List of manufacturer recalls for May 2016

Recalling defective vehicles has always been an integral part of automotive manufacturing as the quality and reliability of the product is given prime importance. Looking at last month, the Takata airbag issue is growing into an epidemic, with more companies recalling their vehicles.

Starting with the Takata issue, 12 million vehicles from 8 different manufacturers have been called back to replace the inflators or even the whole airbag module. The lack of a specific drying agent which helps in preventing the inflators from deteriorating over time, has been traced as the defect in the airbag system which renders the airbag system useless or even worse, deadly. While these figures depict the picture in the States, an additional 7 million vehicles have been recalled around the globe which takes the total figure to 19.6 million.

Honda is recalling 4.5 million units while Fiat Chrysler is hit marginally less, with them recalling 4.3 million of their products. Subaru with 400,000 units, Mazda with 730,000 units, Nissan with 400,000 units and Mitsubishi with 38,000 Lancers (manufactured between 2006 to 2007) have also been affected by this problem. Ferrari is also affected, with 2800 of its cars being called back.

Toyota has announced a recall of 1.65 million vehicles, owing to the fault in the airbag. This takes the total number of affected Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles to 4.73 million. The vehicles affected are the 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, 2007-2011 Lexus ES, 2010-2011 Lexus GX and 2006-2011 Lexus IS, among others.

Maserati is recalling 26,464 of its Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans which were manufactured between February 1, 2013 and September 18, 2015 to address a problem related to the bolts of the hub carrier assembly in the rear suspension. The dealers will inspect the bolts and if necessary, replace the assembly.

271,000 examples of Ford’s popular F-150 pickups (manufactured 2013-2014) with the 3.5-litre Ecoboost engine are being recalled for faulty brake master cylinders. The problem associated with the cylinders affects only the front brakes. This may reduce brake effectiveness. 9 accidents have been reported, fortunately with no injuries. Ford is also recalling 75,364 Explorer models and Police Interceptor Utility Vehicles which were manufactured between January 17 and May 31, 2014. The welding on the rear suspension toe links of the faulty examples is not properly done. This may even lead to the fracture of the part which can cause accidents.

Parallel to the Takata Airbag recalled recall; Fiat Chrysler has also announced a recall on 392,464 of the Jeep Wrangler and 39,217 of the naturally-aspirated Fiat 500 models. The Jeeps are being recalled to rectify accumulation of dirt and dust during off-roading which may prevent airbag from deploying. The Fiats on the other hand, are being recalled to attend to the excessive clutch travel which transcends beyond the deign parameters. They has also announced a recall on 32,267 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees in the U.S. for attending to a faulty wiring harness that may lead to the vehicles getting locked in neutral or park right after stopping. FCA suggests the user use the handbrake while stopping and they will alert the users on the schedule of the service.

Chevrolet is recalling 317,572 units of their Sonic (2013-2016), Trax (2013-2016) and Spark (2013-2015) in the States, specifically the examples fitted with Bring Your Own Media audio systems for problems related to the system that alerts the driver that the key is still in the ignition slot. This system will not work if the driver waits for 10 minutes or more after switching the car off and opening the door. This increases the risk of leaving the key behind in the ignition which in turn increases the risk of someone stealing the car. We are not sure if this feature is there in GCC-spec models.

Japanese carmaker, Subaru is recalling 48,500 units of their Legacy sedans and Outback CUVs (manufactured 2016 and 2017) to rectify a problem associated with the faulty machining of the steering column. This fault brings about a hitch in matching the angle of the steering to the direction of travel. This will lead to a scenario in which a turn of the steering wheel will not translate to a turn of the vehicle. Subaru has advised users not to use the vehicles until they are inspected. Subaru will inspect the faulty units and replace them if necessary.

If your car is on the list, please get in touch with your dealer to know if it’s affected.