Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV waited 18 months to tell federal safety regulators about a security flaw in radios being installed in more than a million vehicles that hackers exploited last month to seize control of a Jeep.The automaker says it was working on a fix and didn’t consider the problem a safety defect. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saw otherwise. Eight days after being notified by the company, the agency pushed Fiat Chrysler last month to recall 1.4 million cars and trucks -- the first recall prompted by cybersecurity safety concerns.
The episode came just days before Fiat Chrysler agreed to a $105 million penalty to settle complaints about its recall performance on other issues and as NHSTA faces its own criticism for failing to promptly get unsafe vehicles off the street.
Read Article