Following GM’s announcement of an additional 7.6 million cars affected by ignition-related issues, Chrysler has expanded its own ignition-switch recall by 700,000 minivans and crossovers.
According to Automotive News, Chrysler is calling the move an “abundance of caution” and is a response to an investigation by the U.S. NHTSA. Exactly 695,957 examples of the Chrysler Town & Country, and the Dodge Grand Caravan and Journey from the 2008 to 2010 model years are affected by the expansion.
Similar to the issues facing GM, Chrysler says the ignition switches in the affected minivans and crossovers could slip from the “run” to the “accesory” modes, shutting off power to the engine and deactivating the airbags in the process. Of the models affected, 102,892 are in Canada and 525,206 are in the U.S. Meanwhile, 25,591 are in Mexico and the rest of the 42,268 models are worldwide.
The expansion follows Chrysler’s previous ignition recall of roughly 196,000 models from the 2010 model year. The NHTSA says it received “at least” 23 complaints from owners of 2008 and 2009 model-year vehicles, who reported defects similar to the ones affecting the 2010 models.
