The 2014 Recall Thread

The problem rests with the transfer pump responsible for moving fuel from the rear tank to the front tank – it could fail, resulting in an inaccurate fuel gauge. It hardly requires explaining, but a faulty fuel gauge could leave drivers in a situation where they run out of diesel.

Now, it's important to note that this recall just affects the side airbags – the airbags in the dash and steering wheel still function. But the issue is still pressing enough that Land Rover will be asking owners to report in for service.
Notifications will be going out, and the official recall will kick off on January 17. Customers will need to get the area around the connector modified so that disconnection will be presented. This will, of course, be done free of charge.

There is no indication as to how many vehicles or which model years are affected, but the previous fire problems in both the US and China – which led to investigations but no recalls – were traced back to automatic transmission fluid leaks. The article, however, does not say what the potential problem is this time around as Jeep has not released a comment on the matter.

Report Receipt Date: DEC 12, 2013
NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V617000
Component(s): FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
Potential Number of Units Affected: 50,184
Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
SUMMARY:
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 model year R-model motorcycles, model year 2005-2012 K-model motorcycles, model year 2010-2011 S 1000 model motorcycles, and model year 2006-2010 HP2 motorcycles. In the affected motorcycles, the fuel pump flange (and the auxiliary fuel pump flange if equipped) could develop cracks and leak fuel.
CONSEQUENCE:
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.
REMEDY:
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will either reinforce the fuel pump flange or replace the pump, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in February 2014. Owners may contact BMW customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.

Thus far, GM is aware of eight fires stemming from this problem (although only three of those incidents affected customer-owned vehicles), and all of the fires were reported in areas with "very cold weather." GM is urging owners to not leave their vehicles unintended while idling. No injuries have resulted from the fires in question.
The Detroit-based automaker has pledged to start mailing out recall letters on January 16. The fix, which involves software reprogramming, is estimated to be a 20-minute repair, and will be made free of charge.
Of those 370,000 trucks, some 303,000 were sold in the US, while the other 67,000 were retailed to Canada and Mexico.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially announced the recall today. Tesla says that the problem lies in "certain NEMA 14-50 (240 volt) Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) adapters" and that the problem is that the adapter, cord, or wall outlet can overheat during charging. This possibility came to light in a garage fire in California in November and has resulted in some melted adapters since then.
As we know, step one in solving this problem was an over-the-air software update (version 5.8.4 or later) that would shut off charging if things got too hot in November. Then, late last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company would send out the replacement wall adapters that has thermal fuses built in. We wondered at the time if this would lead to an official recall, since the charging unit is not, technically, part of the car. It has, even though at the Detroit Auto Show today, Tesla representatives testily said that the even if NHTSA calls it a recall, Tesla just calls it modern technology.

For the past few years, Chrysler and its CEO, Sergio Marchionne, have gone head-to-head with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its boss, David Strickland, over the government safety agency's request for Chrysler to recall almost three-million Jeep vehicles due to what NHTSA says is a safety issue that has caused at least 51 deaths. After a three-year investigation and Chrysler's initial refusal to issue a recall because it deemed the vehicles safe and built to the day's federal requirements, last summer, the two parties compromised on a "voluntary campaign" to inspect 1.56 million vehicles, those being the 1992 to 1998 Grand Cherokee and 2002 to 2007 Liberty.
Those vehicles were designed with their gas tanks between the rear axle and the bumper, and NHTSA says that in rear-end collisions, damage to the fuel tank has caused fires responsible for those 51 deaths. The compromise reached last summer was that Chrysler would inspect 1.56 million vehicles and, "if necessary, provide an upgrade to the rear structure of the vehicle." Practically speaking, that meant Chrysler would replace aftermarket trailer hitches, but would take no action if a vehicle had a factory-installed hitch or an aftermarket hitch from Mopar.
A report in The Detroit News says the "voluntary campaign" is just now getting under way, with Chrysler saying last week that the design of the replacement part had been finalized and it was tooling up "to deliver the required volume." Seven months later, still in question is whether NHTSA will crash-test the fix engineered by Chrysler, noteworthy because not only did the vehicles in question pass every safety standard necessary to be cleared for sale at the time, there are still questions (to those of us on the outside) as to how the Jeeps at issue fare among their peers in such incidents. Either way, Chrysler and NHTSA apparently still disagree on the efficacy of the remedy itself: the carmaker says it might help in low-speed crashes but not high-speed collisions, a position the NHTSA is at odds with. All of this means the campaign doesn't yet have an end in sight.
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/14/j...r-hitch-nhtsa/
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In some of those incidents drivers have reported a burning odor, smoke or open flames that were contained to the headliner or migrated to another area of the passenger compartment. The culprit has apparently been found: NHTSA blaming an electrical short in the sun visor vanity light wiring, which is routed under the headliner and held in place by three screws. Chrysler began its own probe into the issue when it was first reported and is still looking into the situation while, "fully supporting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's investigation."
Celebrating Lexus & Toyota from Around the Globe

The problem affects model year 2012 and 2013 Edge crossovers equipped with the 2.0-liter engine and manufactured between September 2, 2010 and April 25, 2013 - a total of 27,933 units. Although the Lincoln MKX is closely related to the Edge, since it isn't offered with the same engine (to which the problem is related), the recall does not include the premium-badged version.

Chrysler's "voluntary campaign" will instead see it recall 1.56-million 1993-2004 model year Grand Cherokee SUVs, along with 2002-2007 Liberty models. Affected vehicles will get a trailer hitch installed free of charge, which Chrysler says will provide an additional degree of protection for the fuel tanks in the event of a crash. Jeeps with Mopar-branded hitches or hitches that were installed at the factory aren't affected by this recall.
Chrysler's argument throughout this battle has been that the Jeeps in question are no more susceptible to fires than comparable vehicles from the same time period, a position that NHTSA has seemingly arrived at as well. "Those vehicles performed at a rate similar to their peers. That is the keystone analysis as to whether something poses an unreasonable risk to safety," said outgoing NHTSA boss David Strickland during an interview with the The Associated Press.
While the decision between NHTSA and Chrysler seems reasonable, The Center for Auto Safety, which instigated the original investigation, isn't exactly pleased with this outcome. Following word of the resolution, Clarence Ditlow, the advocacy group's director, had this to say: "It is tragic that NHTSA approved Chrysler's sham trailer hitch recall for Jeeps that explode in rear impacts."

Report Receipt Date: AUG 26, 2011
NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V445000
Component(s): VISIBILITY
Potential Number of Units Affected: 4,532
Manufacturer: FORD MOTOR COMPANY
SUMMARY:
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011 Ford E-150, E-250, E-350, and E-450 vehicles built from May 12, 2011, through May 26, 2011. Due to improper manufacturing conditions, some of the windshields may form bubbles after an extended time in hot temperatures. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205, "Glazing Materials."
CONSEQUENCE:
The presence of bubbles may hinder driver's visibility thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
REMEDY:
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the windshield if bubbles are present, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on, or about, January 27, 2014. Owners may contact the Ford customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall campaign number is 11C20.

According to Reuters, 59 complaints have been submitted revolving around an "intermittent loss of assisted braking" which means the car takes longer to stop. Interestingly, the rate of complaints is increasing. Toyota is reportedly cooperating with NHTSA and there has not yet been an official recall on the Camry Hybrids.
In 2006, Toyota said Brake Assist was "an electronic function that senses an emergency stop and applies increased braking power once the driver touches the brake pedal." When Toyota unveiled the 2007 Camry Hybrid, it proudly stated that the new Brake Assist function would be standard. Other Toyota hybrids have had problems with their brakes in the past, including the 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrid. You can read some of the complaints about Brake Assist in the Camry Hybrids to the NHTSA here. People are saying that the "Check VSC" lights can come on before the brakes loose some of their power and a lot of them are being quoted repair costs of over $3,000 by Toyota dealers.

There have been no reports of fires or injuries from the affected cars, which include some of Toyota's biggest volume sellers. 2013 and 2014 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon and Sienna models equipped with heated seats are included in the stop-sale, as are 2014 Tundra pickups and Corolla sedans. The exact number of vehicles with the non-compliant materials are still being tabulated, according to The Detroit Free Press.
According to a Toyota spokesman, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been notified, although it remains to be seen if a recall will be issued. Outside of a full recall, though, it's unclear how Toyota will deal with vehicles equipped with the flammable materials that have already found homes.
In the meantime, Toyota is reportedly developing a fix for those vehicle still sitting on dealer lots.

Basically, here's how it boils down: with the exception of the Vanquish, Aston Martin will recall all left-hand-drive vehicles built since November 2007, and all right-hand-drive cars built since May 2012. Just as we told you in the recall notice from 2013, the accelerator arms in these cars may fracture, increasing the risk of a crash.
Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co Limited, a Chinese company that molds the accelerator pedal arms in these affected models, was using counterfeit plastics, according to Reuters. These bad plastics were supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co Ltd, of Dongguan.
An Aston Martin spokesperson tells Reuters that there have been no reports of accidents or injuries in conjunction with this problem.
The issue rested with the steering gear - NHTSA received five complaints of failures - which was redesigned in 2005. According to the report on the matter, investigators "found evidence of broken sector shaft gear teeth and piston damage consistent with incidents of single event overload."
NHTSA investigators, however, "found no evidence of fatigue or material property defects in any of the fractures. Analysis of complaint rates by vehicle build month showed no patterns indicating potential manufacturing quality issues and no difference before and after Ford introduced design changes to the input shaft and sector shaft seals in July 2007 to address potential leak concerns," according to the report, obtained by The Detroit News.
The conclusion of this investigation doesn't just shut the door on the 2008 models, but it marks an end of investigations dating back to 1999 to 2001 model year Super Dutys, as well as 2000 and 2001 Expeditions. That investigation ended similarly, with federal investigators unable to find any defects.



