Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Recall

Recall

November 25, 2009

Recall: 2000-2003 Toyota Tundra pickups

Toyota has announced a recall on 110,000 2000-2003 model year Tundra pickups due to excessive corrosion from high road salt use. The corrosion could cause the rear cross-member frame to fail and could lead to the spare tire falling out. The corrosion could also cause damage to the rear brakes and possibly lead to brake failure.

The recall affects Tundras registered in states that use a high amount of road salt in winter weather conditions. The states include Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

Until the vehicle can be fixed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is recommending that owners first remove the spare tire. Toyota will send notification to customers to bring the vehicle into a dealer to inspect and repair the problem. Depending on the extent of the issue either a corrosion-resistant compound will be applied or the frame will be replaced. For owners with extensive corrosion that cannot be fixed, Toyota will develop a remedy. For more information, owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331.

For more on car safety, see our safety section. Also, see our Toyota Tundra model overview.

—Liza Barth

November 25, 2009

Toyota recalls 3.8 million cars to modify gas pedals, carpets, and software

Today, Toyota announced a more definitive recall on eight models to address what has been reported as sudden acceleration.

Beginning next month, the company will begin modifying the accelerator pedals of certain Toyota Avalon, Camry, Prius, Tundra and Tacoma, and certain Lexus ES 350, IS 250, and IS 350 models to reduce the likelihood that they can become trapped under floor mats. Dealers will cut 3/4 inches off the bottom of the gas pedals. Starting in April, replacement pedals will become available to all owners of these models, whether they have had the modification performed or not.

This was the recall forecast in Japan last week. (See “Toyota may shorten gas pedals in acceleration recall.”)

On the Avalon, Camry, and Lexus models, Toyota will also modify the engine software to include a brake override system that will cut the throttle if the brakes and throttle are applied simultaneously. The brake override system will be standard on all Toyota products for the 2011 model year, but spokesman Brian Lyons says it will take several months to develop and calibrate the system for all the models.

The Avalon, Camry, and ES 350 make up about half the models being recalled. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration applauded Toyota for including the brake override, saying, “NHTSA is particularly pleased that Toyota is taking this additional step.”

On the Camry, Avalon, and ES350, the company will also modify the carpet padding underneath the pedal to increase the distance between the pedal and the floor to allow more room for floor mats. And company Toyota will also replace any old all-weather front floor mats with redesigned ones.

This follows an earlier recall last month when Toyota asked owners of these models to simply remove any drivers floor mats.

Recall notices will be sent to owners by the end of the year, starting with the Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350. Some owners may have to take their vehicles in to the dealer twice, once for the pedal modification, and again for the brake override software or pedal replacement.

The models affected are:
2005 - 2010 Toyota Avalon
2007 - 2010 Toyota Camry
2004 - 2009 Toyota Prius
2005 - 2010 Toyota Tacoma
2007 - 2010 Toyota Tundra
2007 - 2010 Lexus ES 350
2006 - 2010 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350

For customer service questions, contact:
Toyota – 800-331-4331
Lexus – 800-255-3987

Or, the NHTSA hotline - 888-327-4236.

—Eric Evarts

November 19, 2009

Recall: 2007-2008 Jeep Wrangler

Chrysler is recalling over 161,000 Jeep Wranglers equipped with automatic transmissions manufactured between June 2006 and July 2007. The vehicles were not equipped with a transmission fluid temperature warning system, and a fire could result if the fluid boils over and comes in contact with the engine or exhaust component.

Dealers will inspect the 2007-2008 models and enable a “hot oil” warning light on the dashboard and an audible chime indicating when transmission fluid temperature is elevated.

Typically, for the transmission fluid to reach a high temperature in an SUV, the vehicle would need to be used for a heavy-duty purpose, such as serious off-roading or pulling a heavy load. Both scenarios are easy to imagine with a Wrangler, as it excels in its off-road ability. Owners should also be aware of the tow capacity for their Wrangler, which is between 2,000 and 3,500 lbs. depending on the trim line. Those owners who do push their Wranglers hard might also consider an aftermarket transmission cooler.

For more information, owners can contact Chrysler at 1-800-835-1403.

See our Jeep Wrangler review.

—Liza Barth

November 18, 2009

Toyota safety recall notices arrive in owners’ mailboxes

Late September, Toyota Motor Sales issued advice online for Lexus and Toyota vehicle owners to remove their floor mats pending further investigation into sudden acceleration complaints. As promised, the automaker has sent notifications by mail detailing the risks and corrective measures for owners.

The impacted vehicles identified by Toyota include:

2005 - 2010 Toyota Avalon
2007 - 2010 Toyota Camry
2004 - 2009 Toyota Prius
2005 - 2010 Toyota Tacoma
2007 - 2010 Toyota Tundra
2007 - 2010 Lexus ES350
2006 - 2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350

FloorMatRecall_2 An “interim” notice received by a Consumer Reports staff member lists the specific, factory-approved mats for their Prius. (A sample letter can be view as a pdf.) It advises “Only install floor mats designed specifically for the model and model year.” The multi-page letter provides instructions for identifying the floor mat part number (located on the bottom of the back side of the mat) to confirm appropriate fitment.

The letter warns not to stack mats. This is particularly important with the approach of winter, as many motorists want to install all-weather mats. Such mats are designed to better hold water and debris, and therefore are generally thicker. As with all mats, again, only install models specifically designed for your vehicle.

A key concern is that a mat may interfere with the accelerator or brake pedal. These pedals should move freely without touching a mat.

The bottom-line advice from Toyota is to “take out any removable driver’s floor mat and not replace it… until the campaign remedy is ready and implemented on your vehicle.”

Toyota will notify owners as soon as a remedy is available. And as we have reported separately, there is an indication that they are looking beyond the floor mats to a possible change to the accelerator pedals. (Read: “Toyota may address gas pedals in acceleration recall.”)

Be prepared in case of sudden acceleration on a Lexus, Toyota, or model from any other brand by reading these steps from Toyota, and our test-based advice:
Putting a car in Neutral might save your life
Putting stuck floor mat survival strategies to the test

For more information, visit Toyota.com/floormats.

Learn about safety technologies in our car safety section.

—Jeff Bartlett

November 17, 2009

Toyota may shorten gas pedals in acceleration recall

Toyota will reportedly offer to shorten gas pedals in up to four million of its vehicles, following the company’s largest recall in history for unintended acceleration. This latest solution, following a recall last month asking owners to remove the floor mats in their vehicles, was reported by the Kyodo News and further covered by Reuters.

In a Consumer Reports interview, Toyota Communications Manager for Safety and Quality Brian Lyons called the reports “unsubstantiated.” He said, “We are still developing vehicle-based remedies and still in open discussions with NHTSA, but we’re not ready to announce anything.”

After the floor mat recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) insisted that Toyota do more to address the design flaws in the vehicle that were contributing to the problem. Such criticisms included designs that NHTSA says make it difficult for drivers to stop the car in the event of unintended acceleration.

In the 1980s, Audi found itself scrutinized for a series of unintended acceleration incidents. Its recall solution was to move the gas and brake pedals farther apart and to install the first brake-shift-interlock, a device that prevents the transmission from being shifted out of park unless the brake pedal is depressed.

Toyota has blamed floor mats getting stuck and jamming the accelerator pedals to the floor in some accidents. (Read “Misaligned floor mat may have caused calamity.”) If this is a primary cause for the reported sudden acceleration complaints, raising the gas pedal higher off the floor (up toward the driver’s toes) may help alleviate that problem. However, NHTSA said that the investigation into the cause(s) isn’t over.

—Eric Evarts

November 5, 2009

Toyota recall and investigation is not over, yet

It turns out the investigation into Toyota/Lexus sudden acceleration, which prompted the largest recall in the company’s history to remove floor mats that could interfere with the accelerator pedal, isn’t over.

On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied a petition to conduct an additional investigation into sudden acceleration, noting that the agency had previously investigated several similar complaints and that a new investigation was unlikely to draw any new conclusions.

Toyota quickly jumped on the news to proclaim that NHTSA had found no cause for the unwanted acceleration “other than the risk from an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat.” (Original Toyota release.)

Yesterday, NHTSA rebutted that statement with a press release of its own, “correcting inaccurate and misleading information put out by Toyota,” and calling the floor mat recall “an interim measure, not a remedy.”

“This remedy does not correct the underlying defect in the vehicles involving the potential for entrapment of the accelerator by floor mats, which is related to accelerator and floor pan design,” the NHTSA statement says.

In the end, runaway acceleration can happen for lots of reasons. There is no substitute for knowing how to stop the car in an emergency, as we’ve detailed in a series of recent blog entries and tests.

No matter what brand automobile you drive, be sure to read "How to stop a runaway car: Don’t pump the brakes" and "Putting a car in Neutral might save your life." And the report "Owners of Toyota cars in rebellion over series of accidents caused by sudden acceleration" at ABCNews.com.

—Eric Evarts

October 26, 2009

Recalls: Audi, Infiniti, Nissan, and Pontiac vehicles

A few recalls have been announced recently that affect the Audi A3 and Audi TT and Roadster, Infiniti M35 and M45, Nissan Cube, Murano, and Rogue, and Pontiac Vibe. If your vehicle is listed here, the manufacturer will contact you with information about what to do, or you can use one of the numbers we list below to contact the manufacturer yourself.

2006-2010 Audi A3, 2008-2010 Audi TT and TT Roadster

Volkswagen is recalling certain Audi A3, TT and TT Roadsters manufactured between September 29, 2005 and August 26, 2009 due to a problem with the fuel tank cover. The closing force of the spring of the fuel tank ventilation valve isn’t adequate to hold the valve closed under extreme driving conditions. This could cause fuel to leak and a vehicle fire could occur.

Owners will be notified of the problem and dealers will replace the fuel tank ventilation value free of charge. Questions regarding the recall can be answered by calling 1-800-253-2834.

2008-2010 Infiniti M35 and M45, 2009 Nissan Cube and Nissan Murano and 2008 Nissan Rogue

Nissan is recalling some 2008-2010 Infiniti and Nissan vehicles sold or registered in certain states due to a problem with the nut used to secure the sensor-transmitter of the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). The nut may corrode and crack after being in contact with heavy concentrations of road salt. If this occurs the nut may come out of the sensor transmitter and the tire-pressure light may illuminate. If the owner ignores the light and the vehicle continues to operate, the tire will quickly lose air pressure and could result in a flat increasing the risk of a crash.

The recall only affects models sold or registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The dealer will replace the TPMS nut free of charge. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261 and Infiniti at 1-800-662-6200.

2008-2009 Nissan Rogue

Nissan is recalling certain 2008-2009 Nissan Rogue vehicles due to a screw in the steering gear cover that could loosen and fall out. This could result in loss of steering control and an increased risk of a crash.

Dealers will inspect to see if the screw is loose and tighten it if necessary. They will also install a cover plate to prevent he screw from coming out. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261 for more information.

2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

General Motors is recalling certain 2009-2010 Vibe models equipped with the 1.8-liter engine and sold or registered in cold-weather states.

When driving in certain conditions in extremely low temperatures, the intake manifold suction port for the brake vacuum can become locked due to freezing condensation. This could lead to longer stopping distances and a possible crash.

The recall only affects models sold or registered in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Dealers will modify the brake vacuum line free of charge. Owners may contact Pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.

October 14, 2009

Putting stuck floor mat survival strategies to the test

Recent reports of stuck accelerator pedals causing crashes and Toyota’s enormous recall has caused many to question whether or not a vehicle’s brakes are powerful enough to overpower the engine to stop a vehicle, and what you should do if you are ever in that situation. Most experts agree that a typical production car engine won’t overpower the car’s brakes from a stop. But what happens at speed is another question. Since we just happen to have a test track and a few dozen test cars at our disposal, our automotive engineers decided to play MythBusters and put it to a test.

Our first two subjects were the Mercedes-Benz E350 and Volkswagen Jetta Wagon, German cars with so-called “smart-throttle” technology. Both will electronically ignore the throttle input if the brake pedal is depressed. With both, we accelerated to 60 mph and then hit the brakes with the throttle pedal still planted to simulate a condition where the floor mat might have stuck it in place. With both vehicles, we were able to safely slow to a stop despite the engine having been at wide-open throttle. After stopping, the engines idled even with the throttle pedal still floored.

Verdict: The Mercedes and Volkswagen Smart-Throttle technology works.

Next up, we tried our Toyota Venza and Chevrolet HHR. Since these lacked smart-throttles, we proceeded more cautiously. So we decided to start this test by flooring the cars to 20 mph (instead of 60) and then slamming on the brakes. While we stopped both cars, the transmissions downshifted hard, trying to fight us on the way down, and we needed to exert quite a bit of brake pedal effort to stop completely. We then drove a lap around our test course to cool the brakes and repeated the procedure. This time we accelerated to 60 mph before we slammed on the brakes. Again, the engines downshifted and fought us all the way down. But by the time we slowed down to about 10 mph, the brakes had faded so much that we weren’t able to come to a complete stop. If the driver had less strength or was traveling at higher speeds, they would not be able to slow down nearly as much.

Verdict: Most people will likely have a tough time stopping a car using the brakes with a stuck throttle without a smart throttle.

So what should you do if you are put in such a situation? The answer is simple: Put the car in neutral. In each one of the cars we tested, we were able to easily nudge the gear lever into neutral and stop the car quickly. All modern engines have rev limiters that prevent the engine from over revving and damaging the engine. You can safely shut off the engine after you come to a stop. However, we do not advise shutting off the engine while still driving. We tried this with our Toyota Venza—as Toyota suggests—by holding down the start/stop button for three seconds. While this also allowed us to stop, we lost power steering and had trouble maneuvering the vehicle due to the extremely heavy steering.

—Jake Fisher, photo by Mike Leung.

October 13, 2009

Ford recalls 4.5 million vehicles over fire hazard

In collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford Motor Company has announced a recall alerting owners about a possible fire hazard in 4.5 million older Ford model vehicles. This new recall is the eighth involving a total of approximately 16 million Ford vehicles equipped with a faulty cruise control deactivation switch manufactured by Texas Instruments. The switch can leak hydraulic fluid, then overheat, smoke or burn, potentially causing vehicle fires--even with the engine is turned off, vehicle parked, or left unattended.

NHTSA warns consumers to be aware of certain vehicle conditions that could signal a possible problem, such as a cruise control system that stops working or can’t be activated, brake lights that stop working, brake lights and ABS warning lights that illuminate on the dashboard, or the inability to shift the vehicle out of the park position. NHTSA also warns owners to not park the vehicle in garages or near homes until a repair is made.

The problem affects the vehicles listed below.

1995-2003 Ford Windstar
2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesel
1993-1997 and 1999-2003 Ford Super Duty diesel
1992-2003 Ford Econoline
1995-2002 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineer
1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Ranger
1994 Ford F53 motor home

Ford will notify owners beginning around October 26, 2009 to bring in their car to a dealer where they will install a fused wiring harness for the cruise control deactivation switch and inspect the ABS control connector for any problems. All repairs will be made free of charge. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673 or the NHTSA safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 using the ID number 09V399000.

—Liza Barth

October 7, 2009

1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee - Safety group calls for recall due to potential fire hazard

Jeep Grand Cherokees built between 1993 and 2004 are three to four times as likely to catch fire in a rear-impact collision than other midsized SUVs, according to a petition (download pdf) filed by the Center for Auto Safety. The document asks the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall the as many as 2.3 million of these Grand Cherokees still on the road.

“The fuel system in the 1993-04 Grand Cherokee is defectively designed in that it contains a plastic fuel tank subject to rupture, degrades in performance over time, a fuel filler neck that tears off in a range of crashes, a hostile environment with sharp objects such as suspension bolts that can puncture the tank, extends below the bumper and is unshielded,” writes CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow in the petition. (Ditlow also serves on the board for Consumers Union.)

Examining NHTSA data, the Center determined that the named Grand Cherokees were involved in 172 fatal fires, resulting in 254 deaths between 1992 and 2004. According to the petition, that is a higher fatality rate than for the Ford Pinto, which was subject to a similar recall in 1978.

An optional steel skid-plate, available for off-road applications, would protect the fuel tank, Ditlow says in the petition.

In 2005, Jeep redesigned the Grand Cherokee, and moved the gas tank in front of the rear axle. Only one of these later Grand Cherokees has been involved in a fatal crash involving a fire. In that case, the vehicle rolled over, and the occupants were thrown from the car, so the fire was not a factor in their deaths.

The petition filing indirectly raises an interesting question of whether the U.S. government now faces a conflict of interest as a vehicle regulator and an owner with a 10 percent stake in Chrysler, plus the majority stakeholder in General Motors. (Read: "Buzzword: Government Motors.")

So far NHTSA has not responded to the petition.

Update: Chrysler has posted a response on its corporate blog, excerpt below:

Statistically, rear impacts that result in serious injury are rare occurrences. Chrysler Group is confident that a proper study which considered all factors in all collisions including rear collisions with fire would show that the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees perform as well as or better than other vehicles in their class.

The 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards and, as noted, has an excellent safety record. There are many millions of 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees on the road whose owners and families continue to enjoy tens of millions of miles and hours of safe vehicle operation each year.

Also read the New York Times report "Asserting risk of Jeep fires, safety group urges recall."

—Eric Evarts