DETROIT — The US government’s road safety agency is accusing Chrysler of moving too slowly to fix some Jeep SUVs in a recall announced more than a year ago.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a letter released Wednesday, is asking the automaker why it’s taking so long to fix as many as 2.5 million older Grand Cherokees and Libertys with gas tanks mounted behind the rear axles. The tanks could rupture in rear collisions, leak fuel, and cause fires.
The automaker’s proposed fix involves installing a trailer hitch assembly to the back of the SUVs.
The letter is the latest skirmish in a long fight between the automaker and agency over the safety of the SUVs, all built before the 2008 model year. Initially NHTSA wanted the company to recall 2.7 million of them, but Chrysler refused, saying they were as safe as similar vehicles. They eventually worked a deal to recall 1.56 million, with 1.2 million others placed in a campaign to be inspected for the hitches. Last year NHTSA said a three-year investigation showed 51 people had died in fiery crashes in Jeeps with gas tanks behind the rear axle.
In the letter, NHTSA said Chrysler will send notices to owners of 1.5 million Grand Cherokees from the 1993 to 1998 model years and to another 1 million owners of 2002-2007 Libertys.
But the letter says production of the trailer hitches didn’t start until May of this year, and the pace is so slow that it will take Chrysler 4.7 years to get enough hitches if all owners respond to the recall.
‘‘The agency has no intention of allowing Chrysler, or any other manufacturer, to delay recall completion to the detriment of safety,” NHTSA said.
Chrysler has until July 16 to respond to the agency’s request for information or face up to a $35 million fine, the agency said.
In another setback for an automaker Wednesday, Subaru says it will recall about 8,500 Legacy, Outback, and Baja cars from the 2003-04 model years because they are equipped with defective Takata air bag inflators, a spokesman said.
Subaru joins Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Ford, Chrysler, and BMW, which last month said they were recalling more than 3 million vehicles worldwide because of the defect.
The defective inflators contain improperly prepared propellant that can produce too much pressure when ignited, rupturing the inflator’s metal case. That could send metal fragments into the passenger compartment, causing injuries.
Subaru is recalling its vehicles nationwide. Other carmakers issued far more limited regional recalls in areas with high humidity.