| Subject: | Totally integrated power module failure |
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| Investigations Summary: | In a letter dated August 21, 2014, the center for auto safety (cas) petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) to initiate a defect investigation into failures associated with the totally integrated power module (tipm) installed in Chrysler suvs, trucks, and vans beginning in the 2007 model year. The cas alleges that tipm failures have resulted in incidents of engine stall; airbag non-deployment; random horn, headlight, taillight, door lock, instrument panel and windshield wiper activity; failure of fuel pump shutoff resulting in unintended acceleration; and fires. The petition includes a list of 70 complaints received by cas that are allegedly related to Chrysler tipm failures. The petition references a class action lawsuit regarding tipm7 module failure and 63 of the cas complaints relate to vehicles equipped with tipm7 body control modules (1 complaint involves a vehicle equipped with a tipm6 module and 6 complaints involve vehicles that were not equipped with tipm modules). This defect petition review will focus on vehicles equipped with tipm7 modules. Preliminary analysis of the 63 cas complaints related to tipm7 equipped vehicles identified 51 reports alleging incidents of engine stall (17) or no-start (34). Three complaints reported incidents of smoke (2) or fire (1). None of the reports provided alleged tipm failures resulting in airbag non-deployment or unintended acceleration and none of the complaints alleged a crash. In a supplement to the petition, cas identified 24 crashes from NHTSA's early warning reporting (ewr) database that it believes may be related to tipm failure and requested that NHTSA review these as part of its petition evaluation. In a September 3, 2014 letter, Chrysler group LLC notified NHTSA of a safety defect in the totally integrated power module-7 (tipm 7) in approximately 188,723 my 2011 Dodge durango and Jeep grand cherokee vehicles equipped with 3. 6l and 5. 7l engines (recall 14v-530). According to Chrysler, some Jeep grand cherokee and Dodge durango vehicles may experience a failure in the fuel pump relay within the tipm which can result in a no-start or stall condition. Thirty-six (36) of the complaints submitted with the petition involve my 2011 Jeep grand cherokee and Dodge durango vehicles equipped with 3. 6l and 5. 7l engines. The petition will be evaluated for a grant or deny decision. A copy of the petition will be placed in the public file (NHTSA ref. No. 10637920). |
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