Fiat Chrysler just got hit with a record $105 million fine
It's been a rough month for Fiat Chrysler. First, the company announced a recall of 1.4 million vehicles Friday after two technology researchers said they were able to wirelessly hack into a Jeep and gain control of basic car functions, like braking and steering. Then, as a result of a separate investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hit the company with a $105 million fine Monday, CBS News reports.
The fine, the largest imposed by the agency, is due to Fiat Chrysler's apparent mishandling of 23 recalls involving more than 11 million vehicles. Most notably, they issued a recall for several models of Jeep Grand Cherokees and Jeep Liberties after two brothers suffered serious burns from a rear-mounted fuel tank after being rear-ended. At least 75 people have died because of the issue, but Fiat Chrysler didn't ace the recall: 17 months later, only 3 percent of more than a million vehicles had been fixed.
"We... accept the resulting consequences with renewed resolve to improve our handling of recalls," Fiat Chrysler said in a statement.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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