Earlier this week Japanese auto part maker Takata announced it may have to call back some of the millions of airbags already replaced because they may still have a tendency to shoot shrapnel upon deployment. Today, the company released an estimated number of re-recalled airbags, to the tune of 400,000. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
![Apple Recalls Beats Pill XL Speakers Due To Fire Hazard](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/beatspillxlcomposite.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Apple Recalls Beats Pill XL Speakers Due To Fire Hazard
When you spend a few hundred dollars on a portable speaker, you probably assume that you’re buying a quality piece of electronics that will sound nice and not overheat and catch fire when it’s not supposed to. That is not the case for the Beats Pill XL, a signature product for the headphone company, which is now part of Apple. [More]
![June Recall Roundup: Melting Mason Jars And Phantom Ovens](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/mason-jar-night-lights_800.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
June Recall Roundup: Melting Mason Jars And Phantom Ovens
In this month’s Recall Roundup for consumer goods, a laptop battery recall expands, mason jar night lights melt, and a friendly toy policeman is not as friendly as he initially appears to be. [More]
![Takata Plans To Stop Using Ammonium Nitrate, Phase Out Certain Airbag Inflators](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/takata1.png)
Takata Plans To Stop Using Ammonium Nitrate, Phase Out Certain Airbag Inflators
A day before representatives from Japanese auto parts maker Takata are set to appear in front of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee to discuss the more than 34 million defective airbags linked to six deaths and more than a hundred injuries, the company announced it would stop using an often volatile chemical in its safety devices moving forward and call back some airbags replaced during earlier recalls. [More]
![Tesla Won’t Be Selling Cars Directly In Texas For At Least Another Two Years](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/tesla.png)
Tesla Won’t Be Selling Cars Directly In Texas For At Least Another Two Years
Tesla won’t be conquering the Lone Star state anytime soon, as bills in front of the Texas legislature that would allow direct-to-consumer sales by the electric car maker likely won’t see the light of day until 2017, when the next regular legislative session begins. [More]
![(Uber)](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/uber_blog_images_1.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Uber Testing App Enhancements That Help Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Drivers
We’ve covered in the past Uber’s problems with the ride-hailing service’s disabled passengers, which range from ride snubs to service dogs forced to ride in the trunk. It’s worth keeping that in mind when you learn about Uber’s latest change to their driver app to accommodate a different community of people with disabilities: the service is testing changes to its system that make driving for the service possible for people who are deaf. [More]
![Could Takata’s Replacement Airbags Be Just As Dangerous?](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/airbag.png)
Could Takata’s Replacement Airbags Be Just As Dangerous?
Generally when consumers take their vehicles to a dealer for a recall remedy, they leave with the peace of mind that the potential safety issue has been fixed. That may not end up being the case for more than 34 million recently recalled vehicles equipped with Takata airbags, as the parts manufacturer, automakers and federal regulators struggle to determine why the safety devices have the tendency to spew pieces of shrapnel upon deployment. [More]
![Ford Recalls Nearly 445K Vehicles For Power Steering Failure, Fuel Leak Issues](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/ford1.png?w=680)
Ford Recalls Nearly 445K Vehicles For Power Steering Failure, Fuel Leak Issues
Ford Motor Company issued two new recalls Wednesday covering nearly 445,000 vehicles after receiving numerous complaint and incident reports, including at least four accidents related to loss of power steering and high underbody temperatures. [More]
![GM Could Face Criminal Charges Over Ignition Defect That Killed More Than 100](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/gm.png)
GM Could Face Criminal Charges Over Ignition Defect That Killed More Than 100
General Motors might be able to wriggle out of class action fraud lawsuits over the long-ignored ignition defect in multiple vehicles that ultimately killed more than 100 people, but the company could still face criminal charges from federal prosecutors. [More]
![NHTSA Once Again Flexes Regulatory Muscle Over GM, Manufacturers Who Used Takata](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/cars.png)
NHTSA Once Again Flexes Regulatory Muscle Over GM, Manufacturers Who Used Takata
Since taking the helm of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in January, Mark Rosekind has made his intention to hold automakers responsible for safety issues well known. This week, the agency continued tightening the reins by extending oversight requirements imposed on General Motors stemming from its ignition switch defect and invoking its legal authority to speed up the recall process related to millions of vehicles recalled for Takata airbag defects. [More]
![Takata Beefing Up Replacement Airbag Production, Again](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/airbag.png)
Takata Beefing Up Replacement Airbag Production, Again
Just as federal regulators caution that it could take years before the nearly 34 million recalled vehicles equipped with Takata airbags that can spew shrapnel upon deployment are replaced, the Japanese auto parts maker says it expects to speed up its output of replacement parts by year’s end. [More]
![GM: That Car You Bought? We’re Really The Ones Who Own It.](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/gm.png)
GM: That Car You Bought? We’re Really The Ones Who Own It.
Congratulations! You just bought a new Chevy, GMC, or Cadillac. You really like driving it. And it’s purchased, not leased, and all paid off with no liens, so it’s all yours… isn’t it? Well, no, actually: according to GM, it’s still theirs. You just have a license to use it. [More]
![I Am Rob](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/airbag2.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
NHTSA Says It Could Take Days Or Weeks Before All Takata Recalled Vehicles Are Identified
Japanese auto parts maker Takata finally buckled under pressure from federal regulators Tuesday, declaring that nearly 33.8 million vehicles sold in the United State come equipped with airbags that can spew pieces of shrapnel upon deployment. While about 17 million of those vehicles had already been part of recalls by major automakers, millions of others have yet to be identified, leaving consumers wondering if they’re driving around with what some people have likened to an explosive device in their steering wheel. [More]
![(Russ Swift)](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/issan.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
NHTSA Investigating Nissan Vehicle Issue That Can Result In Blown Tires, Brake Failure
Suffering a tire blowout while driving down the highway is never a welcome experience, but imagine if you found out that the tire blew, not because of debris on the roadway, but as a result of a manufacturing defect with your vehicle? It’s for that reason more than 130,000 Nissan Versa vehicles are now under investigation by federal regulators. [More]
![(bluwmongoose)](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/chrysler1.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
NHTSA Probing Fiat Chrysler’s Response To At Least 20 Safety Recalls, Schedules July 2 Public Hearing
Federal regulators are once again expressing their displeasure with Fiat Chrysler’s slow-moving response to fixing millions of Jeeps that can explode following low-speed rear-end collisions. Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it plans to take the car manufacturer to task not only for its leisurely pace on the Jeep recalls, but for nearly 20 other safety recalls. [More]