Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Citroen, Ram, Aston Martin models recalled

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of national safety recalls, with models from Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Citroen, Ram and Aston Martin affected.

Mercedes-Benz Australia has recalled the A-Class and B-Class small cars – on sale between February 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013 – over an issue with their brake booster vacuum hose connector potentially breaking.

If it were to fail, power assistance to the braking system would be reduced which results in additional pedal force being required to stop the vehicle.

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Hence, the risk of injury to occupants or other road users increases in such a situation.

Peugeot Australia has called back 1053 combined units of its 308 small car and 508 large sedan.

Meanwhile, the G-Class off-roader – sold from April 1, 2013 to April 30, 2016 – faces a fault with the bolts of its lower steering joint that may not have been torqued properly during manufacturing.

Over time, the joint can wear and cause a reduction of steering control, while an unlikely complete failure could lead to total loss.

Additionally, the German car-maker has called back 46 units of its EvoBus over an incomplete weld seam on their steering column bracket, which may cause it to not be secure.

Some difficulty controlling the vehicle may result due to column movement, but no loss of actual steering would be experienced. Owners are asked to contact an authorised dealership to organise a free repair.

Peugeot Australia has called back 1053 combined units of its 308 small car and 508 large sedan, while Citroen Australia has recalled 84 total examples of its C5, DS4 and DS5 models, with both brand's vehicles impacted by the same fault.

Affected Peugeot models were on sale between November 1, 2014 and May 31 this year, whereas the impacted Citroen vehicles were sold from May 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016.

American Special Vehicles (ASV) – the Australian importer and converter of Ram products – has recalled examples from its Laramie pick-up range.

In all instances, the starter motor 12-volt connection lug may be installed incorrectly and could touch a metal component, which would cause a short circuit and pose a fire hazard.

American Special Vehicles (ASV) – the Australian importer and converter of Ram products – has recalled examples from its Laramie pick-up range over a fault with their turn signal speed not changing when a bulb stops working.

Thanks to this fault, drivers will not been warned that a bulb has failed, which increases the chance of an accident.

Aston Martin Australia has called back its DB11 and V8 Vantage sportscars over three separate faults.

Fifty-eight examples of the DB11 – sold between November 30, 2016 and June 7 this year – have an issue with their tyre pressure monitoring system due to incorrect calibration.

As a result, the low tyre pressure warning will not be activated when necessary, which could increase the risk of a crash if the tyres were to become under-inflated.

Alternatively, the V8 Vantage has been impacted by two different transmission issues relating to its seven-speed ‘Speedshift II' automated manual unit, with 19 examples recalled for each fault.

The first issue affects models on sale from December 8, 2010 to July 25, 2013 and involves the hydraulic system connector between the clutch fluid pipe and the transmission, which may not be supported well enough.

If the connector fails, clutch fluid may leak causing the system to malfunction, which could lead to an accident.

The second fault involves examples sold between December 8, 2010 and August 15, 2012, with a transmission software update provided in recent call-back prompting a follow-up recall.

Stored clutch adaptations and wear-index data were not deleted as part of the update when they were supposed to be due to potential incompatibility with the new version.

Anyone looking for more information on these recalls can search the ACCC's Product Safety Australia website.

This could result in automated gear changes being missed, which may place the vehicle in neutral. The driver can select a gear manually to correct the issue and maintain or increase speed.

Furthermore, the clutch can slip and overheat, which forces the transmission into ‘clutch protection' mode with a warning light illuminating until its temperature reduces.

Owners of all aforementioned models – except the EvoBus – will be contacted directly by their vehicle's manufacturer and instructed to organise an inspection at their preferred dealership where an update, repair or replacement of the defective parts will be undertaken free of charge.

Anyone looking for more information on these recalls – including a full list of affected Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) – can search the ACCC's Product Safety Australia website.