Rash of Recalls & Investigations from NHTSA – Is Your Vehicle Affected?

November 30th, 2010. By LucyC

It seems the FDA is not the only government agency awash in investigations of possible defective products.

Several investigations are under way by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), among them an investigation into a possible fire hazard of Honda CR-Vs model-year 2006. Some 150,000 vehicles could be affected.

The problem? Three owners have complained of fires involving the master power switch in the driver’s door. Sound familiar?—it is. In January Honda recalled almost 141,000 Fits model-years 2007-2008 for the same problem. 

The Honda Fit recall was prompted because of a defective window switching mechanism. According to a statement from Honda UK released to the media, “Under some severe operating conditions, water, rain, or other liquid may enter the driver’s window and reach the master power window switch resulting in impaired function of the switch. If the master power window switch is damaged as a result of the liquid intrusion, it may result in failure of the switch and overheating. An overheating switch may cause smoke, melting or, potentially, fire,” the statement read.

It remains to be seen if Honda’s CR-V will be recalled—depends on what the NHTSA digs up, so stay tuned. 

But the agency is also notifying people of  reported problems with Volvo—which has recalled about 6,000 vehicles this week—specifically its S80, S60, XC70 and XC60 models—because they may stall. According to Volvo, “The engine and transmission software calibration is too sensitive. When the driver is braking during city driving, and/or releases the accelerator pedal, the engine idle speed may drop, resulting in a sudden engine stall without any prior warning.” Definitely not a good thing to have happen.

And brace yourself—Jaguar is recalling almost 6,500 of its 2010 and 2011 XJ sedans because the windshield wipers could, fight each other to their mutual demise—and the owner’s presumably. Wouldn’t that be entertaining on a dark and stormy night. Some problem with the securing nuts failing, which in turn could prompt a lack of wiper arm synchronization—leading to a ‘clash of the wiper arms.’ And it’s all downhill from there basically—the wipers could come off and reduce the driver’s visibility, which in turn could result in a crash.

And then there’s General Motors. The Detroit automaker is recalling nearly 193,000 pickups because the top tether needed to anchor a child restraint in the front center seat position is not accessible, according to the Agency.

The vehicles affected are the 2004–11 Chevrolet Colorado, the GMC Canyon, the 2006 Isuzu I-280 and I-350, the 2007–8 Isuzu I-290 and I-370. The models are regular cabs or extended cabs that lack rear seats.

And, not to be left out, Kia Motors’ Optima is under investigation by the agency—about 41,000 vehicles may be affected by a transmission problem. The NHTSA has reportedly received  complaints of the automatic transmission cable coming loose. It was prompted by three reports of the transmission not shifting, including one that said the vehicle rolled away. Apparently, Kia had warned dealers of such a problem in 2007. So that makes it alright to sell them?

There is also a raft of recreational vehicles, such as the Monaco, the Holiday Rambler, Winnebago, and the Safari Coach with various problems involving refrigerators and ovens. If you want to find out more, visit the NHTSA website, safercar.gov.

In the meantime, we’ll post defective automobile recalls as we get updates.

Safe driving!

Tags: Chevy Colorado, General Motors, GMC Canyon, Honda CR-X, Isuzu I-280, Isuzu I-350, Jaguar XJ, Kia, Monaco, Volvo S60, Volvo S80, Volvo XC60, Volvo XC70, Winnebago

This was posted on Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Automotive, Defective Products . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.