car recall

Published on: December 14, 2023

Tesla’s Recall: Autopilot Safety Concerns and Legal Implications

Tesla, the electric vehicle pioneer, is recalling more than 2 million vehicles in the United States. This recall comes after a thorough investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that Tesla’s Autopilot safety system was “not sufficient to prevent driver misuse.”

The recall affects a wide range of Tesla models, including the 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y, all equipped with Autosteer, a feature that Tesla describes as “traffic-aware cruise control.” According to the recall notice, in certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.

Autosteer is designed to maintain speed, detect lane markings, and monitor the presence of other vehicles. However, Tesla emphasizes that drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel and be prepared to take immediate action while using the feature.

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Published on: March 31, 2021

Hyundai recalls some Genesis, Kona and Ioniq models for risk of fire and owners should park them away from home and other flammables until they are fixed

By GGCRBHS&M

Owners of selected models of Hyundai Genesis cars as well as other electric models have been warned by Hyundai that their cars were at risk of catching fire and should be parked away from home and other structures or flammable material until they repair their vehicles.

Models of Hyundai Genesis sold in 2015 and 2016, Hyundai Genesis G80 sold between 2017 and 2020 and Hyundai Genesis G70 sold between 2019 and 2021 might have defective anti-lock brake system modules that could malfunction internally and cause an electrical short resulting in engine compartment fire while driving or during parking. Owners of these vehicles must get them repaired and make sure to park them away from their home or other structures that might catch fire until repairs are done.

Hyundai also issued another recall for fire on some of its electrical vehicles. Some 2019-2020 Hyundai Kona Electric and 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Electric vehicles might have defective battery cells causing internal electric shorts that can result in a fire while driving, parking or charging the battery. The owners of these vehicles have also been asked by Hyundai to park their vehicle away from anything that could catch fire until the defect is repaired. Hyundai is facing similar problems in Korea and vehicle owners are not happy about the manner Hyundai has been handling the repair according to a recent article in Reuters .

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Published on: March 6, 2020

Toyota recall millions of potentially defective vehicles

By GGCRBHS&M

A potentially defective fuel pump in some Toyota and Lexus models manufactured between 2013 and 2018 may cause the vehicle to stop operating. The defect was previously reported in January and 700,000 were recalled at that time. Yesterday the manufacturer announced that it was expanding the recall for the same defect to a total of 1.8 million vehicles. The models recalled are:

2013-2015 Model Year Lexus LS 460;
2013-2014 Model Year Lexus GS 350;

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Published on: May 7, 2017

GM suspected of mishandling recall related to defective headlights

By GGCRBHS&M

After the scandal of the defective ignition-switch that lead to the death of at least 124 people, GM is again suspected of mishandling a recall related to defective headlights. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced this week in a report that they are now investigating a 2015 GM recall of 429,000 vehicles with a possible defective Headlamp Driver Modul (HDM). The 2015 recall occurred after customers complained that the HDM was not operating proprely and that the low beam headlamps and daytime running lamps were failing to illuminate. The following vehicles were recalled: model year (MY) 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy/Buick Rainier, 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT/GMC Envoy XL, 2006-2008 Isuzu Ascender/ Saab 9-7X, and 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix vehicles.

The NHTSA now suspects that the scope of the GM recall was too limited. Since the recall occurred the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received 128 complaints related to issues with headlights of GM cars that were not included in the recall but built in the same year as the recalled models. Most vehicle owners complained that they simultaneously lost both headlights with no warning. The ODI also found out that vehicle owners whose cars were repaired after reporting that headlight failed to illuminate had the same component replaced as the component that was replaced in the recalled cars.

So far no crashes have been reported. In one of the reports the owner of a 2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer said that both headlights failed as he was driving during a rainy night on a steep curvy highway. He explained that he was facing a truck in a curve and as he dimmed his headlights they both shut down and all he could hear was the horn of the truck trying to avoid his car. When he complained to GM, GM’s answer was: ‘No recall. Your problem.’

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Published on: February 17, 2015

In 2014 car companies recalled a record number of 63.95 million vehicles to repair potential manufacturing defects and prevent car accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

GM defective ignition switch and Takata defective airbags accounted for a large part of the recalls.According to the automakers, GM recalled about 27 million vehicles last year, Honda recalled about 8.9 million vehicles last year, Fiat Chrysler recalled about 8.8 million, Toyota recalled about six million and Ford recalled almost 4.9 million.Airbag defects led to one third of all the recalls in 2014. The previous record was of 30.81 million cars recalled in 2004. Manufacturers recalled 22 million vehicles in 2013 and 16 million each year in 2012 and 2011.

Also 7.7 million child safety seats were recalled in 2014, the second highest number since such statistics started to be collected in 1972. Read more in the New York Times

Published on: September 27, 2013

Product Liability: New car recalls for Nissan and Toyota

By GGCRBHS&M

Toyota announced a new car recall in the US yesterday because a defective lever system in some Sienna minivans can cause the vehicles to shift out of park mode “without the driver depressing the brake pedal” and resulting in a vehicle roll-away. 24 accidents related to the defective car have been reported to Toyota so far. The recall affects approximately 615,000 Sienna minivans from Model Years 2004-2005 and 2007-2009. This is the second time in a month that Toyota has issued a recall of its vehicles in the US market. Earlier this month, the car manufacturer issued a recall for more than 780,000 vehicles to address a defective suspension in its RAV4 and Lexus HS 250h models.

Nissan also announced yesterday that it was recalling nearly a million defective cars worldwide because a defective accelerator sensor could cause the car to stall. No accidents have been reported so far according to the manufacturer. The recall affects Infiniti M, Serena, X-Trail, Lafesta and Fuga models produced in Japan between 2004 and 2013.