Originally Posted by
dedwards0323
Sort of been interesting for me to follow this thread the past couple of weeks. Lots of discussion concerning whether a car is covered under a recall by whether it's the original owner or subsequent owners. My understanding is that if the NHTSA issues a mandated recall for a safety issue, the only thing that matters is whether the specific car VIN is included in the recall lot. There typically isn't anything factored in as to whether the car is still owned by the original purchaser. (Note: The TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL has another factor in that where the car is located determines the priority order in which the car is repaired. But all the cars included in the recall get repaired if they are still "on the road" & registered (only way FCA can trace the car).)
Now if the recall is issued by the car manufacturer due to some known defect (like the rear window in a Crossfire Roadster coming unglued), all bets are off. The car manufacturer can issue that recall with any qualifiers it feels are justified and/or adequate. And saying that they would only cover cars originally sold in the Southern states & still owned by original buyers (correct me if I got this wrong) would limit the financial exposure to them. And when it comes down to it, it is all about financial risk and potential impact. It is a "bean counters' world. Overall goodwill and market image become secondary concerns for these auto manufacturers. They typically can survive a little ill will.
There have been much larger recalls over the years that manufacturers have taken years to put behind them, but these do go away eventually. Remember the Pinto exploding gas tanks during rear-end collisions! Remember the original Firestone 500s that delaminated & failed catastrophically! Remember the Audi issue with going into gear when shift lever was placed in park! And all these brands overcame those recalls. The Crossfire rear window is a "drop in the bucket" compared to these issues.
I completely understand your point concerning "bean counters" and cost containment. Of course, Chrysler never issued any sort of (mandatory) top recall. A "recall" , whether corporate or gov't., would include All suspect vehicles. Rather, they issued a service bulletin with a warranty offer, to a select group of cars.
The heat & humidity of the "Southern States" notion was a smoke screen that people assumed or bought into. Why would they include Missouri, Texas and Tennessee, yet skip Mississippi, Virginia, West Virginia, Oklahoma and even Kentucky?
(has anyone heard about Phoenix in the summer?)
They simply chose their 9 States and gathered up all of the Vin numbers that were shipped there from the port. Their Letters, dated 9/7/2011, went to the current owners of record by the specific Vin numbers. (not sure, but not just original purchasers). Whatever States those cars may have been relocated to, was not even an issue
.
I feel that their decision was foolish, businesswise, especially since they wound up helping a number of other owners anyway. My $.02. It is a shame that Any car maker can be so blatantly arbitrary and get away with it.
Perhaps they should have done nothing, but this was clearly a manufacturing flaw with widespread occurrence, far too early in the expected lifespan of the part.