The TIPM module identified in the Center for Auto Safety’s petition encompasses the Jeep Cherokees already under recall efforts. Photo from article.wn.com

News out of Detroit from Reuters news agency this morning details a petition from the Center for Auto Safety, a safety advocate group, asking U.S. Regulators (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to open a formal investigation on nearly 5 million Chrysler vehicles for engine stalls and other issues.

At the center of the issue is this Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM). Photo from www.chryslerproblems.com

The NHTSA has posted several documents online that outline the details of the vehicle issues that were being considered. The NHTSA claimed that it would decide to grant or deny the petition but set no timetable for the decision. If the NHTSA decides to open an investigation, it could lead to a recall of these vehicles.

The vehicles at the heart of the potential investigation range between Chrsler, Dodge and Jeep SUVs, pickups and minivans from the 2007 through the 2014 model years with the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM).

Reuters quoted the Chrysler Group, a unit of Fiat, saying it was investigating customer complaints and analyzing parts from the field. “Every Chrysler Group vehicle meets or exceeds all applicable safety standards,” they reported.

According to the Center for Auto Safety (CAS), “Thousands of owners have reported a wide range of serious safety failures related to the TIPM to CAS, NHTSA and complaint forums such as CarComplaints.com. Consumers report frequent vehicle shutdowns with no restart capability on the highway, airbag non-deployment, random horn, headlight, taillight, door lock, instrument panel and windshield wiper activity, power windows going up and down on their own, failure of fuel pump shutoff resulting in unintended acceleration, and fires.”

CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow outlined the problems:

•  Chrysler’s TIPM is a computer run amuck – owners report that their vehicles act as if possessed and leave them in dangerous situations – stalled vehicles stranded without warning on the highway, fuel pumps that won’t shut off, windows that open and shut, airbags that won’t deploy.  The TIPM is in millions of 2007-14 Chrysler vehicles and fails at such high frequency that Chrysler has run out of replacement parts.  Consumers are faced with a terrible dilemma – park the vehicle until parts are available or ride at risk of being in deadly crash.  In a defect petition filed today, CAS seeks a recall of all Chrysler vehicles with defective TIPMs and replacement with a redesigned module that provides safe and reliable vehicle control.
• This is yet another electronic defect that shows how inadequate NHTSA’s resources are to regulate today’s modern automobile that is little more than a computer on wheels.  NHTSA has no electronic research laboratory or any significant electronic staff capability.  When NHTSA investigated unintended acceleration that involved defective computers, NHTSA went to Chrysler to run EMI tests.  NHTSA even rents space from Honda for its Vehicle Research Test Center to conduct ongoing defect investigation testing and standards research.
• Chrysler conducted two small recalls on vehicles with defective TIPMs but this was just the tip of the iceberg.  All 2007-14 vehicles with TIPMs must be recalled to ensure Chrysler owners can ride without risk of stalling on the road, having the airbag fail to deploy in a crash, having the fuel pump continue to run and causing a fire or unintended acceleration.

These vehicles are involved in the petition’s investigation request. Photo from www.chryslerprobles.com

CAS provides information on common problems and advice on how to resolve them for most models on the road. This information comes in consumer information packages by make and model which are designed to empower consumers to take on the most resistant manufacturers and get vehicles fixed for free or replaced. More information can be found at the Center for Auto Safey’s home page, www.autosafety.org.