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1997 CHRYSLER SEBRING — STEERING:RACK AND PINION

crash1 injured · 535798 · 2005-05-19

Vehicle

Make
CHRYSLER
Model
SEBRING
Year
1997
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
Miles at failure
81,350
Speed
65 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON APRIL 23, 2005, MY SON WAS TRAVELING TO WORK, ABOUT 12:30 IN THE AFTERNOON, TRAVELING WESTBOUND ON THE 210 FREEWAY. AT SOME POINT, HIS LEFT REAR TIRE WENT FLAT. HIS CAR LOST CONTROL AND SPUN COUNTERCLOCKWISE, ACROSS FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC, AND HEAD ON INTO THE CENTER DIVIDER. HIS CAR CONTINUED TO SPIN IN THE SAME DIRRECTION AND IMPACTED AGAIN AT THE RIGHT REAR QUARTERPANEL, AND THE RIGHT REAR BUMPER. MY SON GOT OUT OF THE CAR, AND THE CHP ARRIVED WITHIN TEN MINUTES TO HAVE HIS CAR TOWED. I CONTACTED DAIMLER CHRYSLER TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND TO EXPRESS MY CONCERN. THEY SENT AN INSPECTOR TO THE SALVAGE YARD. TWO WEEKS LATER I GOT A LETTER FROM CHRYSLER SAYING THAT THEIR RECALLED UPPER BALL JOINT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CRASH. I HAD A MECHANIC EXAMINE THE VEHICLE, HE HAD IT LIFTED UP WITH A FORKLIFT, AND SHOWED ME THE RACK AND PINION THAT WAS DANGLING DOWN ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. HE SAID THAT SINCE THERE WAS NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO THE REST OF THE UNDERCARRAIGE, THE BROKEN STEERING WAS WHAT CAUSED MY SON'S CAR TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL, AND CRASH INTO THE MEDIAN, INJURING HIM, AND THREATENING THE OTHER COMMUTERS.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10121428
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown