Jeep audit query AQ17004
Northwest Chrysler Jeep Dodge Sale Issue. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the axle shaft on 1 model year (2017). Opened Aug 18, 2017, closed Nov 23, 2020 after 3.3 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedNHTSA opened AQ17-004 to determine whether Northwest Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Houston, Texas (Northwest) has complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 (Safety Act) and its implementing regulations. The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and non-compliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed (49 U.S.C. 30120(i)). NHTSA issued information request letters (IRs) to Northwest and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC (FCA) in August 2017, and again in October 2017 and December 2017. NHTSA's investigation indicated that Northwest sold and delivered at least 310 recalled vehicles that did not have the recall remedy completed at the time the vehicles were delivered to the customers. On August 19, 2020, NHTSA entered into a Settlement Agreement with Northwest and its parent company, Ken Garff Automotive LLC, to resolve the Audit Query. In the agreement, Northwest agreed to pay a $100,000 civil penalty and Ken Garff agreed to certain training and auditing requirements. The training relates to company policy, procedures, and compliance to prohibit sales of motor vehicles with open recalls and the integration of FCA's recall notifications into the dealership's inventory system. This Audit Query is closed.
A Audit Query is an audit of the manufacturer's own reporting obligations — early-warning data, recall notices, remedy — rather than of a vehicle condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is closed. A audit query ends with NHTSA’s finding on the recall it examined — the remedy stands, is widened, or a new campaign follows; the file names the recall it concerned and NHTSA’s closing resume carries the reasoning.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themA vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs AQ17004 a recall?
No. A audit query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is AQ17004 still open?
No. It closed on Nov 23, 2020 without a recall.
Which vehicles does AQ17004 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2017 Jeep Compass. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.