After at least 12 reports of incidents associated with some units of the models 2009 and 2010 of the Dodge Ram 1500 4WD full-sized pickup trucks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has revealed that investigators are looking into the accidents to identify exactly why they have occurred.
According to the news, these trucks may have been manufactured with potentially defective rear differential pinion nuts, which could be leading the rear wheel to lock-up unexpectedly, causing the driveshaft to break. One of the reports of incidents resulted in the vehicle driving straight into a wall because the driver lost control of the wheel due to the fact the wheel lock-up system was activated unexpectedly. In this accident, the driveshaft ended up coming detached and puncturing the fuel tank in the truck. No injuries were reported.
The Consumer Reports issued an article stating that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defect Investigations hopes to determine whether these vehicles were truly equipped with defective parts and whether a recall announcement should be issued promptly.
No reports on where the carmaker stands on this issue. Up to this moment, there hasn’t been a need for a recall announcement to be issued yet but car owners are urged to stay alert and report any incidents related to their Dodge Ram 1500 trucks to the federal agency at once.
Models of vehicles being investigated by the NHTSA come in regular, quad and crew cab models and all units are equipped with automatic transmissions. To prevent accidents that could lead to serious injuries, the news agencies urge drivers to avoid using the potentially defective vehicle until the federal agency discovers exactly what may have been the cause behind these accidents.
Chrysler could face a financial difficulty were two models worth of trucks recalled over defective rear assemblies. The Chrysler Group could also have decided to conduct this investigation and time wouldn’t be wasted since the investigation conducted by Chrysler engineers could identify the recurring problem with these vehicles in a promptly manner, avoiding the risk of learning about more accidents associated with these vehicles.
As a personal injury lawyer, I sincerely hope that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into these cases with dedication to identify exactly what may be the issue with these trucks if any, so a recall announcement can be published before anybody is injured.
For more details on this investigation, visit the consumer reports website by clicking here.
