Isuzu Troopers recalled after tests
show fuel leak
Insurance group finds
BMW X5 best midsize
SUV for crashworthiness
November 14, 2000
Web posted at: 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 GMT)
In this story:
Recall prompted by fuel leak
ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- Isuzu is recalling
thousands of late-model
Trooper sport utility vehicles after they leaked fuel
in crash tests conducted
by an insurance industry group.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which
announced its test results
Tuesday, also called the 2001 model of BMW's X5 sport
utility vehicle the
best midsize SUV it has ever evaluated.
Isuzu's recall affects 18,460 vehicles -- all 2000
Troopers with four-wheel
drive and 2001 models with four-wheel drive that were
produced before the
problem was discovered this month.
Recall prompted by fuel leak
The Troopers leaked fuel in two of three front-crash
tests conducted by the
Insurance Institute. Fuel leaks are considered a
serious problem because
they can result in a fire if ignited.
"We've conducted well over 100 frontal offset crash
tests, and this is the first
time we've seen a major fuel system leak," said Brian
O'Neill, president of
the Arlington, Virginia-based institute.
In the institute's frontal offset crash test, a vehicle
traveling at 40 mph hits a
barrier at an angle. The vehicle is then judged as
good, acceptable, marginal
or poor.
In the first test conducted on a 2000 Trooper on June
21, a fuel line
separated. Isuzu engineers found a design problem and
issued a voluntary
recall of the 2000 vehicles.
The automaker sent a letter to vehicle owners and
dealers and the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration on September 21,
but did not
announce the recall to the media.
The institute conducted a second test the day after the
recall with a 2001
model with a new fuel line design, but the fuel hose
tore, causing a second
leak. Isuzu issued another recall to cover 2001 models
on Monday.
There was no fuel leak in the institute's third test
November 2, but the
organization still gave the vehicle a "marginal"
rating, largely because of poor
bumper performance and injuries measured on a
crash-test dummy's legs.
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 federal government's
own crash
tests involve driving
vehicles into a
rigid barrier with the
full width of the
front end making contact.
The federal
government has not tested
the 2000
or 2001 model years of the
Trooper.
Best picks
The institute added the
BMW X5 to
its list of "best picks"
after putting it,
the Trooper and two other
midsize
SUVs through 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. (See
results).
In addition to the Trooper's evaluation as marginal,
the $50,000 BMW SUV
received an overall rating of good, while the 2001
Mitsubishi Montero and
2000 Nissan Xterra were rated acceptable.
The crash test results announced Tuesday bring to 14
the number of midsize
SUVs that have now been evaluated by the Insurance
Institute, which is
funded by the insurance industry. (See results).
It lists three of the 14 as a "best pick":
• BMW X5 (2001 models)
• MERCEDES M CLASS (1999-2001 models)
• LEXUS RX 300 (1999-2001 models)
The Mercedes and Lexus models were evaluated previously
and were not
involved in the latest crash tests.
The findings announced Tuesday for 40 mph crashes come
two months after
the BMW X5 was also judged the best performer after a
series of
low-speed crash tests.
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