Chrysler Recalls Thousands of Trucks Over Tie Rod Safety Fears

Chrysler Group LLC is recalling about 286,000 Dodge Ram pickup trucks due to potential problems on the trucks with tie rod assemblies that could pose dangers, Reuters reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said approximately 243,000 of the recalled trucks are in the United States. About 74,000 have already received service on the tie rod assembly. Chrysler told Reuters there have been a "few crashes and at least one minor injury as a result of the issue." Still, the automobile manufacturer said the defect could lead to a "loss of directional stability" in the left front wheel, which could increase the risk of a crash, particularly during turns.

As experienced Virginia defective product attorneys, we are concerned about this recall that comes just days after a tragedy in Norfolk, VA, that may have been caused by a defect in an SUV's fuel line. My colleague John C. reported on the worrying implications of the death of longtime Navy sailor Joe Weschler. He was killed on July 9, 2011, when his Chevrolet Traverse burst into flames on I-64. A finding that a key component of the new vehicle was unsafe could give the family grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit. Already, an insurance provider has reported that the deadly fire was caused by a vehicle malfunction.

We have reported on numerous recalls in the automobile industry. For example General Motors, the manufacturer of the Chevrolet Traverse, recently announced two separate recalls affecting about 10,000 pickup trucks because of potentially dangerous defects that could lead to crashes. The company recalled more than 9,000 Chevrolet Colorado and GM Canyon trucks from the 2011 model year because the vehicles may have been built with a transmission clip that could slip and inaccurately show the engine to be in a different gear than it is.

See this video on checks car buyers can make to see if their vehicle has been the subject of a recall.

Other potentially dangerous defects our Virginia Beach-based attorneys have noted include faulty gas tanks on 1979 Chevy Malibu cars with faulty gas tanks that could explode, causing burns and other injuries to car owners and mechanics. And we reported on a product liability suit related to Bridgestone tires on Ford vehicles following a recall of faulty tires linked to blowout accidents in which drivers and passengers were injured and killed.

More recently, we noted the massive recalls made by Toyota over sticky gas pedals that have been linked to deaths and wrongful death lawsuits.

While recalls in the automotive industry are alarming because they point to problems, it's better that a manufacturer takes action than ignoring the potential hazards for fear of the bad publicity engendered by a recall.

DM