Headlines are blaring about the 1.6 million 40″ Sony Bravia TVs getting recalled for fire and smoke risk, but they’re overlooking a key fact. The recalled models were only sold in Japan. No recall has been issued in America. However, there are 400,000 models that were sold in the US that contain the same component that prompted the Japan recall. Here are the Sony Bravia TV model numbers you should check to see if you have. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
168,000 Volkswagens Recalled Because Fuel Isn't Supposed To Leak
By 10.7.11
The volks at Volkswagen have issued a recall on a total of 168,275 Golf, Jetta and Audi A3 vehicles over concerns the fuel line could crack and leak, potentially causing an engine fire. [More]
Man Sues After Eating Listeria-Tainted Cantaloupe
By 10.5.11
Cantaloupe tainted by listeria have led to 13 deaths, and now, a lawsuit against Jensen Farms and Walmart. [More]
How Do I Stop The Mice From Sneaking Into My Honda Pilot?
By 10.4.11
Jennifer’s brother’s family loves their 2006 Honda Pilot. But there’s a bit of a problem. Mice also love it. And if you check around, there’s a bunch of other Honda Pilot owners complaining about mice infestations. How do you keep the mice out? [More]
Kraft Recalls 137,000 Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cups Because Thin Pieces Of Wire Are Not Part Of Your Daily Diet
By 9.30.11
Kraft Foods has announced a recall of three varieties of Velveeta Shells & Cheese single serve microwaveable cups as a precaution due to the “possible presence of small, thin wire bristle pieces.” [More]
GM Introduces First Front-Center Air Bag
By 9.29.11
In an effort to protect folks in the front seat during side impact crashes, General Motors announced earlier today that it plans to introduce the industry’s first front-center air bag in three of its vehicles starting with model year 2013. [More]
This Texas Instruments Calculator Can't Calculate Correctly
By 9.29.11
There’s a basic assumption that consumers have about calculators: that you put numbers in, and the calculator spits answers out. Correct answers. Accurate answers. In the case of the Texas Instruments scientific calculator that John bought recently, he tells Consumerist that this is a false assumption. As false as the answers it gave him for the area of a circle. [More]
131,000 Pounds Of Ground Beef Sold At Kroger Recalled Because E. Coli Doesn't Make For Good Seasoning
By 9.28.11
Tyson Fresh Meats is recalling approximately 131,300 pounds of ground beef products sold at Kroger because of possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. [More]
OnStar Scraps Plans To Track Your Car After You Quit Service
By 9.27.11
Less than a week after it was revealed that OnStar was going to change its Terms and Conditions statement to allow the service to keep tracking customers’ vehicles even after they cancel their subscription, the company has bowed to the massive negative reaction and decided to, uh, not do that. [More]
OnStar Says Not To Worry About It Tracking Your Car Even After You Cancel It
By 9.26.11
Last week, OnStar raised some eyebrows when they emailed their customers to say that the company will tracking their car even after they canceled service. They then followed up with an emailed statement to the press to let everyone know they’re not bad guys. [More]
OnStar Now Tracking Your Car Even After You Cancel Service
By 9.21.11 — Updated: 3.28.13
OnStar sent around an email to users this week letting them know they’ll be keeping close tabs on their cars, even if they cancel the service. The navigation-and-emergency service will keep tracking your car, and the company is reserving the right to anonymously resell the collected data to third parties. [More]
How I Stopped A Jeep Dealership From Ripping Me Off
By 9.15.11
We can’t name the specific Jeep dealership where Andy recently brought his car, but can offer his story as a cautionary tale. His experience confirms what we all secretly fear while speaking to service representatives: anyone who doesn’t source their own parts and have their own copy of the service manual is pretty much screwed. [More]
Has Honda Finally Killed Off Mr. Opportunity?
By 9.14.11
For years, Honda has been irritating TV viewers by continuing to bring back its smug animated shill, Mr. Opportunity. The spots grew so grating that Consumerist readers voted it as the third-worst ad in the country last year. But several of you have noticed Mr. Opportunity’s absence from your TV sets and wanted to know if Honda had finally put the toon out of its misery. [More]
Honda Recalls CR-V, CR-Z Due To Electrical Problems
By 9.6.11
Honda has announced a recall of 80,111 CR-V vehicles from the 2006 model year, as well as well as 5,626 CR-Z vehicles from the 2011 model year due to electrical issues. The recalled CR-V suffers a design problem in the power window master switch that can lead to a fire due to window cleaner accumulation over time, and the CR-Z is affected by a software bug that could possibly cause the motor to rotate in the opposite direction of the transmission’s gear. [More]
Yet Another Tylenol Recall: 2.5 Million Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps
By 9.1.11
The fifth recall of a Tylenol product this year is “Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps.” McNeil, a division of Johnson & Johnson, a family company, said the caps had “slightly higher than expected” levels of chlorpheniramine ammonio acetate (CPAA). The recall encompasses roughly 2.5 million packages. [More]
25 CEOs Who Made More Than Their Companies Paid In Income Taxes
By 8.31.11
The Institute for Policy Studies has just released its 18th annual review of U.S. executive compensation and found that 25 out of the country’s 100 highest-paid chief executives actually earned more in 2010 than their companies paid out in corporate income taxes. [More]
Philips Recalls 1.86 Million Potentially Plummeting Compact Fluorescent Flood Lamps
By 8.22.11
Philips and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a few weeks ago the recall of about 1.86 million compact fluorescent floodlamps sold under the EnergySaver and Marathon brands between 2007 and 2010. The reflector around the lamp can come unglued, shattering on the ground or floor. This actually happened to a Consumerist reader, who sent in photos of the glass-shard carnage. [More]
54,000 Clip-On Chairs Recalled For Failing To Clip On To Table Tops
By 8.17.11
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and phil&teds USA Inc, of Fort Collins, Co. announced the recall of the company’s metoo Clip-on Chair. The baby seats, designed to attach to table tops, have clamp parts that may fail. Children seated in the chair may fall or possibly have their fingers crushed or amputated by the failing mechanism. [More]
