Ford recalls hundreds of SUVs for door defect that can increase injury risk in crash.

Roadshow (9/14, Krok, 3.05M) reports that Ford is recalling 555 2018 Ford Edge and 2018 Lincoln MKX SUVs built between July 27 and July 31 of this year at the Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. According to the story, “the striker bolts, which are the bolts that the door latch connects to when closed, might be 5 millimeters shorter than they’re supposed to be,” which could result in the doors opening “in the event of a crash, which could increase the risk of injury.” Owners of affected vehicles can take them to a Ford dealership for repairs.

GM recalls over one million vehicles due to power steering defect.

USA Today (9/14, Snider, 12.57M) reports that General Motors is recalling “recalling 1.02 million vehicles – certain 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC 1500 pickups, as well as 2015 Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade SUVs – for defects that may result in a temporary loss of electric power steering” 

NHTSA accused of ignoring calls for crash-avoidance technology in large trucks.

The AP (9/15) reported, “Tractor-trailers and other large trucks aren’t required to have crash-avoidance technology, despite thousands of crashes annually and repeated calls for it to be mandated.” The Kansas City Star found that NHTSA “has largely ignored repeated pleas from the National Transportation Safety Board to take action that would prevent trucks from rear-ending other vehicles. Only a small percentage of semis on the road today have collision avoidance technology, although on at least 10 occasions since the late 1990s, the safety board recommended that NHTSA require forward crash avoidance and mitigation systems on all heavy trucks.”

GM recalls 1.2 million vehicles over power steering issue.

Reuters (9/13) reports that GM said Thursday it is recalling 1.205 million pickup trucks and SUV worldwide over issues that leads to a “temporary loss of power steering.” The affected vehicles covered by the recall are 2015 Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac pickup trucks and SUVs. GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson “said the automaker has received reports of 30 crashes and two injuries, but no deaths linked to the recall.”

        The AP (9/13) reports that “more than 1 million of the trucks are in the US, and most of the rest are in Canada and Mexico.” A small number of the affected vehicles are in other countries. Last year, GM recalled 2014 model year trucks over the same issue.

        USA Today (9/13, Bomey, 12.57M) reports that GM told the NHTSA in a regulatory document, “These vehicles may experience a temporary loss of” electric power steering, “followed by a sudden return,” especially “during low-speed turning maneuvers.” GM said, “The loss and sudden return of EPS assist typically happens within a 1 second period and is caused by an electrical/software issue.” The automaker “said it launched a safety investigation on the matter on June 28” and following an analysis of “customer complaints, conducting tests and completing engineering analyses, the automaker decided Aug. 30 to initiate a recall.”

Self-driving cars will “profoundly change” car culture.

       Bloomberg News (9/12, 4.8M) reports that autonomous vehicles are getting increasingly popular. The article surveys the industry and raises issues, such as the issue of how autonomous vehicles interact with other autonomous vehicles as something that has to yet be “ironed out.” The article raises other issues, saying that “humans will quickly learn how to push these types of suckers around,” antagonizing autonomous vehicles, by jumping in front of them, for example. Despite all of these unresolved issues, the article concludes, self-driving cars will “profoundly change our car culture forever.”

Toyota recalls more than 1 million Prius, C-HR vehicles due to fire risk.

Bloomberg News (9/5, Buckland, Horie, 4.46M) reports that Toyota Motor Corp. has issued a recall on 1.03 million Prius and C-HR vehicles “due to the risk of fire.” The recall will affect 554,000 vehicles in Japan and 192,000 in the US. The cars feature an engine wire harness that is at risk of wear over time

Nissan recalls 165,000 newer vehicles over risk they could turn off while in use.

MLive (MI) (9/4, 983K) reports that Nissan “says it will recall about 165,000 newer vehicles due to the risk they could turn off while in motion.” The automaker “confirmed the recall of the 2017-18 Juke, Frontier, Sentra, Versa, Versa Note, Micra, NV, NV200 and the NV taxi in the U.S. and Canada to both Consumer Reports and CNET’s Roadshow.” Nissan “says it is not aware of any incidents related to the recall, and that this measure is simply ‘out of an abundance of caution.’”

19,400 2012 Toyota Avalons being recalled over front seat belt issue.

Cars (9/4, 925K) reports that “approximately 19,400 model-year 2012 Toyota Avalon sedans” are being recalled due to “a service part manufacturing error at a Toyota supplier,” which may have led to some Avalons having “a front seat belt inner buckle replaced with one that does not correctly identify if the seat belt is buckled.” This could “affect how the airbag system determines the appropriate airbag deployment method in a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the occupant where the front seat belt inner buckle was replaced.”