US highway safety chief says agency may reopen probe into Jeep gas tank fires
The U.S. government's highway safety agency may reopen an investigation of Jeep gas tanks that can rupture and cause fires in rear-end crashes.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Mark Rosekind says the agency isn't happy with the Jeep situation and says reopening the probe is among options on the table.
Jeep manufacturer Fiat Chrysler agreed to recall 1.56 million older-model Jeep Grand Cherokees and Libertys in 2013 to install trailer hitches to protect the tanks. But Rosekind says he's unhappy with the pace of the repairs. At the end of 2014, only 3 percent of the Jeeps had been fixed. Many owners complained to the agency that dealers didn't have parts.
Rosekind tells reporters that the agency is waiting for Chrysler's first-quarter progress report before taking further action.