Jeep Grand Cherokees built between 1993 and 2004 are three to four times as likely to catch fire in a rear-impact collision than other midsized SUVs, according to a petition (download pdf) filed by the Center for Auto Safety. The document asks the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall the as many as 2.3 million of these Grand Cherokees still on the road.
 
“The fuel system in the 1993-04 Grand Cherokee is defectively designed in that it contains a plastic fuel tank subject to rupture, degrades in performance over time, a fuel filler neck that tears off in a range of crashes, a hostile environment with sharp objects such as suspension bolts that can puncture the tank, extends below the bumper and is unshielded,” writes CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow in the petition. (Ditlow also serves on the board for Consumers Union.)
 
Examining NHTSA data, the Center determined that the named Grand Cherokees were involved in 172 fatal fires, resulting in 254 deaths between 1992 and 2004. According to the petition, that is a higher fatality rate than for the Ford Pinto, which was subject to a similar recall in 1978.
 
An optional steel skid-plate, available for off-road applications, would protect the fuel tank, Ditlow says in the petition.
 
In 2005, Jeep redesigned the Grand Cherokee, and moved the gas tank in front of the rear axle. Only one of these later Grand Cherokees has been involved in a fatal crash involving a fire. In that case, the vehicle rolled over, and the occupants were thrown from the car, so the fire was not a factor in their deaths.
 
The petition filing indirectly raises an interesting question of whether the U.S. government now faces a conflict of interest as a vehicle regulator and an owner with a 10 percent stake in Chrysler, plus the majority stakeholder in General Motors. (Read: "Buzzword: Government Motors.")

So far NHTSA has not responded to the petition.

Update: Chrysler has posted a response on its corporate blog, excerpt below:

Statistically, rear impacts that result in serious injury are rare occurrences. Chrysler Group is confident that a proper study which considered all factors in all collisions including rear collisions with fire would show that the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees perform as well as or better than other vehicles in their class.

The 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards and, as noted, has an excellent safety record. There are many millions of 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees on the road whose owners and families continue to enjoy tens of millions of miles and hours of safe vehicle operation each year.

Also read the New York Times report "Asserting risk of Jeep fires, safety group urges recall."

—Eric Evarts