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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bowing to pressure from federal safety regulators, DaimlerChrysler AG is recalling 600,000 Dodge Durango SUVs Dakota pickup trucks because of a defect that can cause their wheels to fall off.
The recall affects vehicles from the 2000-2003 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended the recall after a 16-month investigation revealed that the vehicles' upper ball joints could fail. If that happens, the suspension could collapse and a wheel could fall off.
Chrysler Group spokesman Max Gates had said that the company acknowledged a problem with the ball joints but didn't believe it warranted a safety recall. There were no injuries due to ball joint failures in NHTSA's files, and Gates said owners would hear noises before a ball joint failed.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
