German carmaker Daimler, which has joined a push to convince US motorists to drive diesel cars, said Tuesday it was recalling an unspecified number to fix an engine part. A spokesman in Stuttgart said 2007 M-Class, GL-Class and R-Class cars as well as the E 320 Bluetec model were affected.

He declined to confirm a report in a German weekly, Automobilwoche, which quoted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) saying about 9,000 cars were involved.

A crankshaft sensor in the cars could cause a loss of power and in some case the engines would not start.
Currently only 6 per cent of cars sold in the United States are diesel powered, with many shoppers convinced hybrid power from Japanese makers offers better fuel savings than the thrifty diesels.

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Chrysler LLC has filed a report to China’s quality regulator to recall 1,371 units of its Grand Cherokee and Commander cars in the mainland due to defects in its brakes.

According to a statement on the website of a quality inspection sub-agency under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the recall of the cars is due to defects in the software controlling its braking system and flawed braking parts.
The cars were built between January 2005 and July 2007.

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Diamler Chrysler Corporation has announced they will be recalling certain models of the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. They stated that on certain replacement back glass with DOT -403, P/NOS. DB10077YPY, and DB10545GTY, sold for use on Dodge pickup trucks. The back glass may not break into small pieces as required for tempered glass and fails to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard NO. 205, glazing materials.

In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupants may be seriously injured by shattered glass. Safelite will notify owners and replace the glass free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. Owners can contact Safelite toll free at 1-888-843-2906.

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Daimler Chrysler Manufacturing INTL announced that they will be recalling certain models of the 2007 Dodge Sprinter 3500. They stated that on certain utility vans, the crankshaft sensor in certain diesel engines could fail due to separation of bond wires from the lead frame in the sensor. This results in an interruption in the electrical connection in the chip housing of the sensor.

When this happens, the vehicles may loose power rather than enter a limp home mode. In addition, the vehicle cannot be restarted after failure of the electrical connection in the sensor. increasing the risk of a crash. Dealers will replace the crankshaft sensors. The recall is expected to begin during Febuary 2008. Owners may contact Sprinter at 1-843-695-5000.

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The South Korean unit of U.S. carmaker Chrysler LLC will recall 467 Sebring sedans sold here because of a defect that may potentially overheat the engine, the government said Tuesday.

Chrysler Korea’s recall is due to a leak in the coolant hose, which could cause the coolant to seep into the car’s electrical system and possibly result in a short circuit and overheating of the engine, the Transportation Ministry said.

The affected autos are the ones imported between November 18 of last year and June 12. The recalled cars can be repaired free of charge starting Wednesday at service centers designated by the company.

In South Korea, the ministry is in charge of announcing vehicle recalls.

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The president of the United Auto Workers said Thursday that the tentative agreement reached with Chrysler LLC follows the pattern by the union’s deal with General Motors Corp. (GM), though he added that the union can make small adjustments depending on the company it’s dealing with.

He also said he expects similar terms with Ford Motor Co. (F), which is the remaining U.S. auto maker to deal with the UAW.

“We like to do a little, you know, adjustment, depending on the company that we’re at,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said during an interview on Detroit radio station WJR 760 AM. “But in this case, it’s basically a pattern agreement.”

On Wednesday, the UAW reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year labor contract with Chrysler after short strike that lasted less than seven hours.

The deal, if ratified, would cover about 45,000 employees. The agreement, like the UAW’s deal with GM, will allow Chrysler to shift its retiree health-care liabilities into an independent trust, known as a VEBA. The deal also includes a lower wage for new hires. A sticking point with Chrysler was that it didn’t receive the same mid-contract retiree health-care concession from the UAW that GM and Ford received in 2005. Asked by host Paul W. Smith if that issue was addressed in the agreement with Chrysler, Gettelfinger said the union followed pattern bargaining.

“There’s no question Paul W. that, again, we went after a pattern agreement and we worked our way through that, and we were able to work out a VEBA with Chrysler and we’re pleased with it,” he said.

Gettelfinger repeated his stance that he thinks moving responsibility for retiree health-care payments away from companies and into an independent trust is a good move.

Also on Wednesday, the UAW said its members at GM ratified a four-year contract with that auto maker.

Now the UAW’s attention turns to reaching a deal with Ford and getting the tentative pact with Chrysler ratified.

Although Ford’s financial condition arguably is more dire than the other two U.S. auto makers, Gettelfinger said he expects to follow the same pattern.

“Ford understands pattern bargaining,” Gettelfinger said. He added that the contract is designed so that Ford “should be able to take that agreement and put it in place there.”

Gettelfinger also noted that Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said the auto maker can live with the contract as patterned with GM.

The UAW typically uses the agreement it reaches with the first of the Big Three U.S. auto makers as a pattern for the other two.

Gettelfinger said he hopes to get an agreement with Ford “without any kind of altercation.”

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