Category Archives: safety

Ford Brake, Lincoln Headlight Recalls Underway

Ford Motor Company is issuing two safety defect recalls in North America on 2017 Lincoln Continental models for defective headlamp assemblies and 2015-16 Ford Edge crossovers to update antilock braking system (ABS) modules because of bad software. Continue reading

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More Airbag Recalls from BMW, Toyota and Volvo

Only at BMW is the supplier Takata responsible for once again defective welds on its PSDI-X inflator. The Toyota recall involves Chinese supplier ARC Qing Hua (Xian) Automotive Company. Volvo did not name the supplier. Continue reading

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FTC Says Sage Auto Group Uses Deceptive Tactics

This is the FTC’s first action against an auto dealer for so-called “yo-yo” financing tactics: using deception or other unlawful pressure tactics to coerce consumers who have signed contracts and driven off the dealership lots into accepting a different deal. The FTC also alleges that the defendants packed extra, unauthorized charges for “add-ons,” or aftermarket products and services, into car deals financed by consumers. Continue reading

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Lithium Battery Fires – FAA Emergency Order to Braille

Despite FAA warnings, Braille Battery failed to ship lithium ion batteries in accordance with “appropriate regulations and continued to offer for air transport lithium ion batteries that were not properly tested, violating the HMR. Continue reading

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Ford Recalls Transit, Focus Models in North America

Ford recalls 2014 Transit Connect vehicles to reinstall badly glued panoramic roofs, and 2013-17 Focus hatchbacks to update interior latch release software. Continue reading

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Can Another Exploding Airbag Be the Fix for Interior Deaths?

With intense engineering, some of these problems could be dealt with by passive solutions. This could be far less expensive than adding another airbag to every new vehicle. It is worth intense study because explosive devices, as Takata conclusively proved, can go off at the wrong time with deadly consequences.

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Hyundai Interseat Airbag Reduces Head Injuries 80%

Hyundai says that it has completed the development of an interseat airbag, aka center airbag, which reduces head injuries to passengers by more than 80% during a lateral collision. An interseat airbag protects passengers on the opposite side of the contact point. In case of a lateral collision, the passenger can be protected by the curtain airbag or the side airbag, but the person next to him or her may sustain a critical injury their head against the other passenger’s shoulder or head. As these kinds of cases have been reported, the European automotive safety evaluation program, aka Euro NCAP, said in 2014 that it strongly recommends interseat airbags. Continue reading

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Controversial Federal Guidelines for Autonomous Vehicles Out

The primary focus of the policy is on highly automated vehicles, or those in which the vehicle can take full control of driving in at least some circumstances. Portions of the policy also apply to lower levels of automation, including some of the driver-assistance systems already being deployed by automakers today. Continue reading

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Mazda Recalls Liftgate Struts on 580,455 Cars and Crossovers

Mazda North American Operations recalls 580,455 Mazda3, Mazda5 cars and CX-3, CX-5 crossovers going back to the 2012 model year because the Showa supplied liftgate gas struts can fail from corrosion. Continue reading

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More VW Diesel Woes – €800 Million German Suit

The lawsuit concerns losses investors suffered from the drastic drop in VW share value in shares traded on the German Deutsche Börse Xetra exchange, as a result of the VW diesel emission fraud scandal. Continue reading

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Deer Claim Collision Warnings

State Farm released its annual deer claim study today that ranks states by the potential drivers have of hitting a large animal, including deer, elk and moose. On average, one of every 41 West Virginia drivers will have an insurance dear claim for damage caused by a collision in 2016. Continue reading

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FAA Issues Guidance on Exploding Samsung Galaxy Devices

The move comes after a Consumer Product Safety Commission recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 because of explosions and fires. Continue reading

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Ford, U-M Reach Deal to Embed FMC Engineers in Ann Arbor

U-M is one of only a handful of universities to offer master’s and doctoral degrees in robotics, with the Ph.D. program now in its third year. More than 35 faculty members work in the field. Continue reading

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Massive GM Software Recall on Airbags

In the latest automotive software recall, GM will re-program more than 3.6 million vehicles since software supplied by Delphi can prevent the airbags from deploying in an accident. Continue reading

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David Yang to Head AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Dr. Yang has published more than 40 journal articles, conference papers, and government reports on subjects related to transportation safety, operations, and Intelligent Transportation Systems. Continue reading

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