Defect Investigations
Changed auto recall accounting methods raise questions – 2/25/13
Federal auto safety regulators are counting what used to be considered multiple recalls as one, undercutting their boast that defect investigations are leading to record nu
Auto safety concerns often stay secret – 2/25/13
Herman Ray Evans was killed when the tread separated on his 2001 Ford Explorer’s tire, the vehicle rolled over into the median and he was ejected, according to the Daphne, Ala,.
Exemplary Equipment Queries
The table below lists the largest number of recalls arising from NHTSA Equipment Queries (EQs)
NHTSA limping along, some say – 2/23/13
Published: Feb. 23, 2013 at 10:51 AM
U.S. Inquiries Over Safety Dragging On for Years – 2/22/13
By Christopher Jensen
Last year, owners of about 16.2 million cars and trucks received letters saying their vehicles had safety problems and were being recalled. But millions more were left in recall limbo because some of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigations into possible safety problems have been taking years longer than the agency’s self-imposed goal.
Auto safety concerns often stay secret – 2/22/13
Herman Ray Evans was killed when the tread separated on his 2001 Ford Explorer’s tire, the vehicle rolled over into the median and he was ejected, according to the Daphne, Ala,. police crash report.
Agency Under Scrutiny for Oversight of Highway Money
The Department of Transportation’s inspector general is investigating whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been checking on whether $601 million it gave to states for highway safety has been properly used.
The money was given to the states during the 2011 fiscal year for “a wide range of safety programs aimed at reducing fatalities, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes,” according to the inspector general’s announcement Monday.
Government Investigates 88,000 Honda Pilots for Faulty Brakes
Spurred by a complaint from an owner in Massachusetts, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into whether almost 88,000 Honda Pilots from the 2005 model year may have a defect in which the brakes are applied without warning.
The announcement of the investigation (PDF) was posted early on Friday on the agency’s Web site.
The safety agency began looking into the issue as the result of a defect petition (PDF) filed by Carrie Carvalho of Arlington, Mass.
Years of lawsuits and complaints raise new questions about Ford Escape recall
On August 8, 2005 Marta Baier made a decision that ended her life. Her 2003 Ford Escape accelerated out of control, and, unable to stop it, she jumped out, hitting her head on the pavement. She died less than an hour later in a Missouri hospital.
Two summers later, a 43 year-old mother died outside of Philadelphia, PA when her 2004 Ford Escape accelerated out of control, flipped and hit a school bus.
Ford settled lawsuits in both of these cases without admitting liability – in one case, paying the victim’s family and their attorney more than $1 million, according to court records.