NHTSA Vehicle Recalls

Perhaps the abysmal performance of the Toyota executives in their delay in recalling vehicles with sudden acceleration and braking problems has led to an increase in vehicle manufacturer vigilance in monitoring their own vehicles for possible safety problems.

On the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site is found the July 8, 2011 publication, “Safety Defect/Non-compliance Notices”. It appears there are several manufacturers who have self-recalled vehicles with problems. If this is the case, then kudos to those manufacturers; not for the manufacturing defects, but for their honesty and apparent concern (even if only economic) for the potential injuries these defects could cause.

Here are some of the recalled vehicles involved:

• Porsche. 2010 – 2011 911 Turbo. Equipped with locking hubs; the hubs can prematurely wear resulting in wheel loosening. The defect could result in loss of control of the vehicle.
• Volvo. 2012 S60 cars. Defective software can result in improper fuel regulation and engine hesitation or stalling. The failure of the fuel flow could result in a crash occurring
• Toyota. 2001 – 2003 Prius. A defect in the steering linkage can result in reduced steering and loss of power steering. An increased potential for an accident exists.
• Toyota. 2011 Venza and Sienna. Possibility for breakage of the front, right, drive shaft. The defect will result in complete power loss.
• GM. 2011 Cadillac SRX. Airbags at the right side roof rail are programmed to turn off when the front passenger seat is sensed to be unoccupied. This could result in injury to passengers in the rear seats. This defect could be especially dangerous in roll over crash events.
• Volvo. 2012 S60. A manufacturing defect in the fuel line assembly can result in a disconnect of the fuel line and sudden deceleration. The defect can result in engine stall and increase accident potential.
• Volkswagen. 2012 CC. Factory installed wheels and tires were replaced when imported with non-factory equipment. The replaced equipment does not include tire pressure monitoring; which could result in dangerously low tire pressure.
• Chrysler. 2011 Dodge Journey, Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler 200, Chrysler 200 Convertible, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Nitro, Jeep Liberty, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot, Dodge Grand Caravan And Chrysler Town & Country Vehicles. These vehicles may have been assembled with missing or incorrect steering column components. The defect could compromise the ability to steer the vehicle and decrease the effectiveness of the frontal impact system. This manufacturing defect could result in both increase in potential for accident and more severe injuries in the event of a crash.

The report from the NHTSA includes a number of other automotive recalls; as well as motorcycles, trailers and other vehicle related products.