The recall notice said their Ram truck had an "urgent" safety problem. But Michele Ashenden and her husband Vittorio Pulcini waited almost two years amid mixed messages from the dealership and automaker for it to get fixed while their business struggled and bills piled up.

The mother of a 48-year-old man who burned to death in a car fire outside her home in Cincinnati, Ohio, is joining automobile safety advocates in calling for two car giants to come clean about potential safety issues that can cause some engines to fail at high speeds or burst into flames.