Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Gets Hit With A $70 Million Fine For Failing To Report Safety Data

Not a pleasant day at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as the company was handed a $70 Million fine by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to report death and injury claims to regulators.

Now this penalty comes from FCA admitting to NHTSA that it failed to provide Early Warning Report data to NHTSA over several years starting in 2003. Now this is required by the TREAD Act of 2000 where an automaker provides claims of death and injuries, warranty claims, consumer complaints and field reports of safety issues as a way to identify a possible defect.

Automotive News reports that FCA has brought in a third-party to do an audit of its reporting failures.

“FCA US LLC accepts these penalties and is revising its processes to ensure regulatory compliance. However, FCA US is confident that it identified and addressed all issues that arose during the relevant time period, using alternate data sources.” FCA said in a statement.

This new fine is in addition to a $70 Million penalty that FCA agreed to pay in July to settle a probe by the U.S. government into a pattern of violations found in FCA’s handling of 23 recalls since 2009.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), NHTSA

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