(CBS) Two of the most popular vehicles on the road could be dangerous,
and now the government wants many of them recalled, reports CBS News
Correspondent Mika Brzezinski.



Six hundred thousand popular vehicles could be recalled if DaimlerChrysler
complies with the government's demand.



The recall order covers model years 2000 to 2003 of the 4x4 Dodge Durangos and
the Dakota pick-up trucks with four-wheel drive.



The government action highlights a problem first uncovered by CBS News
more than a year ago.



"Unfortunately, it could have been a really deadly situation," Monique Conrad,
a former Dodge Durango owner, told Brzezinski



Back then, Monique Conrad's 2000 Durango had only 31,000 miles on it when the
right front wheel suddenly flew off while she was driving.



"My tire, along with a piece of metal about a foot long, was bouncing across
this four-lane road," Conrad said.



Her experience along with similar complaints prompted the government to
investigate possible premature wear of Dodge Durango upper ball joints — a
ball and socket attaching the wheel assembly the vehicle.



Since our

first report, CBS News received hundreds of e-mails, photos and
calls from viewers around the country like Kate McGeehan-Sawyer from Maine.




"The wheel just flew out," McGeehan-Sawyer said.



Tina Czech, from Massachusetts, experienced a similar road trauma: "The wheel
had completely fallen off," she said.



And Joyce and John Gosch, truck owners from Pennsylvania, pointed to the
damage: "This just ripped off," John Gosch said.



As the complaints piled up, the government expanded its investigation to
include the Dodge Dakota pick-up truck, which uses the same upper ball joints.
Dakota owner John Cohron, said his truck looked the same as many others with
similar tire trouble, after his wheel flew off.



"So you got out of your truck and what did you see?" Cohron said. "I saw the
tire and the wheel underneath the front end of the truck."



According the government, a third of the nearly 2 million vehicles
investigated had defective upper ball joints. And almost all were produced at
an Indiana plant. Customers paid up to $1,200 dollars to replace these parts —
a recall could mean a huge financial hit for DaimlerChrysler.



"The cost is certainly going to run into hundreds of millions of dollars,"
said Clarence Ditlow, from the Center for Auto Safety.



DaimlerChrysler also faces mounting lawsuits like the one filed by David and
Christina Shaffer. They were on the highway in their Durango with their four
young children when suddenly they experienced a shock of their life.



"It seemed like we went into a frenzy of flipping," David Shaffer said.



Bodies went flying everywhere. Christina — who was pregnant at the time —
suffered numerous injuries including a broken neck. Doctors were not
optimistic.



About the baby, David Shaffer said, "there was no certainty. You know they
actually came to me and recommended to me to take the baby's life."



Medical bills forced the family into bankruptcy. And while they consider their
new baby girl a miracle, the Shaffers say they wish DaimlerChrysler had acted
sooner.



"It could have been our whole family gone," Christina Shaffer said.



In a statement issued late Thursday, DaimlerChrysler maintained that the upper
ball joints do not pose a safety concern and that owners have substantial
warning of any problems — like noise or tire wear that would be picked up
during routine inspections.



The company says it is reviewing the governments order for a recall and will
respond next Monday.