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Category Archives: quality
Toyota Recalls 280,000 Venza Models for Defective Side Airbags
The Venza models are equipped with an airbag sensor installed in the driver- side front door. The sensor is connected to the Supplemental Restraint System Electronic Control Unit by a pair of twisted wires in a Yazaki North America supplied harness routed from the door to the vehicle body through a grommet. Because of a larger difference between the wire harness length and grommet length, there is a tighter bending radius for the wire harness inside the grommet. Continue reading
Tesla Recalls 135,000 S and X Models for Display Blackouts
NHTSA prompted the recall when it started an investigation of last June*. The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-010 to investigate incidents of media control unit (MCU) failures resulting in loss of rearview camera in model year (MY) 2012-2015 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device. The eMMC NAND flash devices have a finite lifespan based upon the number of program/erase (P/E) cycles. Continue reading
Nissan Establishes Carbon Neutral Goal for 2050
The company’s electrification and emissions reduction efforts support the aims of the U.N. Paris Agreement on climate change and global progress toward carbon neutrality by 2050. Continue reading
VW Beetle Ensnared in Takata Airbag Recall
VW maintains that the Takata SDI-D driver frontal airbag inflators installed in the recalled vehicles currently do not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety to drivers of affected vehicles. “Based on its prior conversations with NHTSA, Volkswagen understands that the Agency is concerned that after additional time, the airbag inflator may not perform properly in the event of a crash,” VW said. Continue reading
Honda Recalls a Recall on 2002-06 CR-V Models for Fire Hazard
What started out as a recall on CR-V power window master switches has resulted in a recall of that recall because the recall fix (NHTSA ID 12V-486) of applying butyl tape to seal the power window master switch (PWMS) from moisture was “insufficient.” Continue reading
Honda Recalls 737,000 Accord, Insight Cars for Bad Software
These Hondas fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 103, “Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems” and number 111, “Rear Visibility” as well as FMVSS numbers 104, 108, 114, 118, and 305. Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, quality, recalls
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, honda recalls, Ken Zino, nhtsa
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NHTSA Imposes Engine Recalls, Penalties at Hyundai, Kia
These consent orders do not affect separate, ongoing investigations by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation regarding allegations of non-crash fires in certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles, some of which are equipped with Theta II engines. Continue reading
Ferrari Recalls 812 Superfast for Rear Glass Blowouts
Ferrari ultimately determined that the problem of the component could entail the full detachment of the rear window from the vehicle, thereby potentially creating a road hazard and increasing the safety-risk of a crash for following traffic. Continue reading
ZF Seatbelt Retractor Recall Bites Corvette, Jeep, Ram
The safety defect appeared at GM during barrier testing of a 2023 model year Corvette. GM worked with ZF to analyze the root cause of the retractor failure, including teardowns, computer analysis, and CAE simulations. That analysis showed that the retractor failure was caused by the locking mechanism not being properly engaged. The same part is used on current production models. Continue reading
Ford Recalls Defective Rear-view Cameras on 620,246 Vehicles
Insufficient electrical conductivity within the printed circuit board (PCB) internal to the camera leads to intermittent rearview camera operation A rearview camera that intermittently displays a blank or distorted image does not comply can reduce the driver’s view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, electronics, engineering, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety, software recalls
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, ford recalls, Ken Zino, nhtsa
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Hyundai Recalls 2019-2021 Tucson SUVs for Fires
In the required NHTSA filing, Hyundai said it recommends parking these vehicles outside and away from structures until the recall remedy is completed. Hyundai plans to notify owners to instruct them to return their vehicles to a dealership for replacement of the ABS module “when available.” Continue reading
Posted in electronics, quality, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, hyundai recalls, Ken Zino, NHTSA 20V543000
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Software – 2020 Corvette Recall for Trunk Release Failure
GM engineers determined that, under certain conditions, the voltage generated by the button is insufficient to wake the vehicle from sleep mode, rendering the button inoperative while the vehicle is in that mode. Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, quality, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, corvette recalls, FMVSS 401, Ken Zino, nhtsa
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Chinese Junk Watch – Intertex Recalls Blowers For Fires
Each blower has convenience outlets on the side of the unit to allow the blowers to be “daisy chained” (several blowers plugged together in series) or other devices to be plugged in. Continue reading
Ford Motor – Three More Safety Recalls in N.A.
It’s the latest example of how electronics can be adversely affected by poor designs that wreak havoc on customer satisfaction. Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, ford recalls, Ken Zino, nhtsa
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Wheels Falling Off Ram Trucks. More Than 446,000 Recalled
In an unusual statement FCA said: “routine customer data analysis led to an FCA US investigation that discovered certain service and owner’s manuals contain incorrect lug-nut torque instructions. Accordingly, the corresponding vehicles may have had their lug nuts over-torqued, a condition that could conceivably compromise studs and lead to wheel separation.” Continue reading →