Britax Child Safety Inc. initiated a recall this week of more than 213,000 car seats after finding buttons on the safety devices could fail, leaving a child essentially unsecured. [More]
national highway traffic safety administration
Takata Plans To Launch Airbag Recall Notification Campaign
By 8.12.15
Three months after Japanese auto parts maker Takata bowed to regulatory pressure and recalled 33.8 million vehicles equipped with shrapnel-shooting airbags responsible for at least eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, the company is launching an awareness campaign to ensure owners of affected vehicles are aware of the massive recall. [More]
Regulators Investigating Harman Kardon After Remote Hack Of Jeep
By 8.3.15
UPDATE: A day after regulators announced they had opened an investigation into Harman Kardon to determine if vehicles – other than the recently recalled 1.4 million Fiat Chrysler models – equipped with certain infotainment systems were susceptible to remote hacks, the company assured investigators and consumers that the previously reported hack was an isolated incident. [More]
320K Dodge Chargers Recalled Because Airbags Shouldn’t Deploy When The Door Shuts
By 8.3.15
For the past year, car makers have been plagued with airbag issues of some kind. Over the weekend Fiat Chrysler announced it was the latest company to encounter problems with the safety devices: unintended deployment when shutting a vehicle’s doors. [More]
Regulators Deny Request For Investigation Into 5 Million Fiat Chrysler Vehicles
By 7.30.15
Following a probe into 23 safety recalls and 11 million cars – which resulted in a record-setting $105 million fine – it appears that Fiat Chrysler is getting a little bit of good news from federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to not open an investigation into nearly five million other vehicles over power system failures. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Loses Bid For New Trial In Wrongful Death Case Involving Jeep Fire
By 7.29.15
Fiat Chrysler’s woes related to millions of Jeeps that could catch fire after being rear-ended continued today as a judge rejected the company’s request for a new a trial in the wrongful death case of a four-year-old boy. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Receives Record $105 Million Fine For Failure To Address 23 Recalls
By 7.27.15
For the second time this year, federal regulators have handed down a record-setting fine to an automaker for failing to properly report and investigate possible defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration levied a $105 million fine against Fiat Chrysler, following months of investigations into the car maker’s leisurely pace in fixing more than 11 million vehicles connected to 23 safety recalls. [More]
Ferrari Latest Automaker To Recall Vehicles For Possible Airbag Defect
By 7.20.15
While 11 automakers have already recalled millions of vehicles equipped with potentially deadly Takata-produced airbags, a twelfth car manufacturer announced it would also recall thousands of cars with safety devices supplied by the Japanese auto parts maker, although for a different, but still dangerous, reason. [More]
GM’s Colorado, Canyon Trucks Reportedly At Risk For Same Fire Issues As Recalled Hummers
By 7.15.15
Following reports yesterday that General Motors knew that hundreds of thousands of Hummer vehicles were prone to fires because of potential electrical shorts before recalling the vehicles under the threat of an investigation by regulators, it now appears that two other models produced by the car maker may have the same issues, yet they remain on the road. [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]
Fiat Chrysler Recalls More Than 88,000 Challengers For Takata Airbag Defect
By 7.13.15
Nearly a month after regulators announced they had identified all 33.8 million vehicles equipped with potential shrapnel-shooting Takata airbags, one auto maker says it’s not quite done, recalling about 88,000 more cars to the massive recall. [More]
Takata Nixes Idea Of Airbag Victim Compensation Fund, For Now
By 7.10.15
Last month, in his first public address of the massive airbag defect linked to eight deaths and more than a hundred injuries, Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada announced the Japanese auto parts maker would consider the possibility of creating a victim compensation fund. Now, the company says such a fund is a no-go. [More]
General Motors Recalls Nearly 200,000 Hummers Because They Shouldn’t Just Catch On Fire
By 7.9.15
When operating your vehicle’s heating and cooling system, one probably doesn’t fathom a scenario in which simply turning on that function could set the car ablaze. But that’s exactly what several owners of Hummer SUVs say happened to them. [More]
NHTSA “Tentatively Concludes” Fiat Chrysler Failed To Adequately Address Dozens Of Recalls
By 7.2.15
Federal regulators took Fiat Chrysler to task for its leisurely pace in fixing 11 million vehicles recalled for one reason or another in recent years during an unusual public hearing today. [More]
NHTSA Investigating 250,000 Ford Trucks For Power Brake Failure
By 6.26.15
As we mentioned earlier today, brakes are one of the most essential components of a vehicle. When they don’t work as intended, it puts the safety of everyone on the road at risk. For that reason, federal regulators have opened a probe into 250,000 large Ford trucks. [More]
Subaru Recalls 72,000 Vehicles Because Automatic Braking Systems Are Supposed To Actually Help Drivers
By 6.26.15
The ability to brake may be one of the most essential safety features of a vehicle. But part of that intricate system – specifically the automatic braking component – just isn’t working like it should for tens of thousands of newer Subaru vehicles. [More]
Ford Recalls The 2014 Escape For The Ninth Time
By 6.24.15
Ford Motor Company redesigned the Escape for 2013 and to say they’ve had a few problems with the new model is an understatement. Today, the company announced its ninth recall for the 2014 version of SUV. [More]
