Recalls
Government Fines Volvo $1.5 Million for Delaying Recall Reports – 7/3/13
by Christopher Jensen
Honda Fit Is Recalled 2nd Time to Fix Switch That Could Cause a Fire – 6/28/13
by Christopher Jensen
G.M. to Expand Last Year’s Limited Recall of S.U.V.’s
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration persuaded General Motors to recall almost 194,000 more 2005-7 sport utility vehicles for an electrical problem that could cause fires. A similar recall affecting about 278,000 vehicles was issued last year, but only in certain states.
G.M. had resisted both recalls, wanting instead to provide some owners with an extended warranty, according to two documents – one from 2012 and another posted over the weekend on N.H.T.S.A.’s Web site.
Service Campaign: Should G.M. Have Recalled Saturn Ions for Steering Failures?
After fielding more than 600 complaints, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether General Motors should have recalled 384,000 Saturn Ion coupes and sedans as part of a larger recall earlier this year.
The recall of a million cars in March was prompted by a N.H.T.S.A. investigation in January, which concerned the electric power steering on 2005-10 Chevrolet Cobalts and 2007-10 Pontiac G5s.
Honda, Nissan and Toyota in massive recall
HONG KONG (CNNMoney)
A number of automakers — including Japanese leaders Honda and Toyota — are recalling around 3.4 million cars due to airbag defects.
Toyota said it was recalling 1.7 million cars around the world, including some popular Corolla, Matrix and Tundra models. Nissan recalled around 480,000 cars, while Mazda added another 45,000 worldwide.
Honda, which is recalling more than 1.1 million autos, said the recall was necessary to replace passenger front airbag inflators.
Petition by Owner Prompts Recall of 183,000 Honda Vehicles
Honda’s recall of about 183,000 vehicles that might apply the brakes on their own was prompted by a woman who was frightened by having that problem in her own Honda and angry that there wasn’t a recall.
Carrie Carvalho of Arlington, Mass., used a little-known tactic: Filing a formal defect petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, requiring the agency to review her concern.
Statistical Change Skews Auto Recall Figures – 2/27/13
A recent article in USA Today discussed a small but important change made by federal regulators who are in charge of issuing and keeping track of crucial auto safety recalls. The data reveals that a change in how they count recalls has cut into their supposed triumph of having a smaller number of investigations lead to a bigger number of recalls.
BMW Recalls More Than 500,000 Cars for Cable Problem
An investigation by the Canadian automotive safety agency, Transport Canada, led BMW to recall almost 505,000 vehicles in the United States for a possible loss of electrical power that could cause the engine to stall.
The recall covers the 2008–12 1 Series; the 2007–11 3 Series and the 2009–11 Z4, according to a report from BMW posted on the Web site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
By far the largest number – about 297,000 – are the 3 Series sedans.