Category Archives: recalls

Air Bag Deployments – NHTSA Investigating Honda Odysseys

Posted on 3 November 2025 by Ken Zino

Late last week in spite of the Republican led government shutdown, The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) at DOT opened an engineering analysis into inadvertent air bag deployments on 2018-2022 model year Honda Odyssey minivans manufactured by American Honda Motor Company. More than 440,000 vehicles are involved. Most government workers are doing their jobs without pay. House Republicans aren’t working of course, but receiving full pay and benefits.*

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 18 complaints, and some Early Warning Reporting (EWR) and death & injury reports alleging inadvertent air bag deployment. These inadvertent deployments relate to the side curtain and/or side thorax air bags used in model year 2018-2022 Honda Odyssey models. Continue reading →

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Possible Fires – Hyundai Recalls 2024-2025 Santa Fe SUVs

Posted on 15 October 2025 by Ken Zino

Hyundai Motor America is recalling ~135,386 model year 2024-2025 Santa Fe SUVs. The B+ positive terminal cover on the starter motor assembly may be improperly installed, which can cause contact with the cooling fan assembly, potentially causing an electrical short, which can increase the risk of an electrical fire. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama made the vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety administration discovered the potential safety problems when conducted a New Car Assessment Program (“NCAP”) front barrier crash test on a 2024 model year Sante Fe during November of 2024. Continue reading →

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Toyota Tacoma Recall for Bad Driveshafts

Posted on 6 October 2025 by Ken Zino

“The subject vehicles are equipped with front driveshaft assemblies that include a constant-velocity joint (CV joint), which uses a ball cage in a bearing sub-assembly. A specific supplier [GKN Driveline Mexico – AutoCrat] used incorrect material during a specific production period that did not meet the specification for the ball cage. Under normal driving conditions, the ball cage could deform or break,” Toyota said in the mandatory safety defect filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. Continue reading →

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Fires – BMW Recall for Starter Motor Overheating

Posted on 6 October 2025 by Ken Zino

BMW of North America (BMW) is recalling 145,102 model-year 2020 340I, X6, 2020-2025 840I, 2020-2022 740LI, 2019-2020 X7, and X5 vehicles. After repeated attempts, the DENSO Europe supplied starter motor may overheat from an electrical overload. (This is a recall of a previous recall – AutoCrat. Read BMW Recalls More than 100,000 SUVs, Cars for Software Glitch)

“This safety recall involves the engine starter. In certain cases, the engine starter may not start the vehicle properly. These improper starting attempts could result in local overheating of the engine starter,” BMW said in the mandatory safety defect filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. Continue reading →

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Nissan Leaf Recall for Fires While Charging

Posted on 6 October 2025 by Ken Zino

Nissan North America (Nissan) is recalling 19,077 model year 2021-2022 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging via the so-called CHAdeMO connector. There is no prior warning to the customer that a battery fire can happen.

“While the vehicle is Level 3 quick charging, the increased electrical resistance could result in rapid heating of the battery. If quick charging continues, a battery fire may occur increasing the risk of injury. Owners are advised not to use Level 3 quick charging until the remedy is completed,” Nissan said in required safety recall defect filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning. Continue reading →

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Fires – Ford Recalls Expeditions and Navigators

Posted on 29 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling ~4632 model year 2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. An electrical short may develop in the battery junction box’s printed circuit board that is capable of an electrical current load sufficient to overheat the printed circuit board A short circuit within the battery junction box can cause an engine fire while driving or parked.

“Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles, until the remedy is performed,” Ford said in the required safety defect recall documents made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. Continue reading →

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Steering Loss – Ford Recalls F-Series Trucks

Posted on 29 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling ~116,000 model-year 2020-2021 F-250, F-350, and F-450 vehicles. The steering column upper shaft may detach from the steering column and result in a loss of steering control. HL Mando made the part in Korea. During the first half of 2025 Ford Motor booked a $1.3 billion loss from repairs of vehicles under warranty, cancellation of plans to build an electric sport utility vehicle and other one-time costs. Ford is operating under a consent order from NHTSA because of its handing of recalls.

“The steering column upper shaft hard slider does not satisfy anti-pull apart load specifications,” Ford said in the required safety defect recall documents made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning. Continue reading →

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Taurus Door Trim Recall – More than 100K Fords

Posted on 22 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling ~101,944 model year 2016-2019 Taurus cars. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving. Ford doesn’t say how it will fix the problem. The root cause of the recall remained a part of the assembly process until the end of Taurus production at the Chicago Assembly plant on 1 March 2019. During the first half of 2025, Ford Motor booked a $1.3 billion loss from repairs of vehicles under warranty, cancellation of plans to build an electric sport utility vehicle and other one-time costs. Ford is operating under a consent order from NHTSA because of its handing of recalls.

“Applique detachment may result from incomplete adhesion of the part to door sheet-metal during installation at the vehicle assembly plant on vehicles built after a process change that stopped the use of hand rollers that aided operators in ensuring complete adhesion of the part,” Ford said on the mandatory safety defect recall filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. [If the process isn’t broken, why change it? – AutoCrat] Continue reading →

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Door Recall – Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer

Posted on 22 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Chrysler (FCA US) is recalling ~163,735 model year 2022-2025 Jeep Wagoneer and Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUVs. The so-called DLO [door Day Light Opening. Supplied by Cooper-Standard – AutoCrat] trim on the driver and passenger doors may not have been installed properly, which can allow it to detach. A DLO trim which detaches from the vehicle may create a road hazard to operators and occupants of other vehicles and can cause such vehicles to crash without prior warning. Customers may notice that the DLO trim has started to separate from the vehicle.

“The DLO trim may not have been properly secured at the vehicle assembly plant and may detach from the vehicle,” FCA said in the mandatory safety defect recall filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA). Continue reading →

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Bad Seat Belts – Hyundai Recalls 568,580 Palisade SUVs

Posted on 22 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling ~568,580 2020-2025 model-year Palisade SUVs. The seat belt buckles in the driver, passenger, and second-row window seats may fail to latch. Seat belt buckles that fail to latch may not properly restrain occupants in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. The recall was prompted by a growing number of customer complaints the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)  Office of Defect Investigations. ZF Lifetec in India is the supplier of the defective buckle.

In the mandatory safety recall documents made public by NHTSA today Hyundai said, “Customers may notice a lighter than normal audible “click” during the fastening process and/or a recessed push button on the buckle housing. Additionally, if the seat belt becomes unbuckled, the Palisade is equipped with visual and auditory notifications for all seating positions within the vehicle.” Continue reading →

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Failing IPs – Huge Toyota and Lexus Software Recall

Posted on 22 September 2025 by Ken Zino

In the mandatory recall filing [49 CFR § 573] made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today Toyota said, “The subject vehicles are equipped with a combination meter system where various information is displayed (telltale and indicator lights, vehicle gauges, messages, etc.) in a 12.3-inch display monitor in the instrument panel. Due to improper programming of the combination meter, unnecessary data is repeatedly written to a memory device in the combination meter when the combination meter operates, causing the memory device to deteriorate earlier than intended.”

“If this occurs, the 12.3-in monitor will not be displayed at ignition on and will remain in this state. If the vehicle is driven without a working 12.3-in monitor and certain malfunctions occur during that drive, there is a possibility that indicators, such as brake system or tire pressure warning system, for those malfunctions could be missed if the driver does not notice the redundant notification on the center multimedia screen. Depending on the malfunction, continuous driving could lead to an increased risk of a crash or an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash,” Toyota said. Continue reading →

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Bad Defrosters – Toyota Motor Recalls Lexus and Subaru SUVs

Posted on 15 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling ~94,000 2023-2025 model-year bZ4X, Lexus RZ, and Subaru Solterra SUVs. During certain Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning system problems (HVAC), such as electrical compressor failure, the defroster and defogger system may become inoperative because of a software problem in the Denso supplied ECU software. Apparently, Transport Canada originally identified the safety hazard. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor Recalls 1.5M Vehicles for Bad Rear-View Cameras

Posted on 15 September 2025 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is model-year  2015-2019 Lincoln MKC, Mustang, F-350 SD, F-250 SD, F-450 SD, 2015-2017 Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, 2015-2018 Edge, Transit Connect, 2016-2019 F-550 SD, Transit, 2017-2019 Econoline and 2019 Ranger vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, inverted, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse. The latest of seemingly endless recalls were made public today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is an expansion of a previous recall involving a Magna produced part. Continue reading →

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Chinese Junk Watch – Makita Grease Guns, Hoses

Posted on 9 September 2025 by Ken Zino

The Consumer Products Safety Commission https://www.saferproducts.gov/SaferProducts.gov says that there is s recall for ~63,000 Chinese-made Makita Professional Cordless Grease Guns with model numbers XPG01S1, XPG01SR1 and XPG01Z, and Makita Grease Gun Hoses with model numbers 191A79-9, 191A80-4, 191W59-7 and 191W58-9.

“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Makita Cordless Grease Guns and Makita Grease Gun Hoses and contact Makita for a free replacement hose,” CPSC said. Continue reading →

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BMW North America Recalls X5 PHEVs, X5 and X7 SUVs

Posted on 8 September 2025 by Ken Zino

“If the windshield was not sealed according to specifications, then it could be possible for water to ingress at the right-hand A-pillar. If water traveled down the A-pillar, it could contact a power distribution box and an electronic control unit. Moisture exposure of the electrical components can lead to functional failures, such as headlights or door closing functions. In rare cases, this could lead to a short-circuit and, in an extreme case, could cause a thermal event [defect speak for FIRE – AutoCrat], even when the ignition is off, which could increase the risk of injury,” BMW told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in mandatory safety defect recall documents (49 CFR § 573) released today by the agency. Continue reading →

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