Chrysler facing problems with electrical systems in “millions” of vehicles.

The CBS Evening News (8/27, story 9, 2:20, Dubois, 5.08M) reported that Chrysler is “confronting safety concerns about an electrical component causing lots of problems for owners” called a “totally integrated power module.” It is “found in millions of Chrysler’s vehicles.” CBS’ Jeff Pegues says that problems with the component, “can lead to air bag non-deployment, vehicle shutdowns, unintended accelerations and fires,” according to the Center for Automotive Safety. 

NHTSA unveils VIN-lookup tool for searching recalls.

In ongoing coverage of NHTSA’s new online search tool for drivers to look up automotive recalls by VIN, the Peninsula (WA) Daily News (8/24, 41K) reports that NHTSA’s “program comes as manufacturers are recalling millions more vehicles than at any other time in U.S. history, about 46 million vehicles so far this year,” or about “1 of every 5 cars in the U.S.” Plus, consumers can check their recalls on NHTSA’s smartphone app Safercar. As acting NHTSA Administrator David Friedman said, recalled vehicles “can sometimes be sold or rented to someone who is completely unaware of that recall...In many cases that can put an owner’s life at risk, and risk the safety of others on America’s roads.”

        WITI-TV Milwaukee (8/23, 98K) reported from its website with similar coverage, noting NHTSA’s phrase “recall fatigue.” 

VW Recalls Tiguan For Fuel System Problem, Routan For Ignition Problem

The Volkswagen of America Inc. unit of Volkswagen AG (OTCMKTS:VLKAY) is recalling 189,490 2009-14 Tiguan sport-utility vehicles because of a problem with the fuel system and 18,526 2009 Routans because of a problem with the ignition switch, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Tiguan recall centers on a stalling issue, the result of bubbles forming in the fuel systems of vehicles when winter fuel blends are used during periods of warmer temperatures. This decreases fuel-pump performance and pressure and thus increases the incidence of stalling. Solving the problem involves the installation of revised electronic control module software, Reuters reported. VW said 151,389 Tiguans were sold in the U.S. and 38,101 in Canada.

Click here to read the entire article.

Hyundai recalls 883k Sonatas over detaching shift cable

There are plenty of things that can go wrong in a car, some more vital than others. Automakers try their best to make sure they don't, but things slip through, like the shift cables on the Hyundai Sonata.

Hyundai and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have found that, on 883,000 units of the MY2011-2014 Sonata manufactured between December 11, 2009, and May 29, 2014, the shift cable in the transmission is prone to detach from the shift lever. As a result, the gear indicated and the gear engaged might not match, which could set the vehicle in motion unexpectedly. Worse than that, the Park position might not engage altogether, and without the hand brake pulled, that could lead the car to roll away without warning.

To read the rest of the article click here. 

Senators urge Barra to fire GM’s corporate counsel.

The AP (7/18, Gordon, Durbin) reports that as a Senate subcommittee “delved deeper into GM’s mishandling of the recall of small cars with defective ignition switches,” lawmakers demanded that CEO Mary Barra fire the company’s “chief lawyer and open its compensation plan to more potential victims.” Subcommittee Chair Claire McCaskill praised Barra, “saying she ‘has stepped up, and with courage and conviction has confronted the problem head on and the corporate culture that caused it,’” but also put her “on the spot, telling the CEO that she should have fired GM’s corporate counsel, Michael Millikin, based on the conclusions of an internal report by outside attorney Anton Valukas. Millikin sat next to Barra as she defended him as a man of ‘tremendously high integrity.’”

        The New York Times (7/18, Vlasic, Kessler, Subscription Publication, 9.79M) reports that Millikin “came under withering attack from senators” during the hearing, adding that several senators “also focused on how forthright G.M. was in its disclosures with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” The Wall Street Journal (7/18, Bennett, Hughes, Subscription Publication, 5.89M) reports that Barra stood by Millikin amid questions from senators about how she intends to change GM’s corporate culture without firing him. 

KidsAndCars.org Launches White House Petition Drive to Stop Needless Child Deaths in Hot Vehicles

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/prevent-child-heat-stroke-deaths-vehicles/ymQR1Ty0

KidsAndCars.org launched a "We the People" petition drive on the White House petition website.
The petition will urge the White House to authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to:

• Provide funding for research and development of innovative technology to detect a child in the rear seat when a driver leaves the vehicle and a child is left alone.
• Identify, evaluate and test new technology to accelerate implementation of the most feasible and effective solutions.
• Require installation of technology in ALL vehicles and/or child safety seats to prevent children from being left alone in vehicles.

Please sign our petition to stop child in hot car deaths today:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/prevent-child-heat-stroke-deaths-vehicles/ymQR1Ty0

Documents raise doubts about GM’s forthrightness regarding ignition switch problem.

The New York Times (7/16, A1, Ruiz, Ivory, Subscription Publication, 9.65M) reports that GM’s response to Federal authorities investigating a fatal crash of a Saturn Ion, along with “its replies to queries in other crashes obtained by The New York Times from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, casts doubt on how forthright the automaker was with regulators over a defective ignition switch that G.M. has linked to at least 13 deaths over the last decade.” The documents show that GM “repeatedly found a way not to answer the simple question from regulators of what led to a crash.” In at least three cases, the company “said that it had not assessed the cause.” In another, it said that “attorney-client privilege may have prevented it from answering.” In others, it simply said, “G.M. opts not to respond.”