The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal investigation into the 2010MY Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan models to examine allegations about pedals becoming trapped in the depressed position by unsecured floor mats.
According to the company, the welds holding the fuel pump support inside the fuel tank could detach leading to a fuel leak. In the presence of an ignition source, this situation could result in a fire - and that's definitely something Murcielago owners would like to avoid...
The models in question are the LS460 and LS460L as well as the LS600h and LS600hL hybrids equipped with the Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), with the recall covering around 11,500 vehicles worldwide including 3,800 units sold in the U.S., 4,500 in Japan and about 40 cars in the UK.
According to the New York Times, of the 900,000 or so Windstars sold, there have been 234 reports, 2 accidents, and no injuries so far. The NHTSA claims that "fracture of a rear suspension axle could result in loss of vehicle control".
Subaru said in statement that there's a possibility a crack or split can occur in the CVT cooler hose resulting in a fluid leak. According to the Japanese maker, "if the fluid is completely leaked during driving, the vehicle will come to a stop, possibly resulting in a crash."
The affected models are G35 sedans manufactured from March 29, 2004 through August 25, 2006, and G35 Coupes built between April 1, 2004 and May 30, 2007.
"Oil leaking onto a hot exhaust pipe will generate smoke and a burning smell, and could potentially result in an under hood fire," Honda said in a notice on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
"Our dealers began contacting customers yesterday offering to make arrangements to perform the update, and we expect them to get in touch with most GX owners within one week."
The problem is that the front belts' mounts "could fail when the front seats are adjusted in an extreme forward position."
Meaningless not only because that the capped fine is less than a drop in the bucket to Toyota (Automotive News reports it will be below 2% of net income for the financial year ending March 31), but also because they're side-stepping all real penalties in relation to the safety debacle they caused.
Without a cap, fines could have been up to $6,000 per vehicle, or $13.8 Billion total.
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The Japanese automaker said that the recall affects certain 1998 through 2010 model year Siennas that have been primarily driven in cold climate areas with high road salt use.
Here's what Templin-san has to say: "At this time we have asked our dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the 2010 GX 460."
According to Consumer Reports, "the rear of the GX we bought slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control. We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident."
