Company will buy back 500K pickups

Associated Press

DETROIT

Fiat Chrysler will buy back about 500,000 Ram pickup trucks in the biggest such action in U.S. history as part of a deal with U.S. safety regulators to settle legal problems in about two-dozen recalls, two people briefed on the matter say.

The trucks, which are the company’s top-selling vehicle, have defective steering parts that can cause drivers to lose control, and some previous repairs have been unsuccessful. So to get them off the roads, Fiat Chrysler agreed to the buyback, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owners also have the option of getting them repaired, the agency said in documents released Sunday.

NHTSA has been involved in vehicle buybacks in the past, but never with this many vehicles. A buyback usually happens when a problem is so serious that it can’t be fixed and the vehicles need to be removed from service. The buyback and the Jeep trade-ins likely will cost Fiat Chrysler hundreds of millions of dollars or more.

The agency’s actions come less than a month after it held a rare public hearing to detail problems with 23 Fiat Chrysler recalls covering more than 11 million cars and trucks. It’s another sign that NHTSA is taking a much tougher stance against automakers that don’t obey auto safety laws.

The fine beats the old record of $70 million assessed against Honda Motor Co. for lapses in recalls of air bags made by Takata Corp.