Not to be outdone by General Motors’ recallpalooza, Toyota announced a pair of recalls this morning — for Sienna minivans and Lexus GS sedans — totaling nearly 400,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone. [More]
recalls
Nest Officially Recalls Smoke Alarms, But You Just Need To Connect Yours To Web To Fix
By 5.21.14
Last month, the folks at Google-owned Nest alerted owners of the company’s Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that an software glitch could, under very specific circumstances, cause the device to delay sounding the alarm. Today, the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission made it official with a formal recall announcement. [More]
GM Adds Another 200,000 Vehicles To Its Continually Growing Recall List
By 5.21.14
There is yet another recall to add to General Motor’s already swelling list. This time more than 200,000 subcompact cars were recalled for a potential fire hazard created by daytime running lights. [More]
Another 2.4 Million GM Vehicles Recalled
By 5.20.14
Because apparently every model of car made by General Motors in the last decade has something wrong with it, GM has announced another round of recalls. This time, it’s four separate recalls totaling 2.42 million vehicles in the U.S. [More]
New GM Ad: Our Cars Are No Longer “Grenade-Like” Death Traps
By 5.19.14
In the midst of a reputation-damaging string of recalls now totaling more than 11 million vehicles, General Motors is in need of an image shake-up. But the carmaker may be getting a little too honest in a new TV commercial. [More]
Video: Here’s How Easy It Is To Turn Off (And How Hard It Is To Steer) A Recalled Chevy Cobalt
By 5.16.14
Earlier today, General Motors was hit with a $35 million penalty for its decade-plus delay in recalling millions of vehicles with defective ignition switches that could be inadvertently turned off, leaving the car without power steering and braking and deactivating the air bags. GM has repeatedly stated that these cars are safe to drive because an accidentally turned-off vehicle could still be steered to safety. But is that true? [More]
May Recall Roundup – Watch Out For The Jerky Blaster
By 5.15.14
“What on earth is a jerky blaster?” you may be asking. It’s a product sold by outdoor outfitter Cabela’s that lets you make your own jerky sticks at home, and it functions sort of like a caulk gun for meat. It’s been recalled because its charger might overheat, and so have a lot of other things. [More]
Ford Recalls 692K Ford Escape & C-MAX Vehicles Because Airbags Are Supposed To Deploy
By 5.9.14
A software glitch in some of Ford’s Escape SUV and C-MAX vehicles may prevent airbags from deploying immediately, so the carmaker has recalled a total of 692,500 vehicles to fix this potentially deadly problem. [More]
The Secret To These “African Black Ant” Pills Isn’t Black Ants, It’s Viagra
By 5.6.14
There’s a reason that, after centuries of homemade potency potions that fell flat, the world went crazy for drugs like Viagra (sildenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil). It’s because they apparently work. So it’s no surprise that companies may be trying to mix these prescription drugs into their “dietary supplements” and hope that no one actually tests them. [More]
GM Asks Plaintiffs To Pretty Please Hold Off On Ignition-Related Lawsuits
By 5.1.14
General Motors has already asked a federal bankruptcy court to put an end to the spate of recently filed lawsuits related to an ignition defect that has resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people, but the carmaker is now asking the plaintiffs in those suits to voluntarily back off. [More]
GE And Midea Recall Fire-Prone Dehumidifiers Sold At Walmart
By 4.30.14
Were you relieved to learn that your GE-branded dehumidifier wasn’t part of the massive recall of fire-prone units made by Gree Electrics? Yeah, about that. You’re going to have to check that model number again, because 15,000 dehumidifiers from a different manufacturer have been recalled because they might overheat and cause fires, too. [More]
April Recall Roundup – Look Out For Unexpected Crossbows
By 4.29.14
In this month’s Recall Roundup, a lawnmower keeps going even after its operator has dismounted, computer batteries overheat, fireplaces explode, and a self-destructing goldfish bowl is no place for fish. (Actually, a goldfish bowl is no place for a goldfish: take the $20 you get back and put it toward an aquarium.) [More]
Stories You Might Have Missed Because You Were Too Busy Being Awesome
April 26, 2014
We post a lot of stories during the week, and we know that most of you have jobs, families, lives, hobbies, nagging itches and other more important things to do than read every single thing we write. So for those who might be playing catch-up on the weekend, here are some of the things you might have missed… [More]
GM Confirms It’s Being Probed On Multiple Fronts Over Ignition Recall
By 4.24.14
While there have been numerous reports of agencies poking their noses into General Motors’ long-delayed ignition-related recall tied to at least 13 deaths, today the car maker game some indication of just how many investigations it faces. [More]
Fitbit Sends Out Recall Notification That Resembles A Phishing Notice
By 4.24.14
When the Fitbit Force was recalled back in March, it looked like it should have been the easiest recall in history. Once a customer removes the Bluetooth-enabled fitness-tracking wristbands from the packaging and syncs the device to a computer or smartphone, the company has the customer’s contact information and can easily drop them an e-mail. Six weeks later, that’s what the company has done…but many customers didn’t get the notice, as we learned yesterday. Why? [More]
There’s A Potentially Itchy Black Market For The Recalled Fitbit Force
By 4.23.14
After Consumerist played a large role in getting the Fitbit Force recalled, I set up a Google alert to let me know when news about the product hits the Interweb. Since the official recall almost six weeks ago, I sort of expected to see a decrease in mentions of the product. I didn’t expect to see sales listings from a small, disingenuous Fitbit Force black market. [More]
GM Shipping Kits To Finally Repair Ignition Defect Responsible For 13 Deaths
By 4.23.14
Amid probes from legislators, regulators, lawyers and criminal investigators into how General Motors managed to get away with allowing more than a million vehicles to hit the road with defective ignition switches tied to at least 13 deaths, the car maker has finally begun shipping out kits to its dealerships so they can start fixing the problem. [More]
GM Asks Bankruptcy Court To Block Ignition-Related Lawsuits
By 4.22.14
A few weeks back, new General Motors CEO Mary Barra hedged on whether her company would hide behind the shield of its 2009 bankruptcy in order to block lawsuits tied to the ongoing ignition-related recalls, telling lawmakers only that “we have civic responsibilities as well as legal responsibilities.” In the weeks since, GM has made it very clear that it will do everything it can to use its own financial incompetence and ineptitude to put up a wall against these lawsuits. [More]
