A week after directing dealers to stop selling the newest model Civic sedans after detecting a problem in the vehicles that could lead to engine failure, Honda has announced an official recall of the affected cars. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Consumer Group Sues DOT For Failure To Create Searchable Database Of Safety Defects
By 2.8.16
More than three years ago, Congress instructed the Department of Transportation to create a publicly accessible, and easily searchable, website featuring communications between regulators, automakers, dealers, and consumers about safety defects. One safety group says this hasn’t happened, and is suing DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx in an effort to make this database a reality. [More]
More Than 100 Crashes Caused By Confusing Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge Gear Shifters
By 2.8.16
For most vehicles, shifting into “Park” seems to be a simple task. But for thousands of people who own Fiat Chrysler cars, that’s not the case. Federal regulators expanded their investigation into these vehicles after receiving more complaints about crashes and injuries because drivers say they have inadvertently left their vehicles in gear with the engine running because the electronic gear shifter is confusing. [More]
Police: Drunk Uber Passenger Stole His Driver’s Car, Crashed It Into Curb
By 2.8.16
It’s one thing to hail a car to take you somewhere, but it’s an entirely other, illegal thing to call for that ride and then take the car yourself. Police in Oregon say a drunken Uber customer fought with his driver before making off with his vehicle. [More]
Volkswagen May Buy Back, Replace Emissions-Cheating Diesels In U.S.
By 2.8.16
While owners of Volkswagen’s emission-cheating vehicles in the U.S. continue to wait for news on how the company plans to fix their cars, one lawyer working for the automaker says he’s preparing a generous compensation package for affected consumers. [More]
New Airbag Recall Involves 5 Million Vehicles From Honda, Chrysler, Kia & Others
By 2.4.16
Another auto parts maker has kicked off a massive recall thanks to potentially defective airbags. This time, it’s Continental Automotive Systems, which has alerted federal regulators that some 5 million vehicles produced by a half-dozen car companies may contain airbags that could deploy inadvertently or fail to deploy in a crash.
[More]
Don’t Get Stuck Paying For A Flight You Can’t Take; Know Your Airline’s 24-Hour Cancellation Policy
By 2.4.16
You can spend months, and thousands of dollars, putting together a trip abroad, but no matter how much effort you take to avoid travel trouble, unforeseen circumstances can force you to change your plans. Thankfully, most airlines flying to and from the U.S. have a policy that lets passengers cancel tickets within 24 hours of booking. Note that we said “most airlines” — not all. [More]
Honda Recalls 1.7M Additional Cars Over Takata Airbag Defect; Reminds Dealers Not To Sell Them
By 2.3.16
Honda warned dealers this week that they could be held liable if they sell a vehicle equipped with unrepaired Takata airbags and it explodes, injuring a passenger or driver in an accident. The warning comes as the carmaker issued a stop-sale for and once again expanded — by 1.7 million — the number of its vehicles affected by the ongoing safety device defect. [More]
See Ya, Scion: Toyota To Absorb Youth-Focused Brand After 13 Years
By 2.3.16
Starting later this year, Scion will join a long list of vehicle brands — think Mercury, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn — in the dustbin of history, as Toyota plans to end production of the brand after 13 years. [More]
Honda Orders Stop-Sale Of 2016 Civics Over Possible Engine Failure; Recall Pending
By 2.3.16
Just months after hitting the market, Honda has ordered all 2016 Civics to remain on their dealers’ lots after finding a problem in the vehicles that could lead to engine failure. [More]
Panel: Takata Lacks Quality Control Processes, Policies For Addressing Defects
By 2.3.16
An independent review panel hired by Takata — the company behind the ongoing recall of millions of defective, potentially dangerous, airbags — found that the parts maker lacks processes to improve the quality of its products, or to adequately address problems in its devices once they are installed in vehicles.
[More]
Mazda Recalls, Stops Sales Of CX-5 Vehicles Over Fuel Leak Concerns
By 2.1.16
If you’ve got a 2014-2016 Mazda CX-5 sitting in the driveway — or you were planning on buying one anytime soon — here’s some bad news for you. The carmaker has recalled and stopped the sale of more than 260,000 of these vehicles over fuel leak concerns. [More]
Tesla Applied For A Dealership License In Michigan
By 2.1.16
Michigan residents keen on purchasing a Tesla may no longer have to travel to Chicago, Ohio, Indiana, or Canada: Tesla has applied for dealership licenses to sell and service its electric vehicles in the state nearly two years after legislators passed laws banning the company’s direct-to-customer sales model. [More]
Some New York City Uber Drivers Will Go On Strike At Noon
By 2.1.16
You might remember last week that we reported about Uber’s plans to cut fares by about 15% in New York City. Customers are surely delighted, and some drivers are happy to have less downtime, but other drivers are less thrilled, and around 1,000 drivers are expected to go on strike today at noon. [More]
Uber Cuts Some New York City Fares By 15%
By 1.29.16
Less than a month after Uber slashed its prices in 100 cities around the country, the ride-hailing service implemented similar cuts in New York City. [More]
VW Buyback Plan Seems More Likely As Company Struggles To Find Fix For Emission-Cheating Vehicles
By 1.29.16
Since Volkswagen admitted last year to using “defeat devices” in certain cars to cheat on emissions tests, some owners and consumer advocates have pushed for the carmaker to buy back affected vehicles from customers. VW had resisted this idea, but without any other resolution in the offing, a mass buyback offer is beginning to look possible.
[More]
Nissan Recalls 846,000 Altimas Over Hood Latch Issues For The Third Time
By 1.29.16
For the third time in the past year and a half, Nissan is recalling hundreds of thousands of Altima vehicles because of fears the cars’ hoods will fly open while on the move. [More]
People Are Still Getting Sick From Cucumber Salmonella Outbreak
By 1.27.16
When the strain of Salmonella making people sick was traced to batches of cucumbers imported from Mexico back in September, it seemed that the cucumber outbreak was solved. Only people are still getting sick with that same strain, suggesting either that people keep cucumbers around for a while or that there’s another food source still out there infecting people. Since we last updated you, hundreds of more people have become sick, and authorities reported three more deaths. [More]
