Car Reviews, News, and Rambling
by Rob
This may not be the mother of all recalls, but it’s huge nonetheless. Ford issued a massive 465,000 vehicle recall. They have received over 600 complaints about fuel leaks. Accordingly, the recall is to address the risk of fire. There have been no reports of actual fires yet, though.
It seems Ford may need to be a little more careful when releasing new vehicles.
by Rob
Owners of a 2013 Fusion or Escape with the 1.6 liter engine should stop driving their vehicles immediately. According to the Ford press release:
Meanwhile, Ford is advising affected owners to contact a Ford dealer as soon as possible for alternative transportation at no cost to the customer; U.S. owners also may call 866-436-7332 and Canadian customers also may call 888-222-7814 for details on securing alternative transportation.
Ford is telling you not to drive your car. That’s serious. Some of these engines are overheating to the point that fires are starting. The engines are catching on fire. While people are driving.
So far, no one has been hurt. Hopefully it stays that way. This is the sort of issue that I simply don’t understand. How can a problem of this magnitude make it to production?
by Rob
Plural of Prius aside1, Toyota is recalling 670,000 of them here in the States, and a total of 2.77 million worldwide. What’s the big deal? There are two potential issues, actually.
Number one is a flakey water pump, which could cause the engine to shut down at an inopportune time. Problem number two is a steering issue that seems extremely minor. If you beat the hell out of your Prius when you’re turning it, over time, it could fail eventually. I thought that was pretty much a given in any car.
In any case, Toyota will start notifying customers next month, and repairs will be done at no customer to owners.
I have no idea what it is. ↩
by Rob
Honda is recalling a total of 625.762 vehicles. Included are Acura TL’s from 2007 and 2008, and Honda Accords V6 models from 2003-2007.
The issue is that high under-hood temperatures could cause the power steering hose to bite the dust early. The hose could crack, causing power steering fluid to leak. The fluid could leak onto the catalytic converter, which would make it very angry. Angry catalytic converters tend to catch on fire.
So.
Honda is fixing this free of charge, of course. Owners will begin to receive notifications by the end of October, though there are not yet enough parts available to fix all affected units. Completing this recall is expected to take several months.
by Rob
Honda has issued a recall for a half million1 CR-V’s and Pilots. Affected CR-V’s are from the 2002-2004 model years, and affected Pilots are from 2003. There is a potential flaw in the headlight switch wiring. In some cases, the low beam headlights could fail.
So far, no harm, no foul. No accidents have been caused, and no one has been hurt. Still nice to see Honda issuing this (voluntary) recall to get it handled on their dime.
by Rob
Nissan has issued a recall for an unspecified number of Versas and Altimas from the current model year. Affected vehicles may have an incorrect mixture of gasses in the curtain airbag module. The problem? There’s a chance that the airbags won’t inflate in the event of a crash.
Dealers will inspect vehicles for this issue, and replace the curtain airbag module if needed.
Nissan should start notifying owners within the next week. For more information, contact Nissan USA at 615-725-1000.
by Rob
Are you the semi-proud owner of a 2001-2002 Mazda Tribute? Good for you. Bad for your brake master cylinder. Some Tributes from these model years could leak brake fluid. This fluid could possibly come into contact with some wiring, potentially causing a fire.
Brake fluid leaking. Fires. Not good stuff.
Mazda is sending out notices to affected owners now. A Mazda spokesperson has actually recommended that you leave your Tribute parked until it’s fixed – parked away from your home. That’s right, Mazda is actually recommending that you park your Tribute outside, so the potential fire doesn’t potentially burn down your house. That’s more than a bit disturbing.
From the NHTSA bulletin:
UNTIL THE REPAIR HAS BEEN PERFORMED, VEHICLE OWNERS SHOULD PARK THEIR VEHICLES OUTSIDE.
by Rob
Some of these Sentras, from model years 2010 and 2011 have a defect which could cause the engine to stall. Not good news if you’re barreling down the highway at 70 miles per hour.
According to the NHTSA, the zinc coating on the positive terminal stud bolt is thicker than its supposed to be. This could potentially cause a voltage drop, which could in turn make the vehicle hard to start or even stall while moving.
The fix is easy — just swap out the positive terminal. Nissan dealers will handle this repair at no cost to owners, of course. While Nissan will notify affected owners in the coming weeks, you may feel better calling Nissan now at 1-800-647-7261.