Road Reality » steering

2005-2006 Ford F-150 Recalled over Airbag Issue

John Suit — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:00:10 +0000

The NHTSA has been looking into the many complaints it has received about the airbags on 2005-2006 Ford F-150 pickup trucks, 77 of which have led to injuries. It turns out that a wire in the steering wheel can cause the airbag located there to go off, which can easily cause injuries. More details after the jump.

The NHTSA had originally requested that Ford recall 1.3-million trucks, after 238 complaints have come in, but Ford found that only the first shift at its Norfolk, VA plant. The resulting recall only affects about 150,000 trucks.

What happens is that a wire in the steering wheel could be positioned improperly, leading to chafing and eventually a short, which causes the airbag light to illuminate, and after that, the airbag deploys.

The recall is expected to begin in early March, and owners will be notified at that time.

by John Suit

Source: AOL Autos

GM Recalls Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS for Misplaced Cables

John Suit — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:00:19 +0000

2011 Buick Lucerne

GM has another power steering fluid leak on its hands, this time on the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS, affecting 2010-2011 model years for both vehicles. There are over 16,000 affected vehicles, all with V8 engines, and the issue can lead to loss of power steering or worse. Click past the jump for more details and the NHTSA’s press release.

2011 Cadillac DTS

On the affected vehicles, the “starter or alternator cable” can come into contact with a power steering fluid return line. Over time, this could wear through the return line, leading to a loss of power steering fluid, which of course means a loss of power steering. Beyond that, it could mean an engine fire similar to the one on the 2010 Cadillac SRX, which prompted a power steering leak recall earlier this year as well.

Perhaps some of GM’s engineers should take a more careful look at how things are routed underneath the hood of their cars.

Meanwhile, GM is sending out notices to affected owners and will be inspecting and then replacing or rerouting the lines as necessary.

Show Press Release

by John Suit

Source: NHTSA

Cadillac Escalade – Gone in 14 Seconds? (w/video)

John Suit — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:00:49 +0000

Fourteen seconds. That’s about the time it takes to unlock, get into, and start my car. For car thieves, that’s how long it takes to steal a late-model GM SUV – including the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban – says a report from Detroit’s WXYZ, an ABC affiliate. The reason the vehicles are so easy to steal? They’re missing safety and theft deterrent features found on almost all cars these days. Continue past the jump for a more in-depth explanation and WXYZ’s own video.

2011 Cadillac Escalade

If you get into your car and try to shift from Park to Neutral, chances are you won’t be able to, unless you’ve turned the car on. Apparently, in late-model GM SUVs, the shift lock mechanism, which normally stops the shift from Park to Reverse, Neutral or Drive, is easy to beat, literally. It’s not strong enough to withstand the force from someone determined to get it out of Park. Also, try to turn the wheel, and I bet it won’t go very far before locking. That’s another safety feature which works as a theft deterrent, because you can’t push a vehicle except in the direction the steering wheel was left in. After all that, won’t the SUV’s built-in alarm system go off? No, it won’t. And the side window glass is easy to break as well, allowing easy entry.

2011 Chevrolet Tahoe

What does this have to do with stealing an SUV? Don’t you have to drive it away from the scene of the crime? Not so. Once the gear shift lever is in Neutral, without the steering wheel lock, you can use another vehicle to push the stolen SUV to wherever you want. The report even says it takes thieves around 20 minutes to strip the expensive SUVs of their wheels, trim, navigation systems and other pricey bits.

2011 GMC Yukon XL Denali

So what’s GM doing to fix this? For 2010 and 2011 models, they beefed up the shift lock, but thieves are still able to break it, but GM says it’s testing a newer, stronger shift lock, to keep parked vehicles in Park. They’ve also replaced the side window glass on 2010-and-up models to be harder to break. The third thing they’ve done is re-instate the steering wheel lock, which they removed from their vehicles several years ago when they started using keys with computer chips in them.

Go ahead and watch the video below – it shows an in-depth view into just how easy it is to steal a GM SUV, and has some startling statistics concerning the stolen vehicles.

WXYZ’s Report:

by John Suit

Source: WXYZ via AutoBlog

Nissan Initiates big recalls of Frontier, Xterra and Sentra

John Suit — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:00:27 +0000

2004 Nissan Frontier

In a recent press release by Nissan, two recalls have been initiated. The first is for the Frontier truck and Xterra SUV, for faulty steering linkages. The second recall is for the Sentra, and involves the battery cables. All told, around 513,000 vehicles in the US will be recalled, starting this month. Click past the jump for details, press release, and model years affected.

2004 Nissan Xterra

For the Frontier and Xterra, model years 2002-2004 are affected, totaling over 500,000 vehicles in the US. The lower steering column joint can develop corrosion, which leads to limited movement of the joint, the final result being that the steering shaft breaks. This then leads to a loss of steering control, increasing the likelihood of a crash. Nissan will be replacing the steering joints and shafts free of charge on the recalled vehicles.

2010 Nissan Sentra

For the Sentra, it’s model years 2010 and 2011, and involves a misshapen bolt or washer on the positive battery terminal. The misshapen bolt or washer can cause a gap which can lead to a loss of power either entering or leaving the battery, which can cause stalling and hard-to-start vehicles. If a vehicle stalls while in motion, the risk of a crash is increased, hence the safety issue and the recall.

Nissan’s press release cites 3 complaints in Canada and 6 in Brazil, quite low numbers to initiate such a big recall, but again, in this post-unintended acceleration world, automakers are skittish about any customer complaints that have anything to do with safety and accidents. It’s good to see the recall go on though. Nissan also says that no accidents or injuries have been reported for either issue, so it’s good that they have a solution in place before anything bad could happen to one of their customers.

Show Press Release

11.11.2010 , FRANKLIN, Tenn.

NISSAN ISSUES VOLUNTARY SAFETY RECALL ON FRONTIER, XTERRA AND SENTRA MODELS

Nissan North America (NNA) today announced a voluntary safety recall campaign to replace the lower steering column joint and shaft on Frontier and Xterra vehicles and the positive battery cable terminal on Sentra vehicles in several markets in North and South America and Africa. No accidents or injuries have been reported with either issue.

“At Nissan, we’re committed to the safety and satisfaction of our customers. We regret any inconveniences that our customers may experience as we address these issues,” said Kevin Martin, vice president of Total Customer Satisfaction for NNA.

The lower steering column joint and shaft will be replaced on approximately 303,000 Frontier and 283,000 Xterra vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and a number of other Latin American countries. The potentially affected Frontier and Xterra vehicles were manufactured at the Smyrna, Tenn., plant between July 2001 and January 2005 and at the Curitiba, Brazil plant between November 2001 and June 2008.

The positive battery cable terminal will be replaced on approximately 18,500 Sentra vehicles in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and a number of Latin American and African countries. The potentially affected Sentra vehicles were manufactured at the Aguascalientes, Mexico plant between May 22, 2010 and July 8, 2010.

REASON FOR THE RECALL
Nissan recently discovered that in certain rare instances, the lower steering column joint on the affected Frontier and Xterra vehicles can develop corrosion that limits the movement of the joint. If the vehicle continues to be driven in this condition it may, in an extreme case, lead to cracking of the steering shaft.

This issue was discovered through three field reports from Canada, and six from Brazil. There are no field reports of this issue in the United States or other affected markets.

On some of the affected Sentra vehicles an issue with the connector on the positive battery cable terminal could lead to difficulty starting the vehicle, and in rare cases, a possibility of stalling at low speeds.

No accidents or injuries have been associated with either of these issues.

VEHICLES INVOLVED

Model Year 2002 through 2004 Nissan Frontier vehicles manufactured from July 9, 2001 to October 20, 2004 in Smyrna, Tenn., for the North American markets
Model Year 2002 through 2004 Nissan Xterras manufactured from July 9, 2001 to January 6, 2005 in Smyrna, Tenn., for the North American markets
Nissan Frontier vehicles manufactured from November 30, 2001 to June 26, 2008 in Curitiba, Brazil for South and Central American markets
Nissan Xterra vehicles manufactured from February 17, 2003 to June 13, 2008 in Curitiba, Brazil for South and Central American markets
Nissan Sentra vehicles manufactured from May 15, 2010 to July 8, 2010 in Aguascalientes, Mexico for global markets

In the U.S. approximately 240,000 Frontier, 261,000 Xterra and 14,000 Sentra vehicles are included in this campaign. In Canada approximately 4,500 Frontier, 9,900 Xterra and 1,900 Sentra vehicles are included in the campaign.

WHAT OWNERS OF POTENTIALLY AFFECTED VEHICLES SHOULD DO
Nissan plans to begin owner notification in early December once replacement parts are available. Owners will be asked to bring their vehicles to the dealer to have the new parts installed free of charge.

Customers in the U.S. with questions may contact Nissan Consumer Affairs at 1-800-NISSAN1 (1-800-647-7261). Customers in Canada may contact Nissan Canada Consumer Affairs at 1-800-387-0122. Customers may also contact their respective authorized Nissan dealers.

by John Suit

Source: Nissan

Chrysler Recalls 27,000 Vehicles Over Fire Concern

John Suit — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:00:26 +0000

Ever since Toyota’s massive recalls earlier this year, automakers are skittish when it comes to customer concerns. It no longer takes a long time nor a large amount of complaints before a recall is announced, which is why you see a lot of recall notices here on Road Reality. Chrysler and the NHTSA have released a new recall affecting almost 27,000 2010-2011 model year vehicles due to a faulty power steering hose. Click past the jump for more details and the press release.

Cars with electronic power-assist steering (EPAS) are starting to outnumber those with hydraulic power steering. While EPAS doesn’t usually give as nice a feedback as hydraulic, it saves at the gas pump, which is why more and more automakers are using it in their vehicles. It also re-routes some of the components underneath a car’s hood, which seems to be leading to a learning curve, as we’ve seen half a dozen recalls this year because of EPAS.

Chrysler is not immune to this learning curve, as they’ve just recalled a slew of their new products. A faulty end on a power steering hose can come apart, leading to power steering fluid spraying on a hot engine, which can lead to an engine fire.

Definitely not good, but no word on how many complaints were made or if any actual engine fires were reported.

Here’s the list of affected vehicles:

Make / Model	Model Year
Chrysler 300	2010
Chrysler Sebring	2010
Dodge Avenger	2010
Dodge Challenger	2010
Dodge Journey	2010
Dodge Ram	2011

Show Press Release

by John Suit

Source: NHTSA

GM Recalling 2010 Cadillac SRX Over Fire Concerns

John Suit — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:00:32 +0000

The 2010 Cadillac SRX has already had one safety recall, and now it has another. A total of 3,996 SRX crossovers, built in December of 2009, are being recalled because of a possibility of fire. An unattended SRX caught fire when its power steering lines were damaged, which leaked fluid onto “hot engine parts,” according to the press release. This caused a fire in the engine compartment. No accidents or injuries have been reported, and General Motors believes that this issue is limited to only 2 or 3 vehicles, but is recalling almost 4,000 of them just to be safe. Click past the jump for the press release.

Show Press Release

by John Suit

Source: GM