-
Recent Posts
- GM First U.S. Automaker at 100% Renewable Electricity
- McLaren to Run in 2027 World Endurance Championship
- Hybrids Rule New EU Car Registrations in March and Q1 2026
- VinFast Auto Posts March Sales of ~28,000 EVs
- Acura to Enter IndyCar. “Pause” IMSA GTP
- Canada and U.S to Co-Host Global Vehicle Safety Conference
- April 2026 Light Vehicle Production Forecast Drops Globally!
- First Look – Mercedes-Benz 2027 C‑Class EV
- IMSA and IndyCar – Acura Wins 2026 Long Beach Grand Prix!
- IMSA Street Fight – 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Mustang GTD Runs Record Nordschleife Lap at 6m 40.835s
- Honda Fastport eQuad Vehicles Link to Bird and Spin
- Bosch Group Plans Sales, EBIT Growth after a So-So 2025
- Stellantis Q1 2026 Shipments Up 12% at 1.4 Million
- Light-Duty Fuel Cell Trucks – Isuzu, Toyota Collaboration!
Recent Comments
- Council on Foreign Relations on Iran and Strait of Hormuz on AAA – Pump Gasoline Prices Still Soaring
- Autocrat on Stellantis Subordinated Perpetual Hybrid Bonds on Stellantis Posts Full Year 2025 Loss of €22.3B
- Michigan Governor Whitmer on Pew – Confidence in Trump Dips, Fewer Support His Policies
- Porsche Motorsport Daytona Victory on Daytona 24 Hours – Old and New Stars Getting Ready to Run
- UAW Ford Department Director VP Laura Dickerson on Trump's Ford Plant Visit on Whitmer Stands in Stark Contrast to Trump at Detroit Auto Show
Archives
Meta
Category Archives: quality
Porsche Recalls Cayenne SUVs for Headlights Falling Out
Porsche is recalling more than 20,000 four-door Cayenne SUV models in the U.S. because the headlights can become loose and possibly fall out. Globally 100,000 Cayenne SUVs are affected. Letters are now being sent to owners of the affected vehicles, Porsche said in a required filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The repair takes approximately 45 minutes. Continue reading
Toyota Leads 2012 Vehicle Dependability Report
The highest initial quality ratings of 2009 model year vehicles has now resulted in historically high levels of vehicle dependability in 2012. Overall vehicle dependability in 2012 averages 132 problems per 100 vehicles, an improvement of 13% from the 2011 … Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news, quality
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, customer satisfaction, j.d power, Ken Zino, quality, vds, vehicle dependability study
Leave a comment
BMW Conducts Second Smallest Recall in NHTSA History
In third place with a Bronze medal resides Toyota, the reason for the renewed emphasis on following recall regulations to the letter, after Toyota was fined in 2010 millions of dollars for covering up safety effects. Continue reading
Hewlett-Packard Fined $425,000 for Not Reporting Defective Lithium Ion Batteries that Seriously Injured Consumers
The controversy is of interest to the auto industry since its use of lithium ion batteries in electrical vehicles and hybrids is growing at exponential rate, with millions of battery packs soon to be on U.S. roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its investigation of fires in Chevrolet Volt EVs last week. Nevertheless many consumers remain wary of the emerging technology and it remains to be seen if the Volt brand is damaged. Continue reading
NHTSA Scolds Ford over Minivan Torque Converter Recall
In an unusual acknowledgement of the Ford recall (11S25 or 12V-006) just made public, NHTSA said Ford made assertions – also unusual in my experience – in its required defect filing that are untrue and violate federal safety regulations. Continue reading
Ford Employees to Beta Test Latest My Ford Touch Patch
Ford Motor Company will beta test new software designed to ease myriad consumer complaints about the My Ford Touch infotainment system, which caused Ford and Lincoln vehicles to sink to below average in Consumer Reports quality ratings.
Ford’s overall reliability rank among 28 major car makes slipped from the 10th to the 20th spot this year—the biggest drop for any major nameplate in Consumer Reports 2011 Annual Auto Survey. The badly needed software upgrade is coming for 2013 models – and to owners of existing My Ford Touch equipped vehicles. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, engineering, news, news analysis, people, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive electronics problems, automotive news, Ken Zino, lincoln my touch patch, microsoft software problems, My Ford Touch, my ford touch patch, my touch, my touch beta testing
Leave a comment
MaxiGuard Super Premium Motor Oil Consumer Alert Issued
PQIA says there are labeling issues, as e well. The label claims API service SA, SC. These are obsolete Service Categories the API cautions can cause harm to engines built after 1967. The label does not warn consumers of this limited use. Continue reading
Chrysler Up, GM Sideways, Ford Down in Consumer Reports Annual Reliability Survey Revealed Today at APA in Detroit
Chrysler staged a quality comeback of sorts. General Motors did not sustain last year’s trend of improvement. Ford slipped badly in the 2011 Consumer Reports Reliability Survey revealed today at APA. Japanese brands continue to dominate Consumer Reports survey’s best rankings. Japanese brands took the top nine spots. They were led by Scion, Lexus, Acura, Mazda, Honda, and Toyota. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news analysis, quality, results
Tagged apa, auto informed, auto news, auto reliability, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, Chrysler reliability, consumer reports, Consumer Reports Annual Reliability Survey, david champion, ford reliability, ford touch, gm reliability, Ken Zino, My Ford Touch, My Lincoln Touch, sync, zino
Leave a comment
Hyundai Recall Active on Veracruz and Santa Fe SUV Airbags
The recall appears to have been prompted by a request for an explanation about a high number of warranty claims by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged auto informed, auto news, auto recalls, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, hyundai recall, Hyundai Veracruz recall, Ken Zino, nhtsa, safety defects, safety recall hyndai santa fe recall, zino
Leave a comment
Kia Recall on Sorento Passenger Airbag Trails Service Bulletin
A Kia recall is now active for model year 2007-2008 Sorento passenger cars manufactured from June 15, 2006 through November 27, 2007. The safety recall is prompted by a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) analysis that showed complaints about the passenger side airbag were higher than those of other vehicles. The Korean maker Kia disagreed, but has recalled the Sorento to prevent a dispute with NHTSA and it obvious negative effects on its quality image.
Posted in auto news, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged airbag recall, auto informed, auto news, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, computer recall, Ken Zino, kia, kia recall, kia sorento recall, zino
Leave a comment
Honda Recalls 310,000 Pilot SUVs for Defective Seat Belts
The latest quality gaff from the Japanese maker once known for its quality follows Honda recalls announced over the Labor Day weekend for fires on more than a million vehicles globally. During the past year or so, Honda has issued more than 22 public statements about various safety defects and recalls in the U.S. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, manufacturing, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged auto informed, auto news, auto recalls, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, honda fires, honda quality, honda quality problems, honda recalls, japanese quality, Ken Zino, nhtsa, recalls, zino
Leave a comment
Honda Recalls a Million Vehicles for Fires, Software Problems
The latest Honda recalls are part of much larger global quality problems that affect almost one million Honda vehicles with potential fatal safety defects, including the Honda Fit, which was already recalled in the U.S. Worse, Honda recalls during the last year show that Honda’s once vaunted reputation for manufacturing and design quality is in shambles. Continue reading
NHTSA Opens BMW Defect Probe on 120,000 7-Series Models
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary engineering investigation on 120,000 2002-2008 BMW 7-Series models because of one complaint. The Office of Defects Investigation said in a regulatory filing today that it has received a single complaint from a consumer alleging a rollaway incident with a model year 2006 BMW 7-Series vehicle after parking and exiting the vehicle. Continue reading
NHTSA Investigating Ford Mustang Manual Transmissions
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigations has received 32 complaints alleging an unexpected inability to shift into gear on model year 2011-2012 Ford Mustangs equipped with manual transmissions. According to a filing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration some of the reports allege that the incidents occurred while merging into high speed traffic; others allege that incidents occurred while turning left across oncoming traffic. Continue reading
Toyota Recalls 80,000 Highlander Hybrid and RX 400h Vehicles
Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS) today said that it will recall about 45,500 Highlander Hybrid and 36,700 Lexus RX 400h vehicles sold in the U.S in what appears to be the first recalls for its hybrid drive system.
In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Japanese company said that the so called Intelligent Power Module (IPM) located inside the Hybrid System Inverter contains a control board with defective transistors. Transistors on the control boards in some of 2006-2007 model year Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX 400h SUVs were inadequately soldered and could be damaged from heat caused by a large current flow during high-load driving. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, electric vehicles, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged auto informed, auto news, auto recalls, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, highlander hybrid recall, hybrid recall, Ken Zino, lexus rx 400h recall, recall, safety recall, toyota recall, zino
Leave a comment
