At the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex, defects and other quality issues are slowing the launch of the redesigned Jeep Wrangler and all-new Dodge Nitro at neighboring plants.

At a sister DaimlerChrysler AG assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicle production continues to be interrupted because of new body shop robots bumping into each other.

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At part of the Toledo Jeep complex, Nitro production was supposed to start last week with about 50 of the sport-utility vehicles interspersed with about 750 Jeep Libertys on each of two shifts.

That production was to move to three shifts this week, when the mix would be 60 percent Nitros and 40 percent Libertys.

Yet the plant still is building about 50 Nitros a shift, and all three shifts won't begin working until next week, officials said.

Ms. Tinson said that delaying the first car by a week as in the case of the Wrangler isn't unusual, and neither is containing a number of models to continue testing before shipping them to dealerships.

Chrysler is wise to not release vehicles until officials are sure about their quality, which will help prevent recalls, said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland of Global Insight Inc.

"It's a very complex product, and I think it's often underestimated," she said of building vehicles.