Chrysler is recalling some of its older models

The US's fourth largest carmarker says the older models could inadvertently roll out of parking positions if the gearbox was used with "abusive force".

Insisting the recall was a precaution, the vehicles, including Plymouth Breeze and Dodge Intrepid, will have their floor-mounted gear shifts upgraded.

There have been 127 accidents possibly caused by the problem, Chrysler said.

In addition there have been 17 alleged injuries and one fatality, added spokeswoman Angela Ford.

Another recall

"As a precautionary measure, the company will install stronger components to better withstand abusive force," she added.

The 2.7 million cars being recalled across North America were mainly built between 1993 and 1999.

Separately, Chrysler said it was also recalling around 21,000 of its 2004 model Dodge Durango sports utility vehicle in order to replace a throttle cable.

This is the second recall affecting the Durango since it went on sale on 15 November last year.

The announcements come after Chrysler's German American parent company DaimlerChrysler announced a substantial drop in quarterly operating profits last October.

Japanese competition

The 1.25bn euros (�871m, $1.46bn) figure was down 19% from 1.54bn euros reported in the third quarter of 2002 and fell short of analysts' expectations.

The Chrysler division itself has recently experienced a tough time in North America and has lost its third place in the sales league to Toyota.

Overcapacity and low productivity compared with its Japanese rivals also hampered performance.

Overall, DaimlerChrysler posted a net loss of 1.65bn euros ($1.92bn, �1.15bn) in the third quarter of 2003, although part of this was due to writing down the value of its stake in European aerospace company EADS by 2bn euros.

The group, which sold 1.1 million vehicles worldwide in the quarter, employs 375,000 people worldwide and has other brands including Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Jeep and Smart.

Continuing efforts

Although well into a three-year overhaul, it has still to see the promised results of the 1998 merger between Germany's Daimler-Benz and US Chrysler that created it.

In those five years, Daimler Chrysler has lost more than two thirds of its stock market value.

It has also recently faced legal action in the US from disgruntled shareholders who claim that the merger of the two firms was actually a takeover by Daimler.