U.S.

Dodge Minivan Flunks Crash Test

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 17, 2001 / 3:12 PM EDT / CBS

An insurance industry research firm has given its lowest ratings, poor, to a Chrysler minivan and a Hyundai car for their performance in crash tests.

When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ran a 2001 Dodge Caravan minivan into a barrier at 40 mph, the front end of the vehicle got a passing grade, but the engineers discovered that the impact had produced something rarely found in such tests, reports CBS News Correspondent Eric Engberg — a fuel tank leak that could spark a fire.

The culprit: a plastic fitting that connects the fuel pump to the top of the gas tank.

The findings on the minivan has prompted concern about the safety of the roughly 400,000 models on the road.

Hyundai Motors Corp.'s Elantra small car also received a poor rating from the insurance industry research firm because in two out of three tests, the driver's air bag deployed too late in the impact. In one test, the crash dummy's head hit the steering wheel.

Earlier models of DaimlerChrysler Corp. minivans also have produced leaks in crash tests and are being investigated by the federal government.

DaimlerChrysler spokesman Dominick Infante called the latest test result a freak occurrence and said the company believes the vans are safe and no recall is needed. However, he said the fuel systems in 2002 models and a few 2001 models made after July 6 have been redesigned.

Brian O'Neill, president of the Insurance Institute, said any fuel leak can be a serious problem because of the threat of fire.

O'Neill said only one other vehicle - the Isuzu Trooper - has ever leaked fuel during an Insurance Institute crash test. Isuzu Motors Ltd. recalled 2000 models and some 2001 vehicles after the test result.

"We are not claiming that you are going to get fuel spillage in every crash of a Chrysler minivan," O'Neill said. "On the other hand, we think we have found an issue that needs to be addressed. Apparently, they decided to address it with the 2002 models but not the 2001 models."

Infante said DaimlerChrysler conducted about 50 of its own tests and was not able to replicate the leak, which he said spilled only about two tablespoons of fuel per minute. He said it would be virtually impossible for such a problem to occur in a real accident.

The government has been investigating the fuel systems in more than 2 million other minivans made by DaimlerChrysler for more than two years. That probe was opened after a 1999 Grand Caravan leaked fuel in a different area during two government crash tests.

DaimlerChrysler took no action following the test result and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acknowledges no such fuel leaks in a real crash have been reported.

NHTSA's investigation covers the Caravan and Grand Caravan, Plymouth Voyager and Grand Voyager and Chrysler Town and Country from the 1996-2000 model years. The 2001 model tested by the Insurance Institute is not covered by NHTSA's investigation.

Both vehicles wer retested when the manufacturers objected to the first results. In both cases the vehicles performed worse in subsequent tests.

Hyundai engineers said the leg injury measurements recorded in the first test were not typical of the Elantra, which got "acceptable" marks for the 1996-2000 models.

In the second test, the leg injury measurements were lower, but the driver side air bag deployed late, allowing the dummy's head to strike the steering wheel. The institute got similar results in a third test.

"Clearly the air bag sensors in the Elantra aren't recognizing in time the severity of all of the crashes they need to," O'Neill said.

The institute tests a vehicle by running it at an angle into a barrier at 40 mph, then rates it as good, acceptable, marginal or poor. The institute's tests are particularly demanding because only the driver's side of a vehicle strikes the barrier, forcing a relatively small portion of the vehicle to absorb the crash energy.

The Grand Caravan failed the test when the fuel pump mount flange, a part connecting the fuel pump to the gas tank, cracked and leaked fuel.

"There is no reason to have fuel spillage in this type of crash," O'Neill said. "When we do see it, we think it is significant."