NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Defect Petition DP09-005: Fuel Storage System Crash Related Fires
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Defect Petition DP09-005 on November 6, 2009 and closed it on August 23, 2010. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 1993–2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- DP09-005 (also written DP09005)
- Investigation type
- Defect Petition A petition asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; NHTSA grants or denies it, and granting one opens an investigation.
- Status
- Closed August 23, 2010
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Components
- Fuel System, Gasoline — Delivery — Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings; Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage; Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage — Tank Assembly; Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage — Tank Assembly — Filler Pipe and Cap
- Vehicles and equipment
- 1993–2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Defect Petition DP09-005.
In a letter dated October 2, 2009, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) petitioned NHTSA to open a defect investigation and recall model year 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees.
CAS alleged that the subject vehicles have defective fuel tank storage systems that present a fire hazard in crashes. CAS alleged that the plastic fuel tank's placement behind the rear axle and below the rear bumper, and the lack of adequate shielding, make it more vulnerable to rupture or leakage from a rear-impact by another vehicle (including damage from other components located on the Grand Cherokee), or in the case of rollover crashes, from other external objects.
CAS also alleged that the fuel filler neck tears off in crashes.
In its petition, CAS cites data from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) showing 172 fatal fire crashes with 254 fatalities involving the subject vehicles from calendar years 1992 through 2008.
CAS stated that there have been at least 44 crashes with 64 total fatalities (subject and non-subject vehicles) where fire was entered as the Most Harmful Event (MHE) in the FARS database.
In response to the CAS petition, ODI made a preliminary examination of available data.
FARS data showed 2,988 occupants of the subject vehicles have died in crashes since 1992.
Of those, 55 died in 44 crashes where fire was listed as the Most Harmful Event.
Identifying crashes most likely associated with the alleged defect as described by CAS (defined as the subject vehicle being struck at the 5, 6 or 7 o'clock positions) isolated 10 crashes with 13 occupant fatalities.
ODI also reviewed the Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) database and identified 12 reports alleging A) a post-crash fuel tank leak and/or B) a post-crash fire potentially related to a fuel tank leak.
Of the 12 reports, 10 involved fires (two involved fuel leaks only) with 9 alleged injuries and 1 alleged fatality.
The existence of these post-crash fires does not, by itself, establish a defect trend.
Further review and investigation into these incidents is needed to determine the existence of any relationship between the alleged defect and each fire or leak.
It should be noted that ODI also conducted a preliminary review of the Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data that did not find the subject vehicles to be over-represented for post-crash fires.
ODI's initial review neither supports nor excludes the possibility that a defect exists in the subject vehicles.
However, ODI has always taken the position that vehicle fires pose a significant safety risk.
Accordingly, ODI has granted the petition to further investigate the conditions associated with post-crash fires in these vehicles.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Defect Petition DP09-005. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Jeep VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for DP09-005
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.