US regulators set hearing on recalls by Fiat Chrysler

New York

IN a rare, sweeping move against an automaker, the top auto safety agency in the United States said on Monday that it was trying to determine whether Fiat Chrysler had failed to promptly fix safety defects in millions of recalled vehicles or properly notify owners.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it would conduct a hearing, scheduled for July 2, to examine 20 separate recalls issued by the automaker covering more than 10 million vehicles. That total far exceeds the recall of 1.56 million Jeep sport utility vehicles that have been a source of increasing friction between Fiat Chrysler and the agency.

"We are looking at a pattern," Mark R Rosekind, administrator of the NHTSA, said in a call with repo…