Tagged: auto recalls

General Motors is recalling more than 6,000 big vans and SUVs because their steering can fail. The recall affects certain 2012 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans, and Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL SUVs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website Saturday that a gear shaft can break, causing a loss of steering. GM says no crashes or injuries have been reported.

The problem was discovered in testing by the company that makes the gear shafts. GM says failure won't happen until the vehicles have been in service for at least 5 months under severe use. The vans carry up to 15 passengers and are used widely by churches and airport shuttle services.

Update: March 13, 2:35pm

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has expanded its investigation to include some Murcury Sable models in addition to Tauruses.

The investigation now includes vehicles from the 2001-2006 model years and could affect as many as 1.9 million cars.

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DETROIT (AP) - Federal safety regulators are investigating complaints of throttles sticking in some Ford Tauruses.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website that 14 people have complained about the cars from the 2005 and 2006 model years, about 360,000 in all. No crashes or injuries have been reported, but the agency says a driver ran a red light and entered an intersection before the car could be stopped.

The agency says the cruise control cable may become detached and hold the throttle open. Drivers have reported that it was hard to stop the car with the brakes, and several said they had to shut off the engine or shift into neutral to stop.

Ford says it is cooperating in the probe. The cars have not been recalled.

DETROIT (AP) - Federal safety regulators are trying to determine if more automakers used defective side air bags that have caused recalls of some Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Subaru vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that it started investigating last week because the air bags may not inflate in a crash.

The problem has caused recalls of more than 2,700 vehicles, but that could grow if more automakers used the bad parts.

Recalled vehicles include 427 Toyota RAV-4s; 974 Honda Accords, Civics, Crosstours and Acura MDXs; 381 Subaru Legacys and Outbacks; and 976 Nissan Altimas and Versas.

Safety regulators say the vehicles may have an incorrect mixture of the gas that inflates the side curtain air bags in a crash. So far no one has been hurt.

Federal safety regulators are investigating reports of fires in the driver's side doors of 2007 Toyota Camry sedans and RAV-4 crossover SUVs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the problem could affect 830,000 vehicles.

The safety agency says in documents on its website that the fires appear to start in the power window switch on the door. Six fires have been reported to the agency. No one has been hurt.

The Camry is the top-selling car in the U.S., and the RAV-4 also is a consistent top seller for Toyota. The probe also includes the Solara, which is a coupe version of the Camry.

The investigation was opened Monday. It could lead to a recall, but there isn't one yet.

DETROIT (AP) - Federal safety regulators have stepped up their investigation into Jeep Liberty air bags after 50 people reported they were hurt when the air bags inflated without a crash happening.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating Liberty SUVs from the 2002 and 2003 model years in September. It was upgraded to a full engineering analysis last week.

Documents on the agency website say Chrysler and regulators have gotten 87 complaints of air bags going off by surprise. Nearly 387,000 vehicles are under investigation.

Drivers reported burns, cuts and bruises.

Safety regulators say the air bag computer may fail due to an electrical voltage spike.

The company says no incidents have happened in vehicles made after March 19, 2003. But regulators say Chrysler can't explain that.

Toyota announced a voluntary recall today of roughly 550,000 vehicles worldwide in response to a possible issue with  a crankshaft pulley that could effect steering. The majority of the recalled vehicles are in the United States.

The Associated Press reports:

Toyota's U.S. sales unit said in a statement Wednesday that if the problem isn't corrected, there is a possibility the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley.

The recall affects 283,200 Toyota brand cars and 137,000 Lexus vehicles in the United States, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander and Sienna.

Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett said some 38,000 cars are being recalled in Japan, as well as 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand. Corbett said there have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems.