General Motors Co. is recalling 38,400 Pontiac G8 models to reprogram the front-passenger air-bag module.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Saturday that the air-bag modules for the 2008 and 2009 models might not comply with federal standards for head injury protection.
No complaints, crashes or injuries have been reported related to the issue, GM said.
But the company found that in case of a crash, the air-bag sensor could be delayed and put some passengers at increased risk for a head injury. GM said crash tests found that the risk was limited but slightly higher for small women sitting in the front passenger seat.
GM dealers will reprogram the sensing and diagnostic module at no charge.
The G8 was manufactured in Australia and imported to the United States
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Toyota Steering Defects Recall
Toyota recalls 550,000 cars for steering issue
Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide _ mostly in the United States _ for problems that could make it harder to steer. Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide — mostly in the United States — for problems that could make it harder to steer.
The recall affects 447,000 vehicles in North America, as well as 38,000 in Japan and another 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, said Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. In Europe some 14,000 vehicles are being recalled along with 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan.
Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, said Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, he said.
Toyota's reputation has taken a hit over the last two years due to a string of huge recalls that have ballooned to 14 million vehicles over that time, including millions recalled last year for acceleration problems. It faces damage lawsuits and lingering doubts in the U.S. about whether it had been transparent enough about the recall woes.
Japan's largest automaker has been trying to communicate better with customers and empower regional operations outside Japan to make safety decisions.
The news comes a day after Toyota said its July-September profit slid 18.5 percent to 80.4 billion yen ($1 billion) on plunging sales caused by parts shortages from the tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan.
It now faces such uncertainties from flooding in Thailand, where it has many suppliers and three assembly plants, that it declined to release an earnings forecast for the full year through March.
The latest recall is due to the possibility that the outer ring of the engine's crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning signal to light up, the company's U.S. sales unit said in a press release. If the problem isn't corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley, making it suddenly more difficult to turn the steering wheel.
In the United States, the automaker is recalling 283,200 Toyota brand cars, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, the 2004 Avalon and the 2006 Highlander HV. Its recall of 137,000 Lexus vehicles includes the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330 and 2006 RX400h.
Those affected elsewhere include certain models of the Alphard, Highlander, Highlander hybrid and some Lexus models, Corbett said.
In the U.S., Toyota will mail owners a notification to make an appointment with an authorized dealer to have their car inspected once replacement parts have been produced in sufficient quantities.
If needed, parts will be replaced for no charge, the company's American sales unit said. Notifications will be mailed starting in January.
In the meantime, if an abnormal noise is heard coming from the engine compartment, the owner is asked to make an appointment with any Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the vehicle inspected for this condition, the release said.
Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide _ mostly in the United States _ for problems that could make it harder to steer. Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide — mostly in the United States — for problems that could make it harder to steer.
The recall affects 447,000 vehicles in North America, as well as 38,000 in Japan and another 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, said Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. In Europe some 14,000 vehicles are being recalled along with 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan.
Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, said Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, he said.
Toyota's reputation has taken a hit over the last two years due to a string of huge recalls that have ballooned to 14 million vehicles over that time, including millions recalled last year for acceleration problems. It faces damage lawsuits and lingering doubts in the U.S. about whether it had been transparent enough about the recall woes.
Japan's largest automaker has been trying to communicate better with customers and empower regional operations outside Japan to make safety decisions.
The news comes a day after Toyota said its July-September profit slid 18.5 percent to 80.4 billion yen ($1 billion) on plunging sales caused by parts shortages from the tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan.
It now faces such uncertainties from flooding in Thailand, where it has many suppliers and three assembly plants, that it declined to release an earnings forecast for the full year through March.
The latest recall is due to the possibility that the outer ring of the engine's crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning signal to light up, the company's U.S. sales unit said in a press release. If the problem isn't corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley, making it suddenly more difficult to turn the steering wheel.
In the United States, the automaker is recalling 283,200 Toyota brand cars, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, the 2004 Avalon and the 2006 Highlander HV. Its recall of 137,000 Lexus vehicles includes the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330 and 2006 RX400h.
Those affected elsewhere include certain models of the Alphard, Highlander, Highlander hybrid and some Lexus models, Corbett said.
In the U.S., Toyota will mail owners a notification to make an appointment with an authorized dealer to have their car inspected once replacement parts have been produced in sufficient quantities.
If needed, parts will be replaced for no charge, the company's American sales unit said. Notifications will be mailed starting in January.
In the meantime, if an abnormal noise is heard coming from the engine compartment, the owner is asked to make an appointment with any Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the vehicle inspected for this condition, the release said.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Study Finds Half of Children's Booster Seats are Unsafe
Half of children's car booster seats aren't good enough to ensure a proper fit with safety belts, a safety group funded by the insurance industry says in a report out Thursday.
This shows a good belt fit on a booster seat, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. One key: The lower belt sits flat across the upper thighs, not the abdomen
Six were so bad the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recommended parents avoid them.
Booster seats, which are recommended for children who have outgrown forward-facing child seats, are designed to raise kids up so adult-sized safety belts fit properly. Children aged 4-8 in booster seats are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than those using only seat belts.
Not all boosters are doing that well.
Still, a record number of booster seats got the top rating for their ability to properly secure children in cars, but Booster seats were rated based on how well they fit 4 to 8 year olds with the lap and shoulder belts in a wide range of vehicles.
The IIHS says its ratings are important because it's impossible to tell which booster seats are better just by comparing prices, brands or features.
Child-safety advocate Joseph Colella calls it "a very significant regulatory shortfall" that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn't evaluate booster seats based on how well they position seat belts seeing "that is their primary function." The IIHS' ratings put pressure on manufacturers to improve belt fit, but Colella says it should be required, not voluntary.
Although the IIHS says booster seats have improved in the three years it has been testing them, it is concerned that those requiring parents to check the fit still outnumber the good ones. Of 83 seats tested, 41 got a "check fit" rating, and 31 were rated "best bets" or "good bets" by the IIHS.
Four booster seats made by Evenflo and two by Dorel's Safety 1st brand were rated so poorly the IIHS recommended consumers not use them. They are: the Evenflo Chase, Express, Generations 65 and Sightseer models and Safety 1st's All-in-One and Omega Elite.
If seat belts aren't positioned properly, children can hit parts of the vehicle in a crash and even be injured by the belts, which can slice into internal organs.
The IIHS also reported states that raised the requirements for booster seats to cover children through ages 7 or 8 had 17% fewer fatal or debilitating injuries to booster seat-aged children.
The IIHS singled out the Canadian company Harmony Juvenile Products as a "standout" in booster seat design because all five of its seats were "best bets." The first inflatable booster seat, the Bubblebum, also got the top rating.
"The best protection is not provided by 'a booster' but by 'the right booster' for the child and the vehicle," says Colella of Traffic Safety Projects.
This shows a good belt fit on a booster seat, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. One key: The lower belt sits flat across the upper thighs, not the abdomen
Six were so bad the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recommended parents avoid them.
Booster seats, which are recommended for children who have outgrown forward-facing child seats, are designed to raise kids up so adult-sized safety belts fit properly. Children aged 4-8 in booster seats are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than those using only seat belts.
Not all boosters are doing that well.
Still, a record number of booster seats got the top rating for their ability to properly secure children in cars, but Booster seats were rated based on how well they fit 4 to 8 year olds with the lap and shoulder belts in a wide range of vehicles.
The IIHS says its ratings are important because it's impossible to tell which booster seats are better just by comparing prices, brands or features.
Child-safety advocate Joseph Colella calls it "a very significant regulatory shortfall" that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn't evaluate booster seats based on how well they position seat belts seeing "that is their primary function." The IIHS' ratings put pressure on manufacturers to improve belt fit, but Colella says it should be required, not voluntary.
Although the IIHS says booster seats have improved in the three years it has been testing them, it is concerned that those requiring parents to check the fit still outnumber the good ones. Of 83 seats tested, 41 got a "check fit" rating, and 31 were rated "best bets" or "good bets" by the IIHS.
Four booster seats made by Evenflo and two by Dorel's Safety 1st brand were rated so poorly the IIHS recommended consumers not use them. They are: the Evenflo Chase, Express, Generations 65 and Sightseer models and Safety 1st's All-in-One and Omega Elite.
If seat belts aren't positioned properly, children can hit parts of the vehicle in a crash and even be injured by the belts, which can slice into internal organs.
The IIHS also reported states that raised the requirements for booster seats to cover children through ages 7 or 8 had 17% fewer fatal or debilitating injuries to booster seat-aged children.
The IIHS singled out the Canadian company Harmony Juvenile Products as a "standout" in booster seat design because all five of its seats were "best bets." The first inflatable booster seat, the Bubblebum, also got the top rating.
"The best protection is not provided by 'a booster' but by 'the right booster' for the child and the vehicle," says Colella of Traffic Safety Projects.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Volkswagen Recalls Vehicles for Fuel Leaks
Washington— Volkswagen of America is recalling 168,000 2009-2012 diesel vehicles over concerns fuel injector leaks could start an engine fire.
The German automaker said in a notice posted Thursdayon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website it is calling back its 2009-2012 Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and Audi A3 that have its 2.0 TDI diesel engine. The recall includes 161,144 VWs and 7,131 Audi vehicles. No fires, crashes or injuries have been reported.
VW said about 20 percent of vehicles recalled have fuel injection lines with potentially faulty material. The automaker said one supplier used a faulty part in assembling fuel injectors — and the failures only related to one of four injector lines. The company began investigating the issue in March 2010 after a warranty return of a single report of fuel leaks. The company didn't discover a cause, but as additional fuel leaks were reported, it notified its parent company in Germany, VW AG, about the issue in February of this year. VW plans to notify dealers and owners next month.
In February, NHTSA upgraded an investigation into 2009-2010 diesel VW Jetta, Golf and Audi A3 models to an engineering analysis after it received 160 complaints and field reports alleging incidents of engine stall and/or loss of power that appear to be related to high pressure fuel pump failures. Approximately half of the reports indicate that the failure resulted in an engine stall incident, with many of these alleging stall incidents at highway speeds in traffic with no restart. There has been one minor crash alleged to have resulted from failure in the vehicles. VW has said it believes the problem is gasoline contaminated diesel fuel — consumers using the wrong fuel.
The German automaker said in a notice posted Thursdayon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website it is calling back its 2009-2012 Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and Audi A3 that have its 2.0 TDI diesel engine. The recall includes 161,144 VWs and 7,131 Audi vehicles. No fires, crashes or injuries have been reported.
VW said about 20 percent of vehicles recalled have fuel injection lines with potentially faulty material. The automaker said one supplier used a faulty part in assembling fuel injectors — and the failures only related to one of four injector lines. The company began investigating the issue in March 2010 after a warranty return of a single report of fuel leaks. The company didn't discover a cause, but as additional fuel leaks were reported, it notified its parent company in Germany, VW AG, about the issue in February of this year. VW plans to notify dealers and owners next month.
In February, NHTSA upgraded an investigation into 2009-2010 diesel VW Jetta, Golf and Audi A3 models to an engineering analysis after it received 160 complaints and field reports alleging incidents of engine stall and/or loss of power that appear to be related to high pressure fuel pump failures. Approximately half of the reports indicate that the failure resulted in an engine stall incident, with many of these alleging stall incidents at highway speeds in traffic with no restart. There has been one minor crash alleged to have resulted from failure in the vehicles. VW has said it believes the problem is gasoline contaminated diesel fuel — consumers using the wrong fuel.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
800,000 Vehicles Recalled for Safety Defects Last Week
Automakers, including Hyundai Motor Co. and Subaru recalled more than 800,000 cars and trucks last week for defects including faulty airbags, according to federal regulators.
Separately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary defect investigation into 205,661 Ford Motor Co. minivans for the model years 2004 to 2005 following complaints that the service jack provided by Ford could collapse when in use and cause the vehicle to drop.
One of those reports said a person died after the Ford jack collapsed while he was working beneath the vehicle, according to a notice posted on NHTSA’s website.
The agency said it is investigating the issue to determine if a safety defect exists. NHTSA also upgraded two other probes into 431,000 Honda Motor Co. CR-V crossovers and 200,000 Jeep Liberty sport-utility vehicles built by Chrysler Group LLC.
Last week, Hyundai recalled more than 205,000 Veracruz and Sante Fe crossovers for model years 2007 and 2008 due to a defect in a part of the driver’s side airbag called the clock spring. The spring develops a high resistance over time and may not deploy in a crash, increasing the risk of injuries.
Subaru issued three separate recalls last week, including more than 295,000 vehicles for the model years 2002 to 2007 because a component in the front control arms can break if exposed to salty or humid environments.
The Japanese automaker also recalled more than 195,000 Outback and Legacy vehicles for model year 2010-2011 because components in the wiper motor could overheat and catch fire.
Subaru also recalled nearly 70,000 Outback and Legacy cars for the model year 2011 because the moonroof glass could come loose and detach.
Other automakers who issued large recalls last week were Hyundai affiliate Kia and Volkswagen AG .
Kia recalled more than 10,000 2007-2008 Sorento passenger cars because of a computer glitch that could turn off the front passenger airbag when an adult is in the passenger seat.
VW recalled more than 30,000 Jetta sedans for the model year 2011-2012 because some vehicles had a too-long stainless steel exhaust tip that could burn a person’s leg.
Separately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary defect investigation into 205,661 Ford Motor Co. minivans for the model years 2004 to 2005 following complaints that the service jack provided by Ford could collapse when in use and cause the vehicle to drop.
One of those reports said a person died after the Ford jack collapsed while he was working beneath the vehicle, according to a notice posted on NHTSA’s website.
The agency said it is investigating the issue to determine if a safety defect exists. NHTSA also upgraded two other probes into 431,000 Honda Motor Co. CR-V crossovers and 200,000 Jeep Liberty sport-utility vehicles built by Chrysler Group LLC.
Last week, Hyundai recalled more than 205,000 Veracruz and Sante Fe crossovers for model years 2007 and 2008 due to a defect in a part of the driver’s side airbag called the clock spring. The spring develops a high resistance over time and may not deploy in a crash, increasing the risk of injuries.
Subaru issued three separate recalls last week, including more than 295,000 vehicles for the model years 2002 to 2007 because a component in the front control arms can break if exposed to salty or humid environments.
The Japanese automaker also recalled more than 195,000 Outback and Legacy vehicles for model year 2010-2011 because components in the wiper motor could overheat and catch fire.
Subaru also recalled nearly 70,000 Outback and Legacy cars for the model year 2011 because the moonroof glass could come loose and detach.
Other automakers who issued large recalls last week were Hyundai affiliate Kia and Volkswagen AG .
Kia recalled more than 10,000 2007-2008 Sorento passenger cars because of a computer glitch that could turn off the front passenger airbag when an adult is in the passenger seat.
VW recalled more than 30,000 Jetta sedans for the model year 2011-2012 because some vehicles had a too-long stainless steel exhaust tip that could burn a person’s leg.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
BP, Transocean, Halliburton to Blame for Catastrophic Gulf Oil Spill
Federal report on deepwater spill blames .
The Wall Street Journal (9/14, Gold, Subscription Publication) reports that a federal report into the cause of last year's Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf will be released Wednesday, and it blames BP, the crew of the drilling rig owned by Transocean, and the cementing process used by Halliburton, in addition to offering 50 recommendations for changes to offshore drilling.
BP scientist suggests company ignored critical information before spill. The AP (9/14) reports that according to documents and interviews, "A BP scientist identified a previously unreported deposit of flammable gas that could have played a role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but the oil giant failed to divulge the finding to government investigators for as long as a year." BP petro-physicist Galina Skripnikova revealed this information in a deposition with attorneys two months ago, saying that she did not relay the new information to drilling engineers on the Deepwater Horizon to warn them to hold off proceeding with the well ceiling process, and suggesting that she assumed the information would be passed up the corporate chain.
The Wall Street Journal (9/14, Gold, Subscription Publication) reports that a federal report into the cause of last year's Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf will be released Wednesday, and it blames BP, the crew of the drilling rig owned by Transocean, and the cementing process used by Halliburton, in addition to offering 50 recommendations for changes to offshore drilling.
BP scientist suggests company ignored critical information before spill. The AP (9/14) reports that according to documents and interviews, "A BP scientist identified a previously unreported deposit of flammable gas that could have played a role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but the oil giant failed to divulge the finding to government investigators for as long as a year." BP petro-physicist Galina Skripnikova revealed this information in a deposition with attorneys two months ago, saying that she did not relay the new information to drilling engineers on the Deepwater Horizon to warn them to hold off proceeding with the well ceiling process, and suggesting that she assumed the information would be passed up the corporate chain.
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