Recalls

Australian customers are still yet to be contacted by Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda three weeks after the dodgy diesel scandal broke.It could take up to a year for more than 90,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda diesel cars in Australia to be upgraded with software or expensive mechanical changes to ensure they don’t cheat emissions tests.Volkswagen in Germany says it is close to finalising the fix for 11 million cars sold globally from 2008 to 2015, but it is still too early to determine how performance and fuel economy will be affected on each model.A News Corp Australia investigation has found that while the troubled German car maker has finally published a list of the models affected locally, customers are yet to receive any formal notification and dealers say they only have the same information released to media.Furthermore, emissions targets set for state and federal government fleets over the past six years are likely to have been breached because certain Volkswagen diesel cars bought by government agencies or staff emit more pollution than claimed.“Government fleets around Australia will have purchased some of these vehicles as part of the push to lower the overall emissions of their fleets,” a senior government fleet manager told News Corp Australia on condition of anonymity.“The cars would have been selected based on the information on the (Green Vehicle Guide rating labels) and all the procurement decisions would have been made in good faith,” said the government fleet manager.The source said there would likely be no ramifications but, he added, “Volkswagen’s deliberate actions have let the states down and possibly caused them to fail to reduce vehicle emissions”.awyers weigh in on VW diesel scandal

Lancer and Evolution models are now being recalled as a precautionary measure by Mitsubishi because of Takata airbag shrapnel risk.

LW Ford Focus owners are being advised not to accelerate aggressively from take-off due to a potential driveshaft fault.

LF Hyundai Sonata sedans are being recalled due to a possible stability control-related brake failure.

The current Mercedes-Benz E-Class and CLS-Class models are being recalled due to the possibility of an engine bay seal becoming damaged and coming into contact with hot engine bay components. The affected seal is located in the secondary bulkhead in the engine compartment, and could result in fire if it becomes loose.The recall affects just seven vehicles, which were sold in Australia between the start of April and May 2015.Mercedes-Benz will contact the owners of affected vehicles by mail, and the fault will be rectified free of charge.Related: What are car safety recalls all about? 

Hyundai recalls HD Elantra models due to risk of losing steering assistance. The Hyundai i30and Elantra are being recalled due to a potential electric power steering fault that could increase the steering effort required to control the car, which could be hazardous.If the problem occurs, Hyundai advises that an electronic power steering (EPS) light will illuminate on the vehicle’s dashboard.The vehicles affected were sold in Australia between the start of November 2009 and the end of April 2010.More specifically, the recall affects Elantras with VINs (Vehicle Identification Number) ranging between KMHDU41DAAU929998 and KMHDT41B9BU084665. The i30 VINs affected range between KMHDC81TMAU064300 and KMHDC51TMAU267226.Hyundai will contact owners of affected vehicles by mail. Vehicles will need to be returned to an authorised Hyundai dealership to have their steering inspected for either motor replacement, or a software upgrade.

Fiat Chrysler Australia says my 2013 Grand Cherokee Jeep has yet another recall for a brake relay. My closest dealer told me, "Sorry, no stock, we only had 15 delivered" and to try another dealer as the wait for stock could be a month or more. The next dealer gave me the same news. How many Jeeps have been sold? Does FCA not realise there are so many potential faulty cars out there?

Shine Lawyers have been contacted by five people who have reported airbags exploding with "excessive force" in a crash, leaving them with facial scars and bruising.Some spent weeks in hospital and others have been unable to return to work. Along with these claims, serious concerns have emerged about the effectiveness of Australia's recall process.The number of suspect cars rose to 168,000 last year, then 400,000 last month and now 850,000Toyota has only managed to examine and, where needed fix, just 29 per cent of 1700 Corollas and Avensis Versos red-flagged in April, 2013, when the number of cars considered at risk was 12,000 and there was no parts shortage.The number of suspect cars rose to 168,000 last year, then 400,000 last month and now 850,000 across major brands.Around the world, 54 million vehicles are affected and the airbag maker, Takata, can no longer produce replacements quickly enough.By Christmas, Toyota hopes to have one-third of the stock needed for recently recalled Yaris models.And the Takata airbag recall is not alone in failing to gain traction. Samsung triggered an official alert on 145,000 potentially deadly washing machines in 2013 but is yet to see more than 80,000 of them.Manufacturers should be treating this as a consumer safety emergencyA Toyota spokeswoman blamed customers for the response to the 2013 recall. It and other manufacturers sent letters to addresses believed to link to at-risk vehicles. "We are relying on customers to book in their cars (for checks)," she said.Car makers needed to do more to get customers into safer vehicles, either by forcing Takata to work faster or by providing loan cars, said Shine partner Rebecca Jancauskas and Senator Nick Xenophon, who has a record of campaigning for greater product safety and owns a recalled 2006 Toyota Yaris."Manufacturers should be treating this as a consumer safety emergency," Senator Xenophon said."Would car company executives want their family members to be driving in cars when there is a real chance of injury or death? That's the pub test."Shine's Ms Jancauskas said questions need to be asked about the testing of products before they hit the Australian market. Relying on information from car makers, the Department of Infrastructure, which includes transport, said there has been no report of injury due to defective airbags.A class action would likely target Takata and car makers.

Cars equipped with futuristic technology that can save lives by braking automatically are being recalled in Australia and overseas because their latest safety systems are on the blink.Japanese car makers Subaru and Honda have issued two separate recalls involving technology that is designed to prevent rear-end crashes and/or avoid hitting pedestrians.Subaru is recalling more than 5000 of its latest Outback wagon and Liberty sedan models equipped with its “Eyesight” system that uses two cameras behind the windscreen to scan the road ahead.A sign of just how complex modern cars have become, Subaru has discovered a seemingly unrelated brake light fault can disable the vehicle’s automatic emergency braking system.A statement from Subaru said: “The (Eyesight) system may not operate as intended in an emergency braking situation (where the driver has failed to apply the brake), or may fail to properly engage the brakes when the vehicle has been placed in (automatic cruise control) mode. This is due to a software programming issue.”Subaru says the fault “does not affect the performance of the brakes when engaged by the driver” and no incidents have been reported in Australia or overseas.See full details on the Subaru recall here.  Meanwhile Honda Australia is recalling more than 2000 examples of its latest Accord sedan and CR-V that are equipped with similar automatic emergency braking technology.Rather alarmingly, in the case of the Honda fault, the automatic braking system can be activated when it is not supposed to.“In certain driving conditions, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) may unexpectedly activate while operating the vehicle,” the Honda recall statement says.“In rare cases, the system may interpret certain roadside objects, such as metal fences or guardrails, as obstacles and apply emergency braking.”See full details on the Honda recall here and here.The faults come as the car industry is debating how much technology should be introduced in modern cars, and how much control should be taken away from the driver.Car giants Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and technology companies Apple and Google, are all experimenting with driverless cars that rely on cameras, radars and other sensors to navigate their way through traffic with limited or no input from the driver.But the latest recalls show that the technology still has a long way to go before it becomes failsafe.

The number of vehicles caught up in the world's biggest recall over potentially deadly airbags has ballooned to more than 660,000 in Australia, after more cars were added to the list overnight.Despite the increase in numbers, car safety experts have warned motorists of affected vehicles not to disable the airbags in their cars, even if they are worried they may explode shrapnel when deployed in a crash -- because it may make the cars less safe and unroadworthy.Honda is recalling 18,210 Accords made from 2001 to 2006 and added 3030 MDX family SUVs made from 2003 to 2006 to the list of more than 20 popular makes and models.Meanwhile Chrysler has also increased the number of 300C sedans to be recalled locally, from 4500 to 5500.The executive director of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, Geoff Gwilym, told News Corp Australia motorists should not "attempt to disable, deactivate or remove airbags".Mr Gwilym said disabling an airbag is "more likely to contribute to the damage caused by an accident, in the same way that you are at greater risk if you do not wear a seatbelt"."Airbags should never be tampered with by motorists or unqualified people," said Mr Gwilym.Follow the advice of their relevant car company and return the vehicle to the dealer when the replacement part becomes available"Airbags are not a discretionary item of equipment and cannot be simply turned off and on again. The mechanism is technically sophisticated and forms an important part of the vehicle's engineering."If the airbags in a car were deliberately tampered with, the car would be deemed unroadworthy, he said, and any mechanic who carried out the work could be liable."In addition to the legal implications, a professional vehicle technician will not deactivate airbags as they are aware of the risks to the vehicle occupants," said Mr Gwilym."While the recent global airbag recall is a concern, we advise affected vehicle owners to follow the advice of their relevant car company and return the vehicle to the dealer when the replacement part becomes available."The VACC also warned that buyers considering the purchase of a used car should check to see if it subject to a vehicle recall notice by visiting recalls.gov.au.The majority of motorists have no option other to wait up to a year before the airbags are replaced — because the supplier at the centre of the crisis can't build them fast enough.It became the biggest recall in the world after Japanese manufacturer Takata — which supplies 20 per cent of the car industry's airbags — admitted in a US hearing this week the problem was more widespread than it had claimed for years.The faulty airbags, which can explode shrapnel if deployed in a crash, have so far claimed six lives overseas. No deaths or injuries have been reported in Australia.Authorities in the US and Australia have not ordered the recalled cars off the roadLegal experts say motorists have little choice but to endure the painstaking wait for the replacements, and they can't sue the car companies unless someone dies or is seriously injured from the defective airbags.The crisis has left drivers with the unenviable task of taking the risk and driving their cars or — if they can afford it — park their recalled car until new airbags become available.So far, authorities in the US and Australia have not ordered the recalled cars off the road.The odds of being killed are difficult to calculate. Not all of the airbags in the 53 million cars are defective.But internal testing by Takata over the past six months found 265 of 30,000 recalled airbags had ruptured — or less than 1 per cent.That may sound like good odds, until you realise it still leaves 530,000 cars around the world — and at least 6000 in Australia — with airbags that can kill.Chrysler 300C sedan 2005 to 2007BMW 3 Series 1997 to 2006Honda Jazz 2004 to 2009Honda Accord 2001 to 2006Honda Accord Euro 2004 to 2007Honda CR-V 2002 to 2008Honda Civic 2004 to 2005Honda MDX 2003 to 2006Lexus SC430 2001 to 2003Mercedes-Benz SL and SLK 2014Nissan N16 Pulsar 2000 to 2006Nissan D22 Navara 1997 to 2004Nissan Y61 Patrol 1997 to 2010Nissan T30 X-TRAIL 2001 to 2007Nissan A33 Maxima 1999 to 2003Subaru Impreza 2004 to 2007Toyota Echo 2003 to 2005Toyota RAV4 2003 to 2005Toyota Corolla 2003 to 2007Toyota Yaris 2005 to 2007Toyota Avensis 2003 to 2007