Charger recall

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Fiat Chrysler is recalling more than a half-million Dodge Chargers worldwide because they can slip off of a jack when tires are being changed.

The recall covers Chargers from the 2011 to 2016 model years and includes almost 442,000 cars in the United States.

The company says the body beneath the doors can become deformed during jack use, making the cars unstable. Fiat Chrysler is doing the recall because an analysis of warranty claims showed that they could fall from jacks. The company says it knows of three minor injuries from the problem.

Fiat Chrysler will provide wheel chocks free of charge to keep the cars stable during jacking. Customers will be notified when they can get the chocks.


How do wheel chocks fix inadequately reinforced jack points?

Although it does raise the question of why chock blocks aren't included in the first place--a number of vehicles can roll when jacked up. I mean, on my truck, it is RWD and the parking brake is on the rear, so if I jack the rear it can roll. As opposed to my FWD cars where the trans or engine can lock the fronts while the parking brake can lock the rear (although chock blocks would still be a good idea).
 
You can't jackup the whole back end with the supplied jack though, so if you jack up one rear tire, the other should be on the ground with some weight on it. So as long as you use your parking brake the car shouldn't slide away on a reasonable slope?
 
I have a 2012 Charger patrol car. The jack that came with it warped when I used it. Piece of junk. I'mgetting a 2016 Charger soon for work and they don't even come with spare tires. I guess there is no need for a jack.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
You can't jackup the whole back end with the supplied jack though, so if you jack up one rear tire, the other should be on the ground with some weight on it. So as long as you use your parking brake the car shouldn't slide away on a reasonable slope?



True, forgot about that.

But my Toyota parking brakes don't hold on reasonable slopes. Very weak.

I think on my Camry if I jack the front corner up, the rear corner can just about come off the ground. I tried that once on my Jetta, and was just about able to do so. Regardless, that removes one of the parking brakes when lifting the front; and of course the differential means that the other front wheel offers no resistance either.

*

Duh! Now that I think about it, dad's Astro had metal stamped chock blocks. Forgot all about those.
 
This version, which includes the official statement from FCA says absolutely nothing about anything deforming, simply that due to how the car is designed, if the jack is improperly placed, there is a possibility of the car sliding off of it:

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/02/03/dodge-charger-tire-jack-recall/

Originally Posted By: autoblog
A bizarre new recall gives wheel chocks to Dodge Charger owners so that people remain safe while changing the sedan's wheels. The campaign covers 441,578 examples of the 2011-2016 Charger in the US; plus 19,229 in Canada; 4,969 in Mexico, and 38,947 outside the NAFTA region.

According to Dodge's announcement, owners should use the chocks to stabilize the Charger when using a jack to change the wheels, like in the case of a flat tire. Without them it's possible for the sedan to fall off the jack. The company is aware of three minor hand injuries from this problem. Dodge will notify owners by mail when they can pick up the free wheel chocks.

FCA US spokesperson Eric Mayne offered Autoblog a more detailed explanation about this recall. "The body structure of this vehicle is unique. If owner's manual instructions are not followed, slippage may occur. Chocks are being provided to help ensure the instructions are followed," he said. "We are continually analyzing warranty data to identify ways to improve the ownership experience. When tire-jack data was reviewed, we identified a need to further assist our customers."


And the official statement from FCA:
Originally Posted By: FCA

Statement: Wheel Chocks

February 3, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is conducting a voluntary safety recall to supply wheel chocks for an estimated 441,578 full-size sedans in the U.S.

The chocks are for use, as instructed in the vehicle's owner's manual, when employing a tire jack to change wheels. When positioned diagonally opposite to the wheel being changed, the chocks will help stabilize the vehicle.

Failure to follow the manual's instructions with an affected vehicle may cause the vehicle to come off the tire jack. FCA US is aware of three related injuries – all minor.

The recall is limited to 2011-2016 Dodge Chargers. Also affected by the campaign are an estimated 19,229 cars in Canada; 4,969 in Mexico and 38,947 outside the NAFTA region.

Recall notices will advise affected customers when they may obtain their wheel chocks, which will be supplied free of charge.

Customers with questions or concerns may call the FCA US Customer Care Center at 1-800-853-1403.
 
And a link to the official FCA announcement:

http://media.fcanorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=704DB9D8BA8A60E2EB1CBE76317E7A21?&id=17301&mid=1

Which is the same as I posted above and mentions absolutely nothing about anything deforming.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
This version, which includes the official statement from FCA says absolutely nothing about anything deforming, simply that due to how the car is designed, if the jack is improperly placed, there is a possibility of the car sliding off of it:

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/02/03/dodge-charger-tire-jack-recall/


Interesting; I stand corrected.

I wonder if it's from lifting the front of the car? I'm guessing the car is heavy up front, and lift may lift a rear wheel at the same time? Which can cause a teeter-totter situation?
 
supton:

Not your fault bud, you quoted the same thing a pile of other news sites have posted, you were just relaying what you thought was accurate information, that isn't on you, that's on them for misconstruing the issue relative to the official statement from FCA.
 
Originally Posted By: supton

I wonder if it's from lifting the front of the car? I'm guessing the car is heavy up front, and lift may lift a rear wheel at the same time? Which can cause a teeter-totter situation?


The cars are quite rigid with relatively little suspension travel, so yes they tend to "tripod" or teeter-totter kind of like my old Bimmer and other cars that are designed the same way would do. So if you jack it up too high it is possible to get multiple wheels off the ground and then it has the potential of moving around on you.
 
I remember as a youth (over)jacking my parents AMC Eagle to change a backtire.

As we put the tire on it teetered and my dad grabbed me. It fell onto its brake drum with jack stuck under car. Funny dad/son moment as we just burst out laughing. It actually drove okay except snow as effected drum locked up easily causing a twitch introducing to me skidding/recovery on snow/ice...
 
The dumbing down of america, people too stupid to read the owners manual and use common sense and chalk the opposite wheel when jacking so now the OEm has to cover their arrse and provide chalks!

Has nothing to do with the jacking point deforming or any [censored] like that!



http://www.autonews.com/article/20160203...-autonews-daily


"For the uninitiated, wheel chocks are large, usually wedge-shaped items that are put fore and aft of a vehicle’s wheel to keep it from rolling during a flat-tire change.

Chocks are fine devices -- simple and cheap and completely effective at what they are intended to do -- and are almost universally recommended equipment by automakers to safely change a tire. Their retail cost is as cheap as $15.

How simple are they? Well, when a wedge-shaped chock isn’t available, two bricks or big rocks or hunks of wood can be used as a nearly equal substitute.

In the case of the Charger recall, FCA said it knows of three minor injuries from customers changing a tire who didn’t follow the owner’s manual and chock the opposite-side tire. I checked: They were hand injuries that didn’t require medical follow-up."
 
I've never seen a factory supplied car jack I felt safe using. The piece of junk jacks are the problem.

My father had a flat on his Mercedes GL450 SUV a few years ago. The run flat lasted one mile before it came apart so he was forced to swap on the included donut spare. He put the jack on the specified lift point, and it crushed itself before it even began to lift up the car. Not surprising, since it was the same size scissor jack as the one in my sister's 2005 Civic. He called M-Benz roadside and they said they would be there in 2 hours, so I had to run up there with my floor jack.

He was not happy that day.
 
Buy one of those Torin jacks in the plastic carry case.Silver and red jack.
 
EVERY car that has a scissor jack issued with it (which pretty much means 'every car') should come with chocks. The slightest shift of the vehicle forward or backward can tip the jack, its just common sense.

You can do it without chocks by being very careful and setting the P-brake as hard as you possibly can... but most people these days never touch the P-brake anyway, and think "Park" in the transmission is good enough. Its not good enough for changing tires with a scissor jack!!!
 
The industry is moving a little at a time toward a complete solution. The answer, tire pressure monitoring, no spare, no jack and a roadside service plan.

This will be combined with a dashboard readout to tell you anything you need to know and that information will be available to the manufacturer, their lawyers, your insurance company, the local, state and federal tax boards and the dealers.

You will be notified when it's unsafe or illegal to operate your vehicle.

There will be no more worries about your vehicle falling off the jack.
 
If the car actually rocks on the jack and opposite corner tire, chocks won't help anyways, but I doubt the supplied scissor jack goes that high. I've never even thought of use chocks to change a tire but I guess if my parking break didn't work I would, but that hasn't happened.
Something is different with the car or its jack I guess. Maybe the average Charger owner doesn't even know its rwd and don't apply the parking brake? That is the simplest explanation.
 
My brother's 1997 Civic uses a scissor jack, and since he bought the car in 2007, that is what we have been using. The very first time we went to jack up the car we were going to use our bottle jacks, but after checking the lift points, we used the scissor jack and have been using it ever since. Why? The lifting points on the 97 Civic are metals tabs that fit in a slot in the center of the scissor jack, making the jack more secure. We do use jack stands for safety when working under the car, but, I have been amazed how sturdy it has been.
We have rotated tires, changed the front brake pads a couple of times, replaced the rear shocks, worked on the brake lines, replaced the rear wheel cylinders, so, we have used the jack quite a bit, it has worked well.

Honda even put arrows on the plastic molding under the car pointing to the jack points. They tried to make it easy and simple for owners. I was surprised how well the metal tabs fit into the center of the scissor jack, and how well it works.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
You can't jackup the whole back end with the supplied jack though, so if you jack up one rear tire, the other should be on the ground with some weight on it. So as long as you use your parking brake the car shouldn't slide away on a reasonable slope?



True, forgot about that.

But my Toyota parking brakes don't hold on reasonable slopes. Very weak.

I think on my Camry if I jack the front corner up, the rear corner can just about come off the ground. I tried that once on my Jetta, and was just about able to do so. Regardless, that removes one of the parking brakes when lifting the front; and of course the differential means that the other front wheel offers no resistance either.

*

Duh! Now that I think about it, dad's Astro had metal stamped chock blocks. Forgot all about those.


FWIW I worked on a older Tacoma with an exceptionally weak parking brake and it turned out to be rust on the mechanism keeping it from moving easily. I soaked the arm in motor oil to free it up (penetrating oil wouldn't do it) and worked it back and forth. It never stuck again and the parking brakes worked really well from then on.
 
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