Fiat Chrysler recalls 180,000 Ram 1500 pickup trucks.

The AP (1/25, Kopan) reports that Fiat Chrysler issued a recall for “more than 182,000 pickup trucks worldwide to fix an electrical problem that can knock out the power steering.” The recall affects certain 2019 Ram 1500 pickups, mostly in the US and Canada, although “one-third are still on dealer lots.” FCA has not received any reports of injuries related to the problem.

        Automotive News (1/26, Szatkowski, 183K) reports the Ram 1500 “won North American Truck of the Year at the Detroit auto show this month,” and FCA’s December sales in the US were up “14 percent, driven in part by a 34 percent increase in Ram pickup sales.”

Hyundai, KIA issue recall over increased fire risk.

NBC Nightly News (1/16, story 8, 0:15, Holt, 8.03M) reported that “Hyundai and KIA are going ahead with a recall of nearly 170,000 vehicles due to fire risks, though the government agency that oversees recalls is mostly closed due to the shutdown.” The AP (1/16, Krisher, Press) reports that “the problem stems from improper repairs during previous recalls for engine failures.” Both manufacturers are “under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has been trying to figure out whether initial recalls covered enough vehicles.” The AP notes that “NHTSA employees who do safety investigations and recall notifications are not at work” due to the government shutdown. KIA spokesman James Bell claims they will move ahead with the recall despite government delays, saying, “Making our customers comfortable is vastly more important than making sure we’re following additional government processes right now.”

        Reuters (1/16, Shepardson) reports that the recall is to replace “a high-pressure fuel pipe that may have been damaged or improperly installed as part of an engine replacement during the prior recall.” Six fires have been “linked to the new recall but no reports of injuries, while Hyundai said it had no reports of fires linked to the new recall.”

        The Detroit News (1/16, 521K), Cars (1/16, 1.21M), Consumer Reports (1/16, 14.13M), and Fortune (1/16, 3.95M) also report.

Americans more likely to die from opioid overdose than motor vehicle crash, report says.

NBC Nightly News (1/14, story 11, 1:50, Holt, 9.3M) reported, “Safety experts” are “grimly noting for the first time ever, the odds of dying from an overdose are higher than dying in a car crash.”

        The New York Times (1/14, Mazzei, 17.59M) reports that “for the first time, Americans are more likely to die of an opioid overdose than in a vehicle crash.” The most common causes of death, however, remain heart disease and cancer, according to a report from the National Safety Council.

        USA Today (1/14, Molina, 12.05M) reports researchers used data from the National Center for Health Statistics and “found the lifetime odds of dying by an accidental opioid overdose were one in 96, while the odds of dying by motor vehicle crash were one in 103.”

        CBS News (1/14, Welch, 4.24M) reports on its website that the risk of dying from an opioid overdose is greater than the risk “of dying from a fall, a gun assault, pedestrian accident, or drowning.”

        Also covering the story are the Huffington Post (1/14, Golgowski, 2.63M), The Hill (1/14, Anapol, 2.57M), Newsweek (1/14, Zhao, 2.02M), U.S. News & World Report (1/14, Newman, 2.45M), Vice (1/14, Ockerman, 1.48M), and HealthDay (1/14, Preidt, 21K).

Toyota adds 1.7 million cars to Takata airbag recall.

Business Insider (1/10, 5.01M) reports that Toyota Motor Company “said Wednesday it is recalling another 1.7 million vehicles worldwide for potentially faulty Takata airbag inflators as part of a multi-year industry recall campaign announced in 2016.” Toyota’s new recall “relates to vehicles from the 2010 through 2017 model years and includes 1.3 million vehicles in the United States.” Affected models include: “2010-2013 model year Corolla, 2010-2013 Matrix, 2010-2016 4Runner, and 2011-2014 Sienna.”

        Consumer Reports (1/10, 14.13M) reports that the latest announcement “covers passenger-side front airbag inflators,” and is part of “the effort by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and automakers to space out the replacement of Takata airbag inflators based on the risk to drivers and passengers.”

        MLive (MI) (1/10, 845K) reports the recall includes “the 2010 -2012 Lexus ES 350, 2010 through 2017 GX 460, 2010-2015 IS 250C and 350C, the 2010 through 2013 IS 250 and 350, and the 2010-2014 IS-F, and also the 2010-2015 Scion XB.” The NHTSA “announced in May 2016 that its ‘five-phase’ Takata recall will be based on the prioritization of risk, which will pull the age of the inflators, exposure to high humidity and varying high temperatures into its formula.”

        Newsweek (1/10, Godlewski, 2.02M), and Fast Company (1/10, 2.41M) also report.

Chances of dying from opioids now higher than vehicle crash, Safety Council says.

NPR (1/14, Stewart, 3.43M) reports the National Safety Council says in a new report based on 2017 data that “Americans now have a 1 in 96 chance of dying from an opioid overdose,” a greater risk that the “the probability of dying in a motor vehicle crash,” which “is 1 in 103.” In a statement, the council said the “crisis is worsening with an influx of illicit fentanyl,” which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in December is now responsible for most drug overdose deaths in the US.