NHTSA announces that about 64,000,000 vehicles were recalled in JUST the USA last year.

Carmakers recalled about 64 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, more than double the previous record set in 2004, according to official government data.

The tally released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closes the book on one of the worst years ever for automotive safety as defective General Motors ignition switches and exploding Takata Corp. airbags sent millions of drivers to dealerships in search of repairs.

“These figures demonstrate the need for vigorous, effective oversight to remove safety defects from our highways,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement. “When defective vehicles or equipment put Americans’ safety at risk, NHTSA will act.”

Rosekind said last month that 2015 may see an even greater number of recalls as regulators ratchet up the pressure on automakers to more quickly disclose and fix defects. Both the GM and Takata recalls occurred only after years of consumer complaints and multiple deaths that led to congressional hearings critical of NHTSA’s effectiveness at policing the industry.

The GM ignition switches have been linked to 52 deaths in the U.S. so far and the Takata airbag inflator ruptures are confirmed in four U.S. deaths and being investigated in a fifth.

The final tally for last year shows there were 803 automotive recalls, covering 63.9 million vehicles. About 3.5 million cars and trucks have been recalled so far this year, according to NHTSA data. Before last year, the annual record for recalls was set in 2004, when 30.8 million vehicles were recalled.

Even with 2014’s record tally, an estimated 46 million cars with unfixed recalls were still on the road at the end of the year and as many as 5 million of those changed ownership in 2014, according to Carfax Inc., which tracks vehicle sales and accident history.

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USA RECALL 2 - VOLKSWAGEN - 2012 Touareg Hybrids recalled for possible risk of fire.

Volkswagen considers the safety and satisfaction of its consumers and passengers a top priority. As such, Volkswagen of America today notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will be issuing a voluntary safety recall affecting the fuel rail and injector connection on certain 2012 model year Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid vehicles.

The recall affects approximately 201 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrids from the 2012 model years. Due to a combination of production tolerance issues and vehicle vibration during dynamic driving, it is possible that, in rare cases, a fuel leak may occur in the vehicle's fuel injection system. Leaking fuel, in the presence of an ignition source, may result in a fire.

To fix the issue, Volkswagen will notify all known owners of affected vehicles and will inspect and replace the fuel rails and the fuel injector seals. This work will be performed for customers free of charge.

No accidents, fires or injuries related to this issue have been reported. Volkswagen will notify all owners of affected vehicles and will instruct them to arrange for an appointment with an authorized Volkswagen dealer.

USA RECALL - JEEP - Cherokee recalled for yet more airbag issues.

FCA US LLC is launching a global recall of an estimated 228,181 SUVs to upgrade software governing side-curtain and seat-mounted side air bags.

The action follows an investigation by FCA US engineers after a small number of inadvertent deployments involving drivers who executed extreme maneuvers. These maneuvers dramatically changed the vehicles’ angle of operation, relative to the ground.

The air-bag systems, sensing potential rollovers, automatically activated. FCA US is unaware of any related injuries or accidents.

The software upgrade will recalibrate the threshold for deployment and the vehicles will remain compliant with all applicable safety regulations.

Affected are certain 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokees. Estimated volumes by market are as follows: 168,092 in the U.S.; 19,557 in Canada; 4,133 in Mexico and 36,399 outside the NAFTA region.

The Company will notify affected customers. Software will be available at that time.

Customers with additional concerns or questions may call 1-800-853-1403.

Takata airbag cars from Honda, Toyota, Jeep, Acura, Pontiac and Dodge all recalled AGAIN for airbag issues

American Honda, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and Fiat Chrysler will do "follow up" recalls of about 2.12 million vehicles with defective electronic control units that can cause airbags to inadvertently deploy, U.S. auto safety regulators said Saturday.

The recall affects about 1 million vehicles from Toyota, 374,177 from American Honda and 753,176 from Fiat Chrysler. 

The affected vehicles are:

• 2002-03 Jeep Liberty and 2002-04 Jeep Grand Cherokees

• 2003-04 Honda Odyssey and 2003 Acura MDX (about 370,000 vehicles)

• 2003-04 Pontiac Vibe (made by Toyota); Dodge Viper; and Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Avalon.

The vehicles were recalled for the issue from 2012 to 2014, but automakers have found some cases of inadvertent deployment in vehicles that were fixed and the initial remedy was not fully effective, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

Inadvertent deployments

NHTSA says about 400 inadvertent airbag deployments, but no deaths, have occurred in the affected vehicles. That includes 39 deployments that were fixed under the initial recall, which involved installing filters or wire harnesses to protect a key circuit from electrical damage, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in a conference call.

The new remedy involves replacing the entire electronic control module, including the circuit involved in the inadvertent deployments, which is supplied by TRW. Rosekind said the agency is seeking additional information about the defect from TRW.

"TRW is supporting its customers in these recalls fully, and will cooperate with NHTSA and provide information to the Agency if requested," TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. said in a statement released late Saturday. The safety products supplier is in the process of being acquired by Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen AG in a deal valued at $13.5 billion. It is expected to close this spring.

Rosekind said the replacement modules won’t be fully available until the end of 2015, but the agency wants consumers who have not yet repaired their vehicles under the initial remedy to do so, and then return to their dealer a second time for the replacement module when they are available.

'Very complicated'

“This is going to be complicated for consumers because all of these vehicles were previously recalled to fix the inadvertent deployment problem. That fix does significantly decrease the chance of an inadvertent deployment but the remedy from those previous recalls is not fully effective,” Rosekind said.

“We’re urging vehicle owners who have not yet gone into their dealer to do so for the remedy, even if this means that they’re going to have to make another trip later for a more effective fix.”

The agency issued a safety advisory urging consumers to take their vehicles to dealerships for repairs. The advisory included FAQs for owners of the recalled vehicles.

Takata issues

Airbags have been directly or indirectly related to several million U.S. recalls in the past year. General Motors for much of 2014 dealt with a faulty ignition switch in small cars that would result in airbags failing to deploy in accidents. 

And more than 24 million vehicles equipped with Takata airbags have been recalled globally since 2008, according to Reuters estimates. At least six deaths have been linked to faulty airbag inflators made by Takata.

NHTSA said that of the vehicles affected by today's recall, about 1 million are also covered by recalls for Takata airbags that could explode upon deployment, NHTSA said.

Rosekind said nine of the inadvertent airbag deployments also involved a ruptured Takata airbag inflator, and three of those instances resulted in injury, including one eye injury.

“This makes it especially important for consumers to take action to prevent the inadvertent deployments that could cause serious injuries,” Rosekind said.

In a statement, Honda confirmed 374,000 of its vehicles are included in the U.S. recall: "Honda has received a small number of complaints of inadvertent airbag deployment in these vehicles after the original recall repair was completed. No crashes have been reported to Honda related to this issue."

Chrysler, in its statement, said its recall would also include nearly 50,000 vehicles in Canada, about 22,000 in Mexico and more than 103,633 outside of North America.

None of Chrysler’s recalled vehicle were equipped with Takata airbags, the automaker said.

Chrysler response

Chrysler issued a recall for the problem in 2012, and “a small number of vehicles affected by the initial campaign (approximately 0.003 percent of the total) were subject to post-repair inadvertent air-bag deployments,” Fiat Chrysler said in its statement.

“Some vehicle occupants suffered minor injuries from contact with the air bags; FCA US is aware of a single related accident.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, in a statement, said: "We expect the manufacturers to get this remedy right to prevent injury to drivers and their families."

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report. 

Ryan Beene

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USA - RECALL - NISSAN - Rogue, Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35 SUV's for various issues.

Nissan Motor Co. is recalling about 768,000 vehicles, including its popular Rogue crossover and Pathfinder SUV, for separate problems, the company and U.S. regulators said today.

Some 552,135 Rogues from model years 2008 and 2013 will be recalled because moisture could seep through the driver side floor and cause an electrical short to wiring that could lead to a fire, Nissan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. Of the total, 468,815 are registered in the United States.

No crashes or injuries have been reported due to the wiring issue, a Nissan spokesman said.

Also, 215,789 Pathfinder SUVs from the 2013 and 2014 model years and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles will be recalled for problems related to a secondary hood latch, Nissan and NHTSA said. Of that total, 170,665 are registered in the United States.

A Nissan spokesman said the problem was noticed primarily in rental vehicles when drivers unintentionally dislodged the secondary hood latch, which is designed to catch the hood from flying up if the primary hood latch is disengaged. In a handful of occasions, damage was done to the vehicles when the hood flew open, but there were no reports of crashes or injuries, the spokesman said.

In Canada, 52,312 Rouge crossovers will be recalled as well as 15,972 Pathfinder and JX35 SUVs. The Rogue will be recalled in three additional countries and the SUVs in 30 additional countries, Nissan said.

USA recall number tops 60.5 MILLION, yes thats right 60,500,000 and still rising for the year.

U.S. automobile recalls surpassed the 60 million mark for the first time in a single year, largely because of the rush to prevent more deaths from defective General Motors ignition switches and Takata Corp. airbags.

The tally of 60.5 million through today is almost double the previous annual record of 30.8 million recalled vehicles set in 2004, according to an analysis of data on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number will rise further as recent recalls that have been announced by automakers are recorded in the database.

“I don’t think we’re going to see a year like this for a long time,” said Neil Steinkamp, a managing director at Stout Risius Ross who studies warranty and recall issues.

Recalls may remain above historical levels for a while, he said. The Takata airbag crisis continues to grow, and following its slow response to GM’s ignition-switch defect, NHTSA has been pressuring automakers to recall cars more quickly when evidence of a flaw is discovered, using subpoena power and the threat of $35 million fines as motivation.

“Automakers do not want to be accused of dragging their feet, so they’re very quick to issue a recall” now, said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Autotrader.com. “We’re going to see lots of recalls because cars have gotten so complex and there’s so much sharing of parts by all automakers.”

The flood of recalls hasn’t deterred buyers this year. Light-vehicle sales in the U.S. rose 5.5 percent to 15 million vehicles through November, according to the Automotive News Data Center, and are heading for their biggest total since 2006.

GM, Honda 

GM alone has recalled almost 27 million cars and trucks in the U.S. this year, a record for any single automaker. The company has issued 10 safety actions of more than 1 million vehicles each, according to the NHTSA database. Defective GM ignition switches in small cars have been linked to at least 42 deaths and 58 injuries.

Honda Motor Co., the third-largest Japanese automaker, has recalled 5.4 million vehicles to replace Takata airbags. Exploding Takata airbags have been tied to at least four fatalities in the U.S. and more than 100 injuries caused by shrapnel.

Other recalls of more than 1 million vehicles this year included those related to steering, cruise control, engines and seat belts, according to the NHTSA data, which is compiled from automaker filings to the agency. NHTSA plans to release its official recall numbers for 2014 next year.

The Takata airbag flaw investigation led to the recall of more than 8 million vehicles. Unstable propellant in airbag inflators can cause the devices to explode with too much force and spread shrapnel through the car in a crash. Takata on Nov. 6 widened an annual loss forecast and said it can’t estimate the full financial liability of the defect.

Fiat Chrysler 

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said Dec. 19 that it would accede to a NHTSA request and expand an existing airbag recall from hot, humid areas of the U.S., where most failures have occurred, to the entire nation. That will add 2.89 million vehicles to the recall total for the U.S. when reflected in the government database.

GM has said its ignition-switch recalls have cost about $2.7 billion through the first three quarters of this year. GM has said the switches, which it knew were defective for more than a decade, can shut off when bumped, disabling the vehicle air bag and increasing the risk of death or injury in a crash.

With the focus on more and quicker recalls, 2014 will probably signify a period of elevated safety fixes, Steinkamp said. The average number of recalled vehicles per year from the 2004 through last year was 16.1 million, according to NHTSA data.

“It’s a landmark year; it’s the start of a new era,” he said.

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USA - 2015 Dodge Challenger gains five stars overall in NHTSA satey rating program.

• 2015 Dodge Challenger coupe earns five stars overall, the highest possible score in NHTSA’s safety rating program
• More than 70 safety and security features, including new for 2015 class-exclusive Forward Collision Warning, adaptive cruise control, Blind-spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path detection
• All-new 2015 Dodge Challenger starts at $26,995 (excluding tax, destination and title)

The all-new 2015 Dodge Challenger has earned a five-star overall safety rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Five stars is the highest possible safety rating given by NHTSA.

“The new Dodge Challenger coupe further demonstrates our commitment to broaden the proliferation of advanced safety technologies, such as driver-assist features,” says Scott Kunselman, Senior Vice President-Vehicle Safety and Regulatory, FCA-North America.

 

In its assessment of the new Challenger, NHTSA notes the availability of Forward Collision Warning (FCW), which features forward-facing sensors programmed to detect the potential for certain types of frontal collisions. If detected, the driver is alerted with visual and audible warnings.

 

The 2015 Dodge Challenger is the only car in its segment with such capability.

FCW is among more than 70 available safety and security features on the 2015 Dodge Challenger. Others include Blind-Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross-Path Detection, which was pioneered by FCA US LLC.

Among the individual crash-tests in which the Challenger scored five stars were front- and side-impacts.

“The 2015 Challenger checks all the boxes,” Kunselman says. “It affords premium safety and security in a stylish package that delivers a sporty driving experience.”

And it does so for $26,995, excluding tax, destination and title.

Building on the 2014-model’s legacy of honors that include Edmunds.com’s Best Retained Value Award and winner three years’ running J.D. Power’s APEAL Award for overall ownership enjoyment, the 2015 Dodge Challenger ups its game with:

• New 1971-inspired exterior and interior design features
• An unmatched array of personalization options, including a wide range of colors, stripes and wheels to create the perfect combination of fun, nostalgia and power
• Segment-first and segment-exclusive TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission, which delivers world-class precision and up to an 11 percent improvement in fuel economy, compared with the outgoing gearbox
• Significant new technology upgrades such as the all-new Uconnect Access system with standard touchscreen, standard new 7-inch multi-view TFT gauge cluster, new performance electronic shifter, Keyless Enter ‘n Go with push-button start.

Last month, the Challenger recorded its best-ever November sales total with 4,157 deliveries. That’s a 52-percent jump compared with the same month in 2013.