NHTSA Complaint #10428936 — 2002 CHRYSLER CONCORDE

AFTER BACKING OUR CAR OUT OF THE CARPORT, WE NOTICED A LONG THIN PIECE OF CORRODED METAL LAYING ON THE GROUND. I GOT UNDER THE CAR AND FOUND THAT THE FUEL TANK RETAINING STRAPS WERE SEVERELY CORRODED, THE ONE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CAR HAD HOLES COMPLETELY CORRODED THROUGH. THE SUSPENSION COMPONENTS HAVE HEAVY SURFACE CORROSION AS WELL. I FEEL THAT IF THE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURES CONTINUE TO USE METAL FUEL TANK RETAINING STRAPS THEY SHOULD ENCASE THEM IN A NON CORROSIVE MATERIAL. THIS WOULD REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF CORROSION AND CHAFING OF THE FUEL TANK, THIS IS A HIGH VIBRATION AREA. I CONTACTED CHRYSLER VIA E-MAIL, THEIR RESPONSE WAS,( UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE SITUATIONS YOU HAVE OUTLINED IN YOUR E-MAIL). I THEN CONTACTED CHRYSLER BY PHONE AND TOLD THE REPRESENTATIVE ABOUT MY SITUATION. HE TOLD ME DUE TO THE AGE OF THE CAR AND THE MILEAGE THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. AT THAT POINT I ASKED HIM IF I COULD SPEAK TO A SUPERVISOR, HE TOLD ME AT THAT TIME THEY WERE NOT AVAILABLE AND THAT THEY WOULD CALL ME BACK. I NEVER RECEIVED A CALL BACK, HOWEVER I DID RECEIVE A CUSTOMER SURVEY ON MY E-MAIL ACCOUNT. WITH THIS BEING A DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE I COULD NOT WAIT FOR CHRYSLER'S RESPONSE. I REPLACE THE FUEL TANK STRAPS MYSELF, I FOUND REPLACEMENT STRAPS AT A LOCAL AUTO PARTS STORE. I HAVE REVIEWED THIS DOT WEB SITE ON PREVIOUS COMPLAINTS WITH THIS MODEL, MAKE AND YEAR AUTOMOBILE. FOUND NOTHING IN REGARDS TO THE FUEL TANK STRAPS. I DID FIND A SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED BY CHRYSLER ON THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WHICH WE HAD REPLACED A FEW YEARS AGO. THIS WAS AN VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR, WE WERE NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE SERVICE BULLETIN. ANOTHER COMPLAINT FROM A CUSTOMER ABOUT LOSS OF TIRE PRESSURE A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL. WE ALSO EXPERIENCED THIS, THE TIRES HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM THE RIM AND THE MATING SURFACE OF THE RIM TO TIRE CLEANED. *TR