTE THAT THEY DON'T INCLUDE THE 1997 MODEL AS HAVING THESE PROBLEMS BUT I DO WITH MY 97 CONCORD. I HAVE 2 CHILDREN THAT RIDE IN MY VEHICLE AND THIS IS REALLY UNSAFE. IF THE TIERODS BREAK OR COME LOSE YOU CAN'T STEER THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM REALLY NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY CHRYSLER AND FIXED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10250897

Incident

Dec 5, 2008

Mileage

120,000 mi

Charging System, Battery Diagnostic Tools and Warranty This information only bulletin discusses using the correct test equipment for testing batteries and charging systems, and also warranty reimbursement when battery replacements are necessary.

Repair Parts Used For Structural Repairs This bulletin involves discussing FCA US LLC position with regard to structural repair parts usage.

Repair Parts Used For Structural Repairs This bulletin involves discussing FCA US LLC position with regard to structural repair parts usage.

Use of Aftermarket Parts This bulletin involves discussing FCA US LLC position with regard to collision repair industry awareness regarding the use of aftermarket parts.

Use of Salvage/Recycled Parts This bulletin involves discussing FCA US LLC position with regard to collision repair industry awareness regarding the use of recycled or salvage parts.

Use of Salvage/Recycled Parts This bulletin involves discussing FCA US LLC position with regard to collision repair industry awareness regarding the use of recycled or salvage parts.