Just a month into his new gig as the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Mark Rosekind unveiled his vision for the future of the agency, including increasing staff and creating two new divisions to help step up efforts to identify defects and alert motorists about issues and recalls. [More]
national highway traffic safety administration
Advocates Push NHTSA For Answers Regarding Airbag Recall, Remedy Effectiveness
By 2.11.15
The first major automobile recall of 2015 centered on 2.1 million vehicles containing an electronic glitch that could cause the safety devices to deploy inadvertently. While that defect is obviously a safety hazard, little else about the recall seems out of the ordinary. That is until you learn that this is the fourth time these vehicles have been recalled for this particular issue. Now, a consumer group is pushing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for answers regarding the recall, its past remedy failures, and the agency’s ability to ensure owners of recalled vehicles are safe. [More]
2.12 Million Honda, Toyota & Chrysler Vehicles Recalled Because Airbags Should Only Deploy In Crashes
By 2.2.15
Car manufacturers’ troubles with airbags have followed them into the new year, with three manufactures recalling approximately 2.12 million vehicles because the safety devices may deploy at the wrong time. [More]
NHTSA To Suggest (But Not Require) Sensor-Enabled Brakes For All New Vehicles
By 1.23.15
Consumers could soon have a longer list of recommended safety features to look for when setting out to buy a new car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced plans Thursday to change its vehicle safety rating program to include two sensor-based automatic emergency braking systems, but the agency won’t go so far as to mandate automakers’ use of the systems. [More]
Regulators Scrutinizing 2013 Ford Truck Recall After Receiving 30 Additional Complaints
By 1.21.15
A week after the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned automakers and consumers that the agency would take an aggressive approach to vehicle safety, the regulator announced it is revisiting the 2013 recall of several Ford pickup trucks, opening the possibility of increasing the recall scope from 3,000 to nearly 200,000 trucks. [More]
Regulators Investigating Jeep, Nissan SUVs After Receiving Fire, Airbag Complaints
By 1.16.15
Having your car fill with smoke while driving down the road or finding that the airbags don’t deploy properly during an accident are most definitely causes for concern. That’s why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened investigations into thousands of Jeep Cherokees and Nissan Rogues. [More]
New NHTSA Chief Says 2015 Might See Even More Recalls Than Last Year
By 1.13.15
It might be difficult to envision a year punctuated by more vehicle recalls than the recallapalooza that was 2014. But the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration predicts that 2015 could be another record-setting recall year for car manufacturers. [More]
Feds Fine Honda $70 Million For Over A Decade’s Worth Of Inaccurate Death And Injury Reports
By 1.8.15
The new year is off to a rough start for automaker Honda, as federal regulators announced today that the car company will be paying a record-setting $70 million fine for failing to report over 1700 injuries and deaths over a period of 11 years. [More]
BMW Doesn’t Like Being The Last One Standing, Issues Nationwide Recall Of Cars With Defective Takata Airbags
By 12.22.14
Being the last one in line isn’t always the best feeling. That may have been the case for BMW after it was the last automaker to not issue a nationwide recall of vehicles equipped with Takata-produced airbags that may spew shrapnel at passengers upon deployment. Now, bowing to pressure from federal regulators, the manufacturer plans to recall some 140,000 cars from across the United States. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Expands Takata Airbag Recall To 3.3M Across The United States
By 12.22.14
After months of pushing back, Fiat Chrysler is finally following the lead of other major automakers. Bowing to pressure from federal regulators, the company is massively expanding their recall of vehicles with potentially defective Takata airbags that have been linked to at least five deaths so far.
![Officials with Takata took out full-page ads in major U.S. newspapers to reassure customers. [Click to Enlarge]](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/takata.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Ford Takes Takata Airbag Recall Nationwide, Adds Additional 500,000 Vehicles
By 12.18.14
For the second time this month Ford has announced plans to expand its recall of vehicles equipped with Takata-produced airbags that may spew shrapnel at passengers upon deployment. Not only does the latest recall cover nearly 500,000 vehicles, it finally takes into consideration the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations’ request to include vehicles currently registered nationwide. [More]
Chrysler Expands Takata Airbag Recall By Nearly 209,000 Vehicles In Five Additional States, U.S. Territories
By 12.12.14
Hot off the heels of several automakers heeding regulators’ suggestion to initiate nationwide recalls of vehicles with Takata-produced airbags that may spew shrapnel at passengers upon deployment, Chrysler is following suit – kind of. [More]
Mazda Recalls Nearly 100,000 Cars Because Adequate Tire Pressure Is Important
By 11.25.14
Car manufacturers must meet a number of safety regulations when selling vehicles. One such mandate that the vehicle’s a low-tire pressure warning system works. That apparently isn’t the case for nearly 100,000 of the newest Mazda vehicles. [More]
Regulators Close Investigations Into 600,000 Ford, GM Vehicles Without Initiating Recalls
By 11.25.14
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration generally opens inquiries into car manufacturers after receiving numerous consumer complaints about an issue. Those investigations often lead to some type of safety recall. However, that wasn’t the case for two recently closed probes of more than 600,000 Ford and General Motors vehicles. [More]
Honda Failed To Report More Than 1,700 Death And Injury Claims, Could Face Record $35M Fine
By 11.25.14
Honda’s issues with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration aren’t looking any better after the manufacture announced that it failed to report more than 1,729 claims of injury or death to the regulators. And that violation could lead to the biggest fine in the history of NHTSA, totaling more than $35 million. [More]
Lexus Recalls Nearly 423,000 Sedans Because Fuel Leaks Can Lead To Fires
By 11.21.14
The only time most consumers want to see a car catch on fire is during a high-action movie. So it’s probably for the best that Toyota issued a recall of nearly 423,000 Lexus vehicles for a fuel leak issue that increases the risk of fire. [More]
Takata “Deeply Sorry” To Those Affected By Defective Airbags, Still Reluctant On Nationwide Recall
By 11.20.14
In September 2013, Stephanie Erdman’s life changed forever when her 2002 Honda Civic collided with another vehicle on the way to a local grocery store in Florida. While Erdman’s passenger suffered only scrapes and bruises, she’s undergone a number of surgeries – with more to come – after being struck by shrapnel from her vehicle’s ruptured Takata airbag. Erdman’s story, and the graphic photos of her accident and injuries, took center stage Thursday morning during a Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing addressing the airbag defects that have now been linked to at least five deaths. [More]
NHTSA Pushes For National Recall Of Takata Airbags
By 11.19.14
In the past year, nearly 10 million vehicles have been recalled in areas of high humidity – generally the southern United States – related to defective Takata-produced airbags. That number could increase significantly now that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has urged the Japanese auto parts maker and car manufacturers to expand the recall to cover the entire United States. [More]
