NHTSA Investigation EA07007

ENGINE STALLING

ON MAY 5, 2008, CHRYSLER LLC (CHRYSLER) SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO NHTSA CONCERNING AN ENGINE CALIBRATION ISSUE THAT COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALL IN APPROXIMATELY 24,461 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2006 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 4.7L V-8 ENGINE AND BUILT FROM FEBRUARY 25, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 11, 2006.ACCORDING TO CHRYSLER, THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) WAS PROGRAMMED WITH SOFTWARE THAT MAY ALLOW THE ENGINE TO STALL DURING CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS.CHRYSLER DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE PCM SOFTWARE IN THE RECALLED VEHICLES. INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CHRYSLER DURING PE07-009 AND EA07-007 INDICATED THAT A REVISED ENGINE CALIBRATION WAS IMPLEMENTED IN PRODUCTION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 12, 2006 FOR THE MY 2006 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.7L V-8 ENGINES.ODI'S ANALYSIS OFCONSUMER COMPLAINTS, FIELD REPORTS AND OTHER DATA RELATED TO FIELD EXPERIENCE WITH ENGINE STALLING IN MY 2006 THROUGH 2007 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.7L, 4.7L AND 5.7L ENGINES IDENTIFIED AN ELEVATED RATE OF STALLING INCIDENTS IN THE MY 2006 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.7L ENGINES THAT WERE MANUFACTURED BEFORE THE CALIBRATION CHANGE.ODI INTERVIEWED OVER 70 CONSUMERS WHO REPORTED STALLING INCIDENTS IN EARLY PRODUCTION MY 2006 4.7L VEHICLES.INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THOSE INTERVIEWS INDICATED THAT THE STALLING INCIDENTS WERE OCCURRING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, OFTEN OCCURRED DURING TURNS AND TYPICALLY OCCURRED MORE THAN ONCE.THE INTERVIEWS DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY CONCERNS WITH RESTARTABILITY. ALTHOUGH THE EARLY MY 2006 PRODUCTION VEHICLES WITH 4.7L ENGINES MAKE UP ONLY ABOUT 15 PERCENT OF ALL MY 2006 THROUGH 2007 JEEP COMMANDERS BUILT BY CHRYSLER, THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR 465 OF THE 854 REPORTED STALLING INCIDENTS (54%), 6 OF THE 12 CRASH INCIDENTS (50%) AND THE ONLY INJURY CLAIM.THE STALLING RATE FOR THE RECALLED VEHICLES IS 1.90 PERCENT, ALMOST 7 TIMES GREATER THAN THE RATE IN THE REMAINING POPULATION (0.28 PERCENT).CHRYSLER'S RECALL COVERS THE VEHICLES WITH THE ELEVATED STALLING RATE.THE REMAINING VEHICLES HAVE RELATIVELY LOW RATES OF STALLING AND DO NOT EXHIBIT ANY SIGNS OF AGGRAVATING FACTORS SUCH AS PROBLEMS WITH RESTART. ODI ALSO ANALYZED COMPLAINTS ALLEGING CONCERNS WITH LOSS OF LIGHTING COINCIDENT TO STALLING INCIDENTS.THIS ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED SEVEN STALLING INCIDENTS WHERE LOSS OF EXTERIOR LIGHTING WAS ALLEGED.NO SPECIFIC CAUSE WAS IDENTIFIED IN THESE INCIDENTS AND THERE WAS NO DISCERNIBLE PATTERN REGARDING ENGINE, VEHICLE PRODUCTION OPTIONS, BUILD RANGE OR FAILURE TREND. THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED WITH CHRYSLER'S RECALL.

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.