Recall flurry

In extreme situations, owners have been warned their vehicles may catch fire.

Mitsubishi was hit with the biggest safety recall for the three month period. It has written to owners of Pajeros built between 2000 and 2003 to warn them of a potential brake problem. As many as 13,400 vehicles may need to be checked.

The company also recalled 4400 of its now-defunct 380 sedan, built between 2006 and 2007, which may have a faulty fuel tank retaining strap. In a severe collision the tank may be dislodged and spill fuel.

Mitsubishi is also checking more than 8300 Colts built this year which may have a problem with door windows which may drop and unlock or open the door while the car is being driven.

Honda has recalled 11,800 of its 2004-05 Jazz to check whether they have a faulty handbrake, while Mazda needs to look at 1770 of its B4000 utes built between 2005-2006 because the bonnet may open unexpectedly.

Subaru has recalled 5380 of its Imprezas, built between 2001 and 2003 because of a faulty rear tailgate which may suddenly drop.

Subaru Australia spokesman, Dave Rowley, said many of the recalls were to check for "minor or niggling" faults.

"We have had no incidents of anyone being injured in Australia and we found only six cars which had the faulty (tailgate strut) connection.

"Many recalls are done as a pre-emptive measure to avoid possible problems further down the track, " he said.

Other potential faults include electrical short circuits, which in extreme circumstances, may start a cabin fire in Landrover Freelander diesels built since 2007. Landrover warns the fault may occur when the vehicle is parked and unattended.

Other recalls were to check for short circuits in Fiat's Grande Punto; and a chance that the panoramic glass roof in a small number of Citroen's Picasso could be dislodged.

Suzuki has warned of potential fire risk in its 3-door Suzuki Grand Vitara (2006-07) because of a possible cracked fuel pipe, while the 2005-08 Vitara diesel has a remote fire risk in a filter because of a problem with the intercooler outlet pipe insulator.

Other problems include faulty rear seat belt D-loop attachments in the current Jaguar XF, and the potential for a loss of steering in Chrysler's 300C built last year because of a problem with rear axle hub nuts which could see the half shaft disengage from the wheel hub.

Mercedes Benz wants to look at axles, springs and the park brake in its Sprinter or Vito vans.

Jayco has recalled some of its motor homes to check and fix awning and exhaust pipe problems.

Of the 1500 motorcycles recalled, safety issues to be fixed include a faulty fuel filler on Kawasaki models, a windshield which may come off Buell bikes if ridden at high speed and a rear view mirror which may fall off on certain Yamaha models.

An ACCC spokeswoman said this year's figures were actually less than last year but the number has been steadily rising over the past 20 years.

The ACCC says there have been 52 individual recalls this year compared to 171 last year.

Full details of the recalls can be found at www.recalls.gov.au