Recall Mondays: Ford, GM And Toyota Are In The Hot Seat With 1.8 Million Affected Vehicles

1. NO. OF UNITS AFFECTED: 46,873

MANUFACTURER: General Motors LLC

SUMMARY:

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to December 6, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the driver may accidentally hit the ignition key with their knee, unintentionally knocking the key out of the run position, turning off the engine.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position could cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

REMEDY:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the key blade from the original flip key/RKE transmitter assemblies, and cut and fit a revised key blade and housing assembly, in which the blade has been indexed by 90 degrees, to the original RKE transmitter assembly. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737 . GM's number for this recall is 14445. Note: Until the recall has been performed, it is very important that drivers adjust their seat and steering column to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key.






2. NO. OF UNITS AFFECTED: 290,241

MANUFACTURER: General Motors LLC

     

SUMMARY:

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX vehicles manufactured April 14, 2009, to September 1, 2014, and 2011-2012 Saab 9-4X vehicles manufactured February 1, 2011, to September 13, 2011. On the affected vehicles, the jam nut in the rear suspension toe adjuster link may not be torqued to the proper specification. A loose toe adjuster link can cause the vehicle to sway or wander at highway speeds. A loose toe adjuster link may lead to thread damage and eventual failure. Failure of the toe adjuster link will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment.

CONSEQUENCE:

Failure of the toe adjuster link could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

REMEDY:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the torque of the left and right rear toe link adjuster lock nuts, and replace the parts if there is evidence of damage or a loose link, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in early November 2014 and remedy parts, if needed, are expected to be available around the middle of November 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007. GM's number for this recall is 14457.




3. No Of Units Affected: 89,284

MANUFACTURER: General Motors LLC

SUMMARY:

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles manufactured January 17, 2012, to July 29, 2014. The secondary hood latch may prematurely corrode at the latch pivot causing the striker to get stuck out of position, preventing it from properly engaging the hood latch.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the secondary hood latch corrodes causing the latch to be stuck out of position, and the primary hood latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

REMEDY:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the striker and latch with a new part with superior corrosion protection, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14456.




4. NO. OF UNITS AFFECTED: 746,842

MANUFACTURER: Ford Motor Company

SUMMARY:

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured January 19, 2012, to November 21, 2013; Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to August 24, 2013; Ford Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to November 1, 2013; and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, to September 30, 2013. The coating on portions of the Restraint Control Module (RCM) may crack, and when exposed to humidity, circuits on the printed circuit board may short.

CONSEQUENCE:

The short circuits could cause the frontal air bags, side curtain air bags and the seat belt pretensioners to not function as intended when needed, increasing the risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash.

REMEDY:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners will be sent an interim notification in mid-November 2014. A second notification will be sent when the remedy parts are available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S21.




No. Of Units Affected: 690,000

Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

SUMMARY:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner and 4x4 vehicles manufactured September 14, 2009, to October 11, 2010. In the affected vehicles, one of the leaf springs may fracture due to stress or corrosion. While being driven, the broken leaf could move out of position and contact surrounding components including the fuel tank, possibly puncturing the tank and causing a fuel leak.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the fuel tank leaks fuel from being punctured, there is an increased risk of a fire.

REMEDY:

The remedy for this recall is still under development. The recall is expected to begin November 28, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.