According to a report from The Associated Press, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a probe into possible driver-side door fires in 2007 Toyota Camry sedans and RAV4 crossovers. A total of 830,000 vehicles may be affected.

Six fires have been reported to NHTSA, all stemming from the door-mounted power window switch. Five of the fires are said to have been minor, with one resulting in the total loss of a Camry that burnt to a crisp before firefighters were able to respond.

It’s important to note that this is not (yet) a recall. NHTSA opened an investigation on Monday, February 6, and a recall could potentially be announced depending on NHTSA’s findings. Toyota has said in a statement that it is cooperating fully with the investigation.

Feds investigating Toyota Camry and RAV4 over door fires originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mazda is recalling has issued a recall of the 2001- and 2002-model-year Mazda Tribute crossover for a possible brake fluid leak. It’s been found that fluid leaking from the reservoir cap on the master cylinder might come into contact with the ABS wiring harness connector, leading to potential corrosion and/or fire.

We’ve been waiting on this action for the better part of a month, as its mechanical twin, the Ford Escape, was the subject of a similar NHTSA recall announced on January 11. The Blue Oval recall covered some 244,000 units for the same problem.

There are 52,390 Tributes affected in total, and Mazda is taking the unusual step of advising that if you have one, you should park it outside until a dealer has made the necessary repairs. You can find a release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the matter after the jump.

Continue reading Mazda recalls over 52,000 Tribute crossovers, warns owners to park outside

Mazda recalls over 52,000 Tribute crossovers, warns owners to park outside originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kia has announced that it is recalling 145,000 vehicles to address faulty airbags. A total of 95,569 Optima sedans built between 2006 and 2008 and 50,186 Rondo MPVs built between 2007 and 2008 are included in the recall.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the vehicles may have been built with a clock spring in the steering column that may fatigue and break over time. As a result, the vehicles may illuminate the airbag warning light on the dash and the airbag may not deploy in the event of an accident. The automaker says that while it has received some warranty claims for the problem, no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of the default.

Kia plans to notify affected Optima and Rondo owners in March. Those vehicles that currently have their airbag lights illuminated will be fixed first. Click past the jump for the full recall notification.

Continue reading Kia recalls 145K Rondo, Optima models over airbag issues

Kia recalls 145K Rondo, Optima models over airbag issues originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating certain turbocharged Mini models for vehicle fires. The investigation came after reports of at least 12 vehicles lighting up, and now the investigation has officially lead to a recall.

NHTSA has announced on its website that Mini will recall 88,911 turbocharged models built between November 2006 and January 2011 for a water pump problem that could result in a fire. The government agency says on its website that “the electronic auxiliary water pump that cools the turbocharger has an electronic circuit board that can malfunction and overheat.” If that happens, the board could smolder and result in a vehicle fire.

Affected models include the 2007-2011 Cooper S, the 2008-2011 Clubman S, the 2009-2011 Cooper S Convertible, the 2011 Countryman S and John Cooper Works models from 2009 to 2011.

Owners of recalled vehicles will be asked to bring their Mini model to the nearest dealer for a free water pump replacement. Hit the jump to read over the official NHTSA release.

Continue reading Mini recalling certain Cooper S and JCW models over water pump

Mini recalling certain Cooper S and JCW models over water pump originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota launched a total of 13 recall campaigns in 2011 covering over 3.5 million vehicles. Those figures put the Japanese automaker at the top of the most-recalled list for the third year in a row, according to Ward’s Auto. Between 2009 and 2010, Toyota recalled nearly 11.5 million vehicles in North America for a variety of reasons, including troublesome floor mats and sticky accelerators tied to the company’s unintended acceleration woes. The company says that around 85 percent of vehicles involved in the pedal recall have been fixed, with lower volume models continuing to trickle into dealers.

But Toyota wasn’t the only automaker with recall woes in 2011. Ford found itself in second place for the number of vehicles recalled this year with 10 campaigns covering 3.2 million vehicles. For its part, General Motors issued a total of 21 recalls, but the fixes involved far fewer vehicles: 455,901. All told, Ward’s says automakers issued 130 recalls in 2011, down from 136 campaigns in the U.S. last year.

*Update: The expanded Honda airbag recall pushed the automaker past Toyota for the greatest number of recalled vehicles in 2011. Head to our followup post for more information.

Toyota tops recall list again in 2011, overall number of U.S. recalls down *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford is recalling nearly half a million vehicles in two separate actions announced today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Just over 244,000 Ford Escape crossovers from model year 2001 and 2002 are being recalled for potentially leaky brake master cylinder reservoir caps, while nearly 206,000 2004 and 2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans may have defective torque converter output shafts.

NHTSA says that in the case of the Escape, leaking brake fluid could cause corrosion on an electrical connector in the antilock brake system wiring harness, leading to “melting, smoke or a fire.” Ford will begin notifying owners the week of Jan. 23, although a parts delay is expected to postpone repairs. “Ford will instruct owners to park their vehicles outside until such time as parts become available,” says NHTSA.

The minivan recall is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012, and will result in dealers inspecting and replacing the torque converter in affected vehicles.

Read the full NHTSA recall reports after the jump.

Continue reading Ford recalling 244k Escape models, 200,000+ Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans

Ford recalling 244k Escape models, 200,000+ Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda has surpassed Toyota for the largest number of recalled vehicles in 2011. Wards Auto reports that Honda expanded an airbag recall to encompass a total of 2.5 million million vehicles last year, pushing the total number of recalled units to 3.9 million vehicles over 17 campaigns. Previous estimates put Toyota at the head of the recall pile with 13 campaigns covering 3.5 million vehicles.

The airbag recall covers some of the most popular Honda models, including Civic, Civic Hybrid and Accord sedans manufactured between 2001 and 2004, as well as the CR-V and Pilot. The Acura CL and TL were also included.

Toyota, meanwhile, found itself correcting issues with accelerator pedals and floor mats associated with the company’s unintended acceleration woes. Toyota had found itself leading the largest number of recalled vehicles for two consecutive years prior to 2011.

Airbag recall forces Honda past Toyota in total recalls for 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tata Motors has issued a recall for all Nano models manufactured between July 2009 and October 2011. The company will replace the vehicles’ starter motors free of charge. And while the Indian automaker has declined to say just how many vehicles will be affected by the recall, local news reports have said as many as 145,000 Nano vehicles will receive a new starter. Tata says the recall has been underway for some time, noting it has already replaced somewhere around 50,000 starters to date. The entire recall program is expected to cost Tata around $20.8 million at current conversion rates.

The automaker has released an updated version of the Nano called the Nano 2012. The revised model is not included in the recall.

Tata hasn’t seen the sort of sales success the company had hoped for with the world’s least expensive new car. From labor unrest to perception issues to a wave of fires and safety upgrades, the Nano has had a hard row to hoe since birth.

Tata recalling all pre-2012 Nano models over bad starter originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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‘Tis the season… for road salt. And with that, comes rust. And what does rust bring? Well, for Ford and General Motors, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation. According to The Detroit News, NHTSA is looking into potential recalls issues with Chevrolet Express vans and Ford Freestar minivans.

The feds have received five complaints that rust has caused leaking fuel filler pipes on 2003 Express vans. Separately, seven complaints have been filed over excessive rust in the rear wheel wells of 2004 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans. The Freestar and Monterey went out of production in 2007. Neither issue has resulted in any crashes or injuries, according to the report.

Feds open investigation into Chevy Express, Ford Freestar rust issues originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We report on a lot of recalls, and most are seemingly innocuous defects that require the solar system to perfectly align before anything catastrophic could happen. Then there are recalls like this one for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic that appear to be much more dangerous than they probably are.

It turns out that Chevrolet let a few Sonics built between June 2 and November 21 leave its factory in Orion Township, Michigan minus a brake pad. General Motors claims that of the 4,873 Sonics built during that time, some 20 to 30 may be missing either an inner or outer front brake pad. The company says 4,296 of the potentially shoe-less Sonics were sent to the U.S., while 577 migrated north to Canadian customers.

A car minus just one inner or outer brake pad doesn’t lose its ability to stop, but its braking performance will suffer and there is the possibility that other elements of the braking system, like the caliper or rotor, could be damaged as a result of their omission.

GM vows to notify all potentially affected Sonic owners and install any missing pads and, if necessary, replace any calipers or rotors free of charge.

Continue reading Chevy puts out APB on missing Sonic brake pads, issues recall

Chevy puts out APB on missing Sonic brake pads, issues recall originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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