Chrysler Recalls 67000 Pickup Trucks After Death Of A Child

Fiat Chrysler is recalling about 67,000 pickup trucks made in 2006 and 2007 due to a problem that could allow the trucks to be started without the clutch being depressed. Chrysler said one death is associated with the problem.

According to Reuters, engineers discovered clutch interlock switches may be equipped with spring wire that differs from wire used in previous switches, the company said. The alternate wire could break and cause the vehicle not to start or in rare cases result in unintended movement when the ignition key is turned, according to Chrysler.

The fatality occurred when a young child got into a 2006 Ram 3500 truck and was able to start the ignition without the clutch depressed, according to documents filed with NHTSA. The vehicle moved forward and struck and killed another child. After the tragic accident, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the trucks in May.

Of the 67,000 pickup trucks being recalled by Chrysler, an estimated 54,558 of the trucks are in the United States, 4,356 in Canada, 7,648 in Mexico and 257 outside of North America, FCA said.

The company is recalling Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, 3500 and Mitsubishi Raider pickups that were made between July 2005 and June 2006. Nearly 55,000 of them are in the U.S.

FCA US LLC, the former Chrysler Group LLC, will replace the switches at no cost to consumers. The company said it only used the faulty wire during the period covered in the recall, according to AP.

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