Category Archives: safety

NHTSA Opens Investigation into Sonata Rear Suspension Failures

NHTSA has opened an investigation into rear control-arm failures on Hyundai’s popular Sonata sedan. Almost 400,000 Sonatas from the 2006-2008 model years are potentially affected by what could turn into an expensive recall because of corrosion. Continue reading

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Hyundai, Kia Recall More Than 1.8 Million Vehicles for Safety Defects

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor are recalling more than 1.8 million car and crossover vehicles for bad stoplight switches and defective airbags. The most popular selling vehicles from the 2007 up through the 2013 model year are affected. In a required NHTSA filing just made public today, the South Korean automakers once known for poor quality said that a defective brake switch can cause the brake lights to fail or may keep the cruise control engaged even when the driver presses the brake pedal. Continue reading

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Subaru Recalls More Than 200,000 Outback and Legacy Models for Corroded Brake Lines in 20 Salt States

Subaru is recalling more than 200,000 Legacy sedan and Outback wagon models because the brake lines can corrode and leak fluid. In a required NHTSA filing just made public, Subaru said that the brake lines were corroding after several winter seasons. Continue reading

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Ford Recalls Explorer, Taurus, Lincoln MKS for Leaking Fuel Tanks

Ford is recalling 2012 Taurus, Lincoln MKS, and 2013 Explorer vehicles because the fuel tanks may have a “marginally sealed seam” in the side of the tank. As a result, the fuel tanks may not provide the expected strength during a crash. The tanks may also leak. The problem was originally discovered in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading

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Absolute Fuels Guilty in $42 Million Bio-Diesel Credit Scam

A bio-diesel fuel company owner was sentenced to 188 months in prison for crimes connected to an illegal fuels scheme and also fined $175,000 and ordered to pay nearly $55 million in restitution. In what appears to be a badly run government program of renewable fuel tax credits, Jeffrey Gunselman, 30, the owner of Absolute Fuels was able to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency for more than a year by falsely representing that he was in the business of producing bio-diesel fuel. Continue reading

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Nissan Recalls NV Vans for Shift Indicator Safety Defect

Nissan is recalling all of its NV vans built from the start of production in 2010 until this past January because the transmission shift indicator, aka PRNDLin auto slang, can point to the wrong gear. The assembly problem occurred at the Canton, Mississippi plant where the Titan is also built. Continue reading

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Software Glitch Causes Cadillac SRX, Buick LaCrosse Recalls

General Motors is recalling 2013 Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX vehicles because the software can suddenly change the transmission shifting from manual to automatic mode even though the driver is manually controlling the shifting through the so-called Driver Shift Control. Continue reading

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Nissan Recalls Popular 2013 Models for Bad Passenger Airbags

Nissan is recalling numerous 2013 model Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles because the passenger side airbag is defective. Sensors within the so-called passenger Occupant Detection System may have been manufactured out of specification for several months. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag on some of Nissan’s most popular vehicles. Continue reading

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Toyota Recalls FJ Cruiser Models for Defective Safety Belts

In its latest safety problem, Toyota Motor Sales is recalling 209,000 FJ Cruiser trucks because the safety belt retractors can pry loose. These safety belt retractors for the driver and front passenger safety belts are mounted in the rear access doors of the vehicle. Continue reading

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Subaru Key Fobs Running Wild and Starting Cars Randomly

Subaru is recalling various 2010 through 2013 models equipped with an Audiovox remote engine starter that was sold as an accessory. The key fob may run wild and randomly start the engine without the driver pressing the button. Continue reading

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New Porsche 911 Models Recalled for Bad Exhaust System

Porsche is recalling more than 2,000 of its new 2012 and 2013 models of the 911 Carrera and Carrera 4 sports cars equipped with a standard exhaust system. The exhaust tail pipe may fracture and separate from the rear muffler. Continue reading

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CountryMark Refining to Install $18 Million in Pollution Controls to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations at its Indiana Refinery

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that CountryMark Refining and Logistics has agreed to pay a $167,000 civil penalty, perform environmental projects totaling more than $180,000, and spend $18 million on new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations at its refinery, located in Mount Vernon, Indiana. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Donates Damaged Vehicles to Train First Responders

Chevrolet is donating 300 cars, crossovers and SUVs rendered unsalable during Hurricane Sandy to help train first responders at Guardian Centers in Perry, Georgia. Continue reading

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Clean Green Fuel Owner Guilty in $9 Million in Bio-Diesel Scam

A U.S. District Judge today sentenced Rodney R. Hailey, of Perry Hall, Maryland to nearly 12 years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling $9 million in renewable fuel credits that he falsely claimed were produced by his company, Clean Green Fuel, LLC. Hailey, age 34, was convicted in June of 2012 on eight counts of wire fraud, 32 counts of money laundering, and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. He has been detained since the guilty verdict.

Hailey made more than $9.1 million from selling the false credits, and used the proceeds of the scheme to purchase luxury vehicles, including BMWs, a Mercedes Benz, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and others, as well as real estate and more than $80,000 in diamond jewelry. In all of these transactions, Hailey generally used cash or checks drawn on accounts he controlled to make the purchase, including a check for $645,330.15 to buy his home in Maryland. Continue reading

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U.S. Sues Lance Armstrong for False Racing Sponsorship Claims

From 1996 through 2004, the USPS sponsored a professional cycling team owned by Tailwind and its predecessors. Between 2001 and 2004 alone, the Postal Service paid $31 million in sponsorship fees. (Imagine how much could be recovered only the Justice Department went after its friends at the Wall Street firms, banks and ratings agencies that cost taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars because of false claims in the sub-prime mortgage business.)
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