Fiat Chrysler forced to offer buy back program on over 500,000 vehicles

Fiat Chrysler, as part of safety regulation settlement, will be forced to offer a buy back program for over 500,000 of its vehicles, a large bulk of which are its Ram pickup trucks. The car company may also be facing over a million dollars in fines.

Currently, this is exclusively a U.S. wide recall. However, Fiat Chrysler’s Canadian division has said that although the announcement pertains to its US division, its Canadian division is, “in regular communication with Transport Canada and will continue to work closely with Transport Canada officials.”

The Ram pickups, the company’s number one seller, have defective steering parts, causing some drivers to lose control. After unsuccessful repairs, Fiat Chrysler has now agreed to the buy back.

Some older Jeeps are also being recalled. The vehicles, which have fuel tanks located behind the rear axle with little to shield them in a rear crash, can rupture and lead to gasoline spills and fires.

“Today’s action holds Fiat Chrysler accountable for its past failures, pushes them to get unsafe vehicles repaired or off the roads and takes concrete steps to keep Americans safer going forward,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Although it is suspected that there are over 150,000 affected vehicles in Canada, there has been no recall so far.