New reporting issue disclosed by Fiat Chrysler

Fiat Chrysler has had a rough go in the safety department lately, or at least in how they’ve clashed with America’s safety regulators.

Shares of Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) were falling 2% to $12.11 on heavy trading volume Tuesday after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the vehicle maker underreported death and injury claims to federal regulators.

But an audit of NHTSA in June found big deficiencies in the system, including inconsistencies in reporting standards among automakers and haphazard reviews of data by agency investigators. The reports include data that could identify safety defects and ultimately lead to product recalls. Now the auto maker could face additional fines and penalties depending on the outcome of an additional regulatory probe.

The safety agency said the gaps in reporting resulted in a “significant under-reported notices and claims of deaths, injuries and other [required] information”.

“In late July, NHTSA notified Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of an apparent discrepancy in FCA’s Early Warning Report data”, said Mark Rosekind, NHTSA Administrator. This represents a significant failure to meet a manufacturer’s safety responsibilities.

Fiat Chrysler submitted itself to rigorous federal oversight after reaching a deal with safety regulators in July.

The Detroit News reports that FCA didn’t adequately provide Early Warning Reporting information to NHTSA when drivers were injured or killed in its cars, violating the TREAD Act. He added that the agency will take “appropriate action” after further investigation into the scope and cause of the problems.

Earlier this year, American Honda was fined $70 million after admitting that it had failed to report more than 1,700 deaths and injuries that could have been linked to defects in its cars. FCA has already been forced to pay a $105 million fine over mishandled recalls, while the brand also initiated a buyback program for thousands of Ram pickup trucks.