Since the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that Volkswagen had rigged its “clean diesel” to cheat on emissions tests, a number of consumers and cities have sued the carmaker. Now West Virginia becomes the first state to join the list of those alleging the company tricked car-buyers into paying thousands of dollars more for supposedly environmentally-friendly vehicles. [More]
investigation
West Virginia Sues VW Over Deceptive Advertising For Vehicles Equipped With “Defeat Devices”
By 10.6.15
L.A.-Based Auto Lender Must Pay $48M In Fines, Refunds For Illegal Collections
By 10.1.15
For the second time this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has flexed its muscles when it comes to reining in unscrupulous indirect auto loan financiers. Just days after taking action against Fifth Third Bank for auto-lending discrimination, the Bureau ordered a Los Angeles-based finance company and its auto title lending subsidiary to pay $48.3 million in fines and relief to affected borrowers stemming from a laundry list of allegedly illegal debt collection practices. [More]
Regulators Investigating BMW’s Slow Recall Pace After Vehicles Failed Side Crash Tests
By 9.29.15
Just two months after federal regulators fined Fiat Chrysler a record $105 million as a result of a lengthy investigation into the carmaker’s leisurely pace in fixing more than 11 million vehicles connected to 23 safety recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is poised to take another manufacturer to task: BMW. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Recalls Nearly 1.2M Ram Trucks Over Airbag Deployment Issues
By 9.10.15
It seems as if we’ve had a nice break from the incessant recalls of vehicles equipped with airbags that may not deploy properly, putting drivers and passengers in harm’s way. Unfortunately, they say all good things must come to an end, and so, Fiat Chrysler announced this week that it will call back nearly 1.2 million trucks in two campaigns for issues related to side-impact safety devices that can inflate in the wrong position and driver’s airbags that may deploy without a crash. [More]
Regulators Open Investigation Into Jeeps That Just Roll Away When Parked
By 8.26.15
When putting your vehicle in the “park” position, you probably have the expectation that your car won’t be moving. That’s apparently not the case for more than 400,000 Jeeps now under investigation by federal regulators because they have a tendency to simply roll away after being parked. [More]
CarMax Plays “Used Car Recall Roulette” By Selling Potentially Dangerous Vehicles
By 8.25.15
During the height of recallopalooza 2014, a coalition of consumer advocacy groups raised concerns about CarMax, alleging that the nation’s largest used vehicle seller was misleading customers with claims of “Quality Certified” cars and “125+ point” inspections while not revealing that some cars had been recalled for safety issues that had not yet been repaired. More than a year later, a new report shows that CarMax is continuing this practice, which one legislator has dubbed “used car recall roulette.” [More]
Sallie Mae Spinoff Navient Could Face CFPB Lawsuit Over Student Loans
By 8.25.15
In the short time since Navient – the nation’s largest student loan servicing company – spun off from Sallie Mae, the company has come under scrutiny for it allegedly unfair practices of overcharging and imposing excessive fees on consumers’ loans. While those practices resulted in a $97 million settlement with the Depts. of Education and Justice, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, they could soon lead to a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [More]
NHTSA Denies Second Petition To Open Investigation Into Unintended Acceleration Of Toyota Vehicles
By 8.21.15
For the second time this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it would not open a probe into millions of Toyota vehicles regarding possible unintended acceleration. [More]
Senators Call For Recall Of All Vehicles With Takata Airbags
By 8.20.15
Because it could take some time for federal investigators to determine the cause of a ruptured Takata airbag in a Volkswagen — a carmaker that hadn’t been part of any earlier exploding, shrapnel-shooting airbag recalls — some lawmakers are calling for a recall of all vehicles equipped with airbags made by Takata. [More]
Airplane Door Panel Falls From Sky, Nearly Makes Hole-In-One On Golf Course
By 8.20.15
When playing a round of golf you might hear the occasional “FORE!” as a warning to watch out for a ball flying through the air. What you don’t expect is for the object hurtling though the sky toward the green to be a piece of metal once attached to an airplane. [More]
Regulators Open Investigation Into American Airlines Flight’s Rough Landing Because Of Wind Shear
By 8.20.15
Federal regulators will investigate an incident in which an American Airlines flight collided with approach lights at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina while attempting to land during a sudden change in wind patterns on Saturday. While dramatic shifts in wind are exceedingly rare when it comes to affecting an aircraft’s landing, it turns out the incident last week is the second in less than two months for the carrier. [More]
Exploding Airbag In Volkswagen Under Investigation
By 8.18.15
For the past year, federal regulators have been investigating shrapnel-shooting airbags, linked to at least eight deaths and hundreds of injuries. These devices, made by Takata, are used by 11 different automakers, but until this week, Volkswagen had not been part of the investigation. [More]
Volkswagen Recalls 420,000 Vehicles Over Non-Deployment Of Airbags
By 8.14.15
Automakers have recalled more vehicles for airbag issues in the last year than many of us can keep track of. Today, Volkswagen joined the long list, calling back some 420,000 sedans equipped with airbags that may not deploy. [More]
University Of Phoenix Faces Probe Into Military Recruiting Practices
By 8.10.15
A little more than a week after federal regulators set their sights on the University of Phoenix for possible deceptive and unfair business practices, the California Attorney General’s office is joining the investigation party by opening a probe into the for-profit college’s military recruitment practices. [More]
Regulators Investigating University Of Phoenix’s Business Practices
By 7.30.15
Apollo Education Group, owners of the country’s largest for-profit college – University of Phoenix – is the latest target for federal regulators set on reining in the for-profit education industry for engaging in allegedly deceptive marketing practices. [More]
Five Airlines Being Probed For Price-Gouging Following Amtrak Accident
By 7.24.15
Five airlines are at the center of a newly opened federal investigation into price-gouging for their actions in allegedly raising airfares following the May derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia that killed eight people and injured 200 others. [More]
Report: GM Threatened With Regulatory Investigation Before Issuing Recall For Fire-Prone Hummers
By 7.14.15
Last week, General Motors announced that it would recall nearly 196,000 Hummer vehicles because simply turning on the heating or cooling system could set the car ablaze. While we reported that federal regulators had received nearly two dozen consumer complaints about the issue over the past seven years, a new report finds that the real number of reported incidents is much higher, and that GM may have continued to put off issuing the recall had it not been for threats of an investigation. [More]
Regulators Open Investigation Into Another Airbag Maker Over Possible Rupture Defect
By 7.14.15
As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to investigate why millions of Takata-produced airbag inflators have a tendency to spew pieces of shrapnel with enough force to injure or kill occupants, the agency has opened a second probe into another airbag manufacturer for similar rupture issues. [More]
