U.S. safety regulators said on Wednesday they have opened two investigations into Chrysler Group vehicles involving possibly faulty ignition switches that can be bumped out of the "run" position, disabling airbags in the event of a crash.

The issue is similar to recalls by General Motors Co. for faulty ignition switches, which have been linked to the deaths of at least 13 people.

No deaths or injuries but one crash are linked to the ignition switch issue suspected in about 1.25 million vehicles covering five Chrysler Group models involved in the new investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency said.

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Chrysler Group is a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Chrysler had no immediate comment on Wednesday morning.

NHTSA said it has received at least 32 complaints from consumers alleging that a "driver's knee can contact the ignition key fob/chain and cause the ignition to be turned to the off or accessory position" in model year 2005 and 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs and 2006 and 2007 Jeep Commander SUVs.

"If this occurs, the vehicle's air bags may not deploy in the event of a frontal crash," said NHTSA, which also said about 525,000 vehicles are involved in the preliminary investigation, which may lead to a recall.

That description of the problem is similar to the issue at GM for Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion small sedans, from model years that include those in the Chrysler vehicles.

Also, NHTSA opened a "recall query" to determine if Chrysler should widen a previous recall in which vehicles can be bumped out of the "run" position, which would keep air bags from deploying if there is a frontal crash.

In March 2011, Chrysler recalled model year 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans and Dodge Journey crossover vehicles. NHTSA, it said, wants to determine if those vehicles for the 2008 and 2009 model years have similar problems. NHTSA also wants to determine if the 2010 model year vehicles still have the problem even after an attempt was made to fix them.

About 700,000 vehicles are involved in the possible expansion of the previous recall. About 525,000 vehicles are involved in the investigation of the Jeep vehicles.

The investigations by NHTSA affect only cars registered in the United States, but if a recall results, would likely affect models registered in Canada, Mexico and other countries.

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