I have a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, manufactured 8-2001. In November 2004, the car began to have a hard start to it. The longer the car sat, the longer it took to start it. Sometimes the cranking went on for about 10 seconds. It would do this for 2-3 weeks and then stop for 2-3 weeks and then repeat the cycle. The check engine light came on and the mesage was 341: Meaning camshaft sensor malfunction. It is involved in relaying power to the engine and, if it failed, could result in loss of power while in motion. I spent $220 to have it fixed. However, the hard start still continued. I went to a Jeep dealership where they told me, without a doubt, that it was the fuel pump. I asked them how in 3 minutes they could know that. They told me that there has been a really high failure rate of the fuel pump model which was installed in my car. They told me that it has been a persistent problem in Grand Cherokee in years 1999-2003. I asked why they had not issued a recall or investigatioin and the service assistant told me that the cost to replace these fuel pumps would be exhorbitant if done across a mass scale. However, he was more than happy to give me a $550 bill to have the fuel pump replaced. I had no choice but to pay it because, at some point, it would fail altogether resulting in an inoperable vehicle. My complaint is this: If they are aware of a serious fuel system failure that is widespread and they refuse to publicly acknowledge this fuel system failure, is there something that NHTSA can do? I also want to report this fuel system failure in this complaint.

- Arlington, TX, USA