Republished August 28, 2020 - 1:33 PM
Original Publication Date August 28, 2020 - 11:21 AM
DETROIT - Fiat Chrysler is recalling over 186,000 Ram pickups and is telling owners to take them to dealers because floor mats can interfere with the gas pedals.
The recall covers certain 2019 and 2020 model-year trucks with factory-installed mats, mainly in North America.
The company said Friday that owners should remove the all-weather mats if there's not enough space between them and the gas pedals, or if they can't get to a dealer quickly. Also covered are more than 43,000 mats sold after trucks were purchased.
Fiat Chrysler said a customer reported that a mat interfered with the gas pedal while a truck was being driven, and the driver couldn't get it to decelerate. The customer stopped the truck by stepping on the brake. All FCA vehicles since 2011 have brake-throttle override, which cuts the throttle and allows the brakes to overcome acceleration if both pedals are pushed at the same time.
Fiat Chrysler said it has no reports of crashes or injuries. The company says about 1% of the recalled vehicles will have the problem.
Owners will be notified by mail in mid-September, and dealers will modify the mats until shipments of reconfigured replacement mats arrive.
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This story has been corrected to read that a pickup truck driver could not get a truck to decelerate, not that the driver experienced unwanted acceleration.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020