Chrysler Defies Order To Recall Cars Feds File Suit To Force Repair Of Seat Belts In 91,000 Vehicles

The Transportation Department ordered a recall Tuesday of most 1995 model Chrysler Cirrus and Dodge Stratus passenger cars, saying rear seat belts were not strong enough. But Chrysler says the seat belts are fine and that no recall is necessary, so the government filed a civil suit.

The government said this was the first time that a manufacturer had refused to recall a car that failed a safety test.

Chrysler contends the problem is that the government had suddenly changed the test procedure.

The dispute covers more than 91,000 cars. It does not involve those made after May 15, 1995, when Chrysler changed the floors of all Cirrus and Stratus models, to allow it to produce a new convertible version.

The dispute began in July 1995 when, in a test conducted by a contractor, a seat belt anchor pulled out of the floor of a Cirrus. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the Transportation Department, ruled in January that the car had failed, and made the decision final Tuesday.

But Jason Vines, a spokesman for Chrysler, said that the contractor had changed the position of the cables testing the seat belt.

“You can’t change the rules along the way,” he said. He said there had been no incidents of rear seat belt anchor failure on the roads.

Chrysler said the agency based its ruling “on a non-objective test it ran using procedures not specified in the federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards test requirements.”

If Chrysler loses in court, it could cost the automaker $800,000 in civil penalties. A recall could easily run into millions of dollars.