Road Reality » NHTSA

16,000 Ford F-Series Pickups Recalled over Transmission Concern

John Suit — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:00:07 +0000

Even the best-selling pickup truck in America can have a bad day, and this is the F-Series’ day. Ford is recalling a bit more than 16,000 F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 trucks. The issue is the switch that prevents a driver from shifting from Park into Neutral or Drive. Normally, it stops drivers from shifting out of Park unless the brake is pressed, but apparently some faulty switches were installed into the affected vehicles.

With the bad switch in place, a driver could inadvertently put their truck in Reverse or Drive, which the NHTSA is worried could lead to pedestrian injuries or vehicular accidents.

The following is the list of recalled trucks:

2011 F-150: Built between September 9th, 2011 and September 22nd, 2011
2012 F-250: Built between September 12th, 2011 and September 22nd, 2011
2012 F-350: Built between September 12th, 2011 and September 22nd, 2011
2012 F-450: Built between September 12th, 2011 and September 22nd, 2011
2012 F-550: Built between September 12th, 2011 and September 22nd, 2011

Ford will be inspecting the “Brake Shift Interlock Switch” and replacing it if necessary. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified soon, as the recall is supposed to begin on December 19th.

Show Press Release

by John Suit

Source: NHTSA

128,000 Ford Fusions and Mercury Milans Recalled over Wheel Stud Issue

John Suit — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:00:11 +0000

2010 Mercury Milan

Last week, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that Ford is recalling over 128,000 Ford Fusions and its sister car, the Mercury Milan, because of a problem with the wheel studs. The recall only effects Fusions and Milans with steel wheels, not alloy ones. Wheel studs are threaded bolts by which a vehicle’s wheels are attached. They run through the brake hub, and if enough of them break, the wheel could literally fall off of the car. Continue reading for more details and the NHTSA’s press release.

2011 Ford Fusion

While the cause of the defect is not known, it’s likely that it was either a problem with manufacture or lug nut tightening, but the result is the same: wheel vibration and/or separation from the vehicle, which can lead to a loss of control and possibly a crash. The recall includes an inspection of the brake hub, as well as the replacement of all wheel studs and lug nuts on the recalled sedans.

The recalled vehicles include Fusions and Milans built in April of 2009, as well as between December 1st, 2009 and November 13th of 2010. The latter grouping is almost, if not all of the 2011 model year, during which the Mercury brand was disbanded. While the recall sounds like a lot of cars, it’s somewhere closer to 1/6th of total production of Fusions and Milans.

Ford’s recall is expected to begin in late January, and owners of affected vehicles will be notified soon.

Show Press Release

by John Suit

Source: NHTSA

NHTSA investigating steering issues on 2011 Sonata?

John Suit — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +0000

As a maker of inexpensive vehicles, Hyundai has come a long way. They started as the maker of the Excel, an almost universally hated automobile (right up there with the Yugo), to being on American consumers’ buy list in the last few years. With recent releases like the Genesis and Genesis Coupe, and then the 2011 Sonata, you’d expect Hyundai to be riding high. Not so fast. It started a few weeks after the 2011 Sonata went on sale, and continues today, with the NHTSA investigating steering problems with the redesigned family hauler.

From what The Detroit News is saying, there’s a universal joint in the steering linkage that can come apart, causing a total loss of steering control. Hyundai says it hasn’t heard of any accidents or injuries caused by this issue, and in fact they say they’ve only received two complaints.

Two cars out of over 16,000 doesn’t sound bad, but the problem happens without warning, which is bad. Both cars were reportedly built during the same month (although which month it is hasn’t been released) and had less than 600 miles on them when the issue occurred, so if your Sonata has over 600 miles on it, chances are you’re OK.

by John Suit

Source: The Detroit News

Older Jeep Grand Cherokee under investigation for gas tank problem

John Suit — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:00:05 +0000

1998 and 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited

According to Automotive News, the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV is under an investigation for possible gas tank problems. So far, the NHTSA has been notified of 13 deaths as the result of 10 crashes, while Business Week is reporting a total of 55 deaths. The investigation is reportedly being asked for by the Center for Automotive Safety, a non-profit group founded by Ralph Nader. Chrysler is cooperating with the NHTSA fully, and although “The existence of these post-crash fires does not, by itself, establish a defect … Further review and investigation into these incidents is needed.”

It’s important to note that this is not a recall, only an investigation. The suspected problem is the gas tank in the Grand Cherokee, which is ill-located in relation to the rear axle and bumper, and lacks proper shielding. For the 2005 model, Chrysler moved the tank and added more shielding to prevent possible fires related to rear-end collisions.

The Center for Automotive Safety is calling on Chrysler to recall all Grand Cherokees built from 1993-2004, citing 172 fire crashes which resulted in 254 deaths.

Stay tuned for more developments and any recalls which may be associated with the investigation.

by John Suit

Source: Automotive News and Business Week

PedalGate: Toyota PR “planted” DOT findings?

John Suit — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:38:57 +0000

In a report from Just-Auto that AutoBlog then further investigated, it seems like Toyota’s own Public Relations arm was the source for The Wall Street Journal‘s report earlier this week, which said that the DOT’s investigation found drivers at fault for incidents of unintended acceleration. Remember that “grain of salt” I was taking with the original report? Looks like something was fishy after all. Keep in mind that the NHTSA said that it was still months away from finishing its own investigation. Stay tuned for updates as they become available.

by John Suit

Source: Just-Auto via AutoBlog

PedalGate: Trumped Up Charges?

John Suit — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:57:13 +0000

A report from The Wall Street Journal has reported about the results of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) investigation into the claims of unintended acceleration involving Toyota’s vehicles. The WSJ’s report says that the recalls, which have tarnished Toyota’s reputation for quality, not to mention missed sales opportunities and the outlay of cash to fix over 8 million cars, were not caused by faulty electronics: driver error, not stuck gas pedals, are to blame in almost every case.

Recalled Toyota floor mat and gas pedal

After examining dozens of black box data recorders from the crashed Toyotas, the DOT found that in almost all cases, the gas pedal was floored and the brakes weren’t even touched. I say almost all, because the crash which started the media blitz around the issue, which involved a California highway patrolman in a runaway Lexus. That crash was determined to be caused by the driver’s floor mat, which trapped the gas pedal in a pushed-down position.

Meanwhile, the NHTSA isn’t commenting, at least until their probe into Toyota’s issues has been completed, which is expected to be months from now. In regards to the electronic issue which was blamed for lots of crashes, Daniel Smith, NHTSA’s associate administrator for enforcement, recently said, “In spite of our investigations, we have not actually been able yet to find a defect.”

So, while the DOT and perhaps the NHTSA are blaming drivers, Toyota isn’t jumping on that bandwagon, and has said repeatedly that they haven’t found a source for the problems customers are reporting.

I take the results of this first investigation with a grain of salt, as the same results were found in an investigation into the Audi 5000 sedans back in 1989, which also blamed drivers for crashes involving unintended acceleration.

by John Suit

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Make: FORD	Model: F-150
Model Year: 2011
Manufacturer: FORD MOTOR COMPANY	Mfr’s Report Date: DEC 05, 2011
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 11V582000	NHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Summary: FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 F-150 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 9, 2011, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 22, 2011, AND MODEL YEAR 2012 F-250, F-350, F-450 AND F-550 HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 12, 2011, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 22, 2011. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NUMBER 114, THEFT PROTECTION. THE TRANSMISSION CAN BE SHIFTED OUT OF THE PARK POSITION WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL DUE TO BRAKE SHIFT INTERLOCK SWITCH PROBLEM.
Consequence: THIS WILL ALLOW THE OPERATOR TO INADVERTENTLY SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO GEAR WITHOUT THE BRAKE PEDAL BEING DEPRESSED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH OR INJURY TO A NEARBY PEDESTRIAN.
Remedy: FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE BRAKE SHIFT INTERLOCK SWITCH FUNCTION AND REPLACE THE SWITCH IF NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT DECEMBER 19, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTER AT 1-866-436-7332.
Notes: OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .