Defective air bags being sold online.

Bloomberg News (10/23, Plungis, 2.66M) reports that “an underground market is growing” online for unauthorized replacements for Takata’s recalled air bags. Jennifer Timian, chief of the NHTSA’s recall management division, said that the agency has “learned of defective air bags for sale on EBay Inc,” according to the article. She said that consumers should only buy replacement air bags from authorized dealers. Timian is quoted as saying, “Under no circumstances should a person purchase an air bag off the Internet, or from a salvage yard or any other unauthorized source.” 

Mazda recalling 1.36 million vehicles in the US over ignition switches.

The AP (10/22) reports that Mazda “is recalling 4.9 million older vehicles worldwide, including 1.36 million in the US, because ignition switches could overheat and catch fire.” The recall involved “the 1990-1996 323 and Protégé, the 1993-1998 626, the 1993-1995 929, the 1993-1997 MX-6, the 1989 to 1998 MPV and the 1992-1993 MX-3.” 

Toyota to recall 6.5 million cars over power window issue.

Reuters (10/21, Kim) reports that Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday announced it will recall some 6.5 million vehicles globally over a defect in the power window switch in some models. In the US and North America, 2.7 million such vehicles will be subjected to repairs in a bid to fix the issue concerning the power windows. 

        GM recalls more than 3,000 trucks, SUVs for new ignition switch defect. USA Today (10/17, Gardner, 5.23M) reported online that General Motors announced Friday that it would be recalling “about 3,300 large pickup trucks and SUVs” due to newly discovered ignition switch defects. This comes but “a month after agreeing to pay $900 million to settle criminal charges” related to the earlier faulty switch problems. In this new case, some GM trucks “have ignition lock gears with an outer diameter that is larger than specifications, making them difficult to turn.” 

GM adds vehicles to Takata air bag recall.

USA Today (10/18, Snider, 5.23M) reports in continuing coverage on the addition of 395 General Motors vehicles to the Takata air bag defect recall. The problem, according to the NHTSA is that the air bags “may rupture when deployed, causing possible serious injury or death.”

        The AP (10/18, Krisher) reports that the global issue of “exploding Takata air bag inflators” has now “spread to newer vehicles, this time hitting a small number of 2015 General Motors cars and SUVs.” On Saturday, GM announced the recall of “more than 400 vehicles” due to potentially faulty side bag inflators that can “rupture and send shrapnel into drivers and passengers,” according to documents posted with NHTSA. As the AP points out, the Takata question “continues to widen with no end in sight.” NHTSA’s Gordon Trowbridge comments that “All Takata-made ammonium nitrate inflators are within the scope of our investigation,” adding that the agency “will take action” should it find “that additional recalls are necessary.”

        MLive (MI) (10/18, Al Hajal, 739K) reports that the number of recalled vehicles was “395 vehicles of six different models,” bringing the number of recalled vehicles with Takata airbags to “more than 19 million.”

        WIMS-AM South Shore, IN (10/17) also reported online. 

Medical malpractice rates “essentially flat” in 2015.

Medscape (10/7, Lowes, 232K) reports on a survey of medical malpractice rates by the Medical Liability Monitor finding that rates were “essentially flat” for 2015 in “three bellwether medical specialties” namely, obstetricians/gynecologists (up 0.6 percent), internists (up 0.5 percent), and general surgeons (down 0.2 percent). Rates fell in the Northeast, West, and Midwest, but were up 0.9 percent in southern states, with Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia having 5 percent increases. The report also found that 71 percent of rates were the same in 2015 as in 2014, 12 percent were lower, and 17 percent were increased. Decreases outnumbered increases in every year since 2006 until this year. 

NHTSA: Fiat Chrysler under-reported vehicular deaths.

The AP (9/30, Krisher) reports that the NHTSA on Tuesday said Fiat Chrysler failed to disclose “some deaths, injuries and other information to the agency as required by law.” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx “told reporters he will call a meeting in Washington with all auto industry CEOs to address a long list of failures to meet reporting requirements. In the past several years, the agency has fined Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, General Motors, Ford and others for failing to follow the law,” the article reports. “We need to have confidence the information we get is real and accurate information,” Foxx said. NHTSA “said its investigators found a discrepancy in reporting by Fiat Chrysler and notified the company in late July,” according to the article. “This represents a significant failure to meet a manufacturer’s safety responsibilities,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. “We’re still trying to uncover how deep the under-reporting is and how far back it goes,” Foxx said.

        CNN Money (9/29, Isidore, Marsh, 2.15M) reports that the Fiat Chrysler’s failure to notify the NHTSA resulted in fatal accidents not getting the attention they needed. “The news is obviously troubling,” Secretary Foxx said, adding, “NHTSA is still trying to uncover how far back this goes.” The article points to the TREAD Act, which “requires car companies to notify NHTSA every three months of accidents that caused injuries or deaths” and of mechanical problems. “NHTSA will take appropriate action after gathering additional information on the scope and causes of this failure,” said Rosekind. Fiat Chrysler for its part said it “takes this issue extremely seriously, and will continue to cooperate with NHTSA to resolve this matter and ensure these issues do not reoccur.”

        The New York Times (9/29, Vlasic, Subscription Publication, 11.82M) reports that Secretary Foxx said Fiat Chrysler’s admission is “troubling,” and “said it underscored the need for a meeting with automakers to emphasize the importance of safety reporting rules.” Foxx said, “We’re giving strong consideration to calling everybody in.” He explained, “There are a number of issues on the table right now that merit discussion across many of the manufacturers at this point.” New penalties could be levied against the company after it admitted to under-reporting, which was “discovered in an internal review tied to the company’s recent $105 million settlement over its handling of recalls.”

        The Detroit News (9/29, Shepardson, 493K) reports that Secretary Foxx on Tuesday said that “It’s time to bring everybody in here and have a deeper conversation about go-forwards.” He added, “There are a number of issues on the table right now that probably merit discussion across many of the manufacturers. And one of them is, ‘Look folks, we have millions of people who rely on what you make every day to get from everywhere from work to putting their most precious cargo — their kids — in cars, and we need to have confidence that the information that we get is real and accurate.’” Foxx said, “We’ve fined heavily where we can. We’ve also added in on top of that consent agreements that give us greater authorities to peer behind the veil.” He has called on Congress to increase “maximum fines for failing to recall vehicles to a maximum $300 million from the current $35 million,” the article reports. Foxx said he has yet to invite automakers.

        The AP (9/29) reports that Foxx said, “We need to have confidence the information we get is real and accurate information.”

        The Hill (9/30, Laing, 471K) reports that in light of the recent “revelations that German automaker Volkswagen has been cheating Federal pollution emission standards to trick regulators into believing their cars are more fuel efficient than they actually are.” Foxx “said Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which made the allegations against Volkswagen, is taking the lead on punishing them for their violations, which VW has admitted,” the article reports. “Because it deals with emissions, the EPA is rightly in the lead on this,” he said, adding that the NHTSA is backing the EPA’s efforts. “We’re playing an assist role here and following the lead of the colleagues at the EPA,” Foxx continued.

        The story was also reported by the Wall Street Journal (9/29, Spector, Subscription Publication, 5.95M), USA Today (9/29, Bomey, 5.23M), USA Today (9/30, Jansen, 5.23M), the Rochester-Rochester Hills (MI) Patch (9/29, Dalbey), and Reuters (9/29, Morgan).