Fiat Chrysler Automobiles revealed in a government filing on Thursday that it was late in reporting five safety recalls, ranging from a day to 12 days, USA Today reports.
The manufacturer reported each of the campaigns to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, mentioning that they surpassed the 60-day limit of advising customers of the recall. FCA has since publicly addressed the matter.
"The initiatives described in our response to NHTSA's Special Order reflect a deep commitment to thorough investigation and the timely remedy of safety defects," FCA officials wrote in a comment online.
"While this commitment has helped FCA US achieve positive results, we will not be satisfied until we firmly re-establish the trust our customers place in us."
They have also committed themselves to quickly addressing government-initiated queries involving 11 million vehicles within the last two years. FCA officials also reported that it increased the number of product investigators by 65 percent since last year, the Detroit News reports.
"Twenty recalls are a problem - 10 million vehicles. There's a pattern here of things we're concerned about," NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind told the site.
"And they weren't just little things - they were big things including major safety issues related to fire, door latches that could open up when people were driving. It's not just, 'Oh, they were late on something.' If they didn't start, it was late, it means all that time people are at risk. And they told us something different."
However, the FCA is also reported to have the second-best completion rate for recalls within the last five years, trailing behind the leading Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. Company officials confirmed they had no plans to cancel the assigned hearing for the ongoing recall investigation.
FCA holds seventh place in the list of the world's largest automobile manufacturers.
