Recalls

The recall is for a defect that means the engine wiring harness has been incorrectly positioned, and can run against parts of the engine – which in the worst cases can cause the vehicle to stall and not restart.Subaru says if the vehicle stalls, it will still have steering and braking ability until it comes to a stop, but can pose a hazard to the occupants and other traffic. The defect can also lead to rough idling of the vehicle and malfunction of the indicators.The recall affects certain Impreza, XV and Forester vehicles built between 20 January and 9 April 2012. Subaru Australia spokesman Dave Rowley says there have been incidents caused by the defect in Australian vehicles.“We’ve had three reports of incidents locally, but none have resulted in accidents,” he says. He says the Australian recall is part of a global recall affecting all right-hand drive markets, including New Zealand, the UK, most of Asia and several countries in the Caribbean and African regions.The wiring harness recall follows Subaru recalling 200,000 vehicles overseas for a brake defect. Subaru is sending a letter to owners of the affected vehicles, who can also contact their local dealer to arrange for an inspection and rectification if required.For further information, owners should call Subaru Customer Relations on 1800 22 66 43. 

Toyota is recalling the 6000 FJ Cruisers in Australia as part of a global recall of about 310,000 of the SUVs from the 2007 through 2013 model years because of a problem involving seat belt retractors.The seat belts for the driver and front passenger are mounted on the rear doors of the FJ Cruiser. Because of the insufficient strength of the rear door panel, cracks could develop over “an extended period of time,” especially if the rear doors are “repeatedly and forcefully” closed.The recall notice says cracks may develop in the lower inner panel of the rear car doors (around the B-pillar) where the front seat belt retractor is anchored. If the cracks occur in the panel, the seat belt retractor could become detached in a collision. Toyota said it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries due to the problem.  Owners will be notified by mail to take their vehicles to Toyota dealers for a free repair. 

Australia’s best-selling imported car brand is recalling a new model due to a potential fire hazard under the passenger seat.

Toyota is recalling about 310,000 of its FJ Cruiser SUVs from the 2007 through 2013 model years because of a problem involving seat belt retractors. The recall could affect close to 5300 Toyota FJ Cruisers sold in Australia since it launched here in 2011.Toyota's US website says the seat belts for the driver and front passenger are mounted on the rear doors of the FJ Cruiser. Because of the insufficient strength of the rear door panel, cracks could develop over “an extended period of time,” especially if the rear doors are “repeatedly and forcefully” closed.In the event that cracks appear around the FJ Cruiser's lower seat belt retractor anchor, the retractor could loosen and detach. Toyota said it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries due to the problem.Owners will be notified by mail “soon” and instructed to bring their vehicles to Toyota dealers for a free repair.In the meantime, owners can find more information online at www.toyota.com/recall.www.thecarconnection.com 

Volkswagen has recalled more than 384,000 cars in China after consumer complaints about transmission failures. The recall is estimated by Chinese authorities to cost the company about $600 million. China is Volkswagen’s biggest market and the site for joint venture factories making models including the Golf and Audi A3.The recall involves Volkswagen Group’s DSG (direct-shift gearbox) and alleged incidences of unintentional slowing or power loss. China has been vocal about the DSG transmission since 2009.  In that year, Volkswagen lifted the warranty on the gearboxes to 10 years or 160,000km. It is believed China is the only market with these problems with the automatic gearbox.In Australia, Volkswagen spokesman Karl Gehling would only says that he is awaiting further details of the recall in China. Though Mr Gehling did not give further information, the affected DSG transmissions are believed to be assembled in China and are not similar to the units supplied for Volkswagen cars in Australia.The Chinese recall comes less than a week after China’s state-run television station, CCTV, broadcast a story about unhappy Volkswagen owners. The Chinese ministry responsible for consumer affairs then took the matter direct to Volkswagen.Volkswagen issued an email yesterday saying it is recalling DSG seven-speed gearboxes and will replace defective parts and upgrade software. China’s move immediately prompted global opinion on the DSG transmission. This includes the formation of a website and twitter site devoted to airing owners' problems. Annoyed Chinese Volkswagen owners with DSG-equipped cars also believe that the company is fitting sub-standard gearboxes to the China-market products while the rest of the world get higher-quality transmissions. Chines website gasgoo.com stated this week that respondents to a questionairre about the DSG problems “believe that the relatively poor protection rights afforded Chinese consumers give VW the power to act in this fashion, something it would not do in its home country of Germany.’’ The DSG transmission is sometimes known as a dual-clutch transmission and is fitted in different versions to most Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Porsche models.     

The recall is to replace a faulty brake light switch across eight models -- representing most of its range -- after News Limited exclusively unearthed the fault late last year.But the company has stopped short of calling it a safety recall because, inexplicably, the federal Department of Transport advised the ACCC it is “not a safety issue”. The faulty brake light switch exposed in Australia is also likely to spark a global recall of more than 1 million Hyundai cars.Hyundai has known about the problem since November 2011 when it surfaced in Australia. The company had discreetly begun fitting replacement parts as customers came in with the problem.Despite knowing about the fault for 15 months Hyundai has only just now started what the industry refers to as a “service campaign” -- and only after News Limited exposed the issue by sourcing a confidential dealer bulletin late last year. Dealers were finally notified of the service campaign late today and owners of the affected cars will be notified tomorrow.“The government looked at the data and determined no further action was required,” said Hyundai Australia spokesman Bill Thomas. “The brakes still work and the brake lights still work. But in a very small percentage of cases there was a delay in full illumination of up to two seconds.”Hyundai said that “in the vast majority of cases” if the brake light switch fails it prevents the vehicle from getting out of park or starting. In some cases the cruise control would not work.The switch attached to the pedal wasn’t “talking” to the car’s computer properly. “The computer didn’t know the brakes had been applied,” Thomas said. This confused many of the car’s systems and a warning light would glow, prompting customers to take the car to a dealership.Hyundai would not say how many cars are affected globally, but a figure of more than 1 million is a conservative estimate given that Australia accounts for about two per cent of Hyundai’s global sales. “ is looking at it on a market-by-market basis,” Thomas said.Hyundai cars affected by faulty brake light switch(all of these models will be called back to dealerships)Hyundai Getz (August 2002 to August 2011)Hyundai i30 (September 2007 to May 2012)Hyundai Santa Fe (May 2006 to August 2012)Hyundai Tucson (June 2004 to February 2010)Hyundai ix35 (March 2010 to today)Hyundi Elantra (October 2006 to June 2011)Hyundai iLoad and iMax (February 2008 to today) 

Following a recall two days ago for a brake defect, BMW has issued another that affects more than 500,000 vehicles worldwide and 17,500 in AustraliaThe German carmaker has issued a wide-ranging recall on more than 500,000 vehicles across several of its model lines – including about 17,500 cars in Australia -- ranging from the 1-Series to the Z4 sports car.  The cause of the problem is a faulty battery cable connector, which may fail over time. The recall follows one from two days ago for a faulty brake hose that affected 1600 of BMW’s X5 SUVs in Australia.BMW says the latest recall is for the connector for the positive battery cable connector and the corresponding terminal on the fuse box, which on the affected vehicles may degrade over time due to high current flow and heat from electrical resistance. Should this occur, there could be a loss of electrical power to the vehicle, causing it to stall and possibly crash.“Vibrations in the car can cause poor connection and electrical issues as a result,” BMW spokesman Scott Croaker says. “In the main, those problems would be flickering lights or the vehicle failing to restart after it’s stopped. But in absolute extreme cases, it could lead to the car stalling while driving.”Croaker says there has been one field report of the problem in an Australian vehicle, and another in Canada. “Give the nature of it, it’s an important thing to take very seriously – we can’t rule out that these are isolated cases so we’ve taken this action. We’re not trying to sweep anything under the rug we take the responsibility very seriously.”The recall affects:2007-2012 BMW 1-Series Coupes and 1-Series Convertibles built from December 2007 through July 2011.2007-2011 BMW 3-Series sedans built from March 2007 through October 2011.2007-2011 3-Series Sports Wagons built from March 2007 through June 2011.2007-2011 BMW 3-Series Coupes and 3-Series Convertibles built from March 2007 through July 2011.2009-2011 Z4 roadsters built from March 2009 through June 2011.BMW is in the process of notifying owners of the affected vehicles. They will be requested to take their cars to their nearest BMW dealership, which will replace the positive battery cable connector and secure it with an improved method, free of charge. 

The recall, affecting about 1600 vehicles in Australia built from January 1 2007 to March 5 2010, is part of a global defect notice on 35,000 X5s in the US and Canada.BMW says a vacuum hose leading to the brake booster has the potential to bleed oil into it, damaging an internal rubber membrane and leading to the loss of power braking assistance.If that happens, the car can only be effectively braked if the driver pushes the pedal extremely hard – and with some drivers unable to exert enough pressure there is the risk of the vehicle not stopping soon enough or in a short enough distance to avoid collision.“The immediate fix is to replace the hose with a modified that eliminates the problem,” BMW spokesman Scott Croaker says. “However if oil has got into the booster, we will replace the whole booster.”The problem was discovered when overseas warranty claims increased, and Croaker says there have been no brake failure incidents reported in Australia.Owners of affected vehicles should contact their nearest BMW service centre, or call the BMW Australia Customer Service on 1800 813 299. 

I own a late model VW Jetta with the DSG gearbox and have experienced a couple of times when I have been waiting to turn right, and waited for a break in the traffic put my foot down only to find the car couldn't decide whether it was in first gear or neutral and started limping across the road with traffic bearing down on me on a major highway. I informed VW of the issue when filling out one of their surveys but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears. The result of this is that I can never feel confident that the car is going to do what it is supposed to do when taking off from a dead stop. Is this one of the troubles you were referring to?

Faulty airbags which could deploy at any time have compelled Chrysler to recall of at least 7000 Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee off-roaders in Australia.The potential computer malfunction can force “the front airbags, side curtain airbags, and/or seatbelt pre-tensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated,'' the recall notice said. While the faulty airbags could potentially cause an accident, no injuries have been reported in more than 200 cases worldwide where airbags inadvertently released – including one in Australia.The safety warning involves around 7000 Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee vehicles sold in Australia between 2002 and 2004. Chrysler Group Australia is writing to affected owners but conceded said limited availability of parts in Australia will delay repairs until March for the Cherokee and August for the Grand Cherokee."Obviously we'll expedite the supply of parts as much as we can,” said spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher. The Australian recall notice is part of a global recall of over 900,000 of the two SUVs.Ms Fletcher said the company was tracking down owners of the vehicles. "They're still trying to verify the exact number of vehicles involved here, we're working through the information now but it is around 7000 vehicles,'' she said."I believe there has been one incident where the airbag has gone off by itself in Australia but there were no repercussions from that,'' she said. Reports from the US suggest that there have been 215 cases of the fault but no accidents have been reported as a result of an airbag going off prematurely.Customers with any queries are asked to contact a Jeep dealer or call the Jeep Customer Service centre on 1300 133 079.