Hasta La Gadget!

Honda has ended up recalling 250,000 vehicles because a brake defect that would randomly and automatically apply pressure to the brakes for a split second when the driver began to apply the brakes. Honda said that the brake force applied would sometimes “exceed the driver’s intended input.”

Honda has received several complaints about the issue, but says that no accidents or injuries have been reported. Still though, Honda says that the malfunction could cause an accident or serious injury. One Honda owner even went as far as to start a petition with the NHTSA after she sent in a complaint to Honda with no recall to come of it.

After the organization reviewed the petition, Honda ended up announcing the recall. In the US, the recall affects 101,000 Honda Pilot vehicles, 60,000 Acura MDX vehicles, and 21,000 Acura RL vehicles from the 2005 model year, along with 800 Acura MDX vehicles from the 2006 model year. on a global scale, the recall could affect even more of these vehicles.

Specifically, the recall deals with the Vehicle Stability Assist, which is what Honda calls its electronic stability control system. Honda says that the malfunction is caused by an electrical capacitor being damaged during the manufacturing process, as well as an electrical ground bolt that may have not been tightened enough during assembly.

[via NY Times]

Honda recalls 250,000 vehicles over brake issue is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ford has recalled approximately 196,500 2004 through 2007 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans because of an issue with corrosion that could result in a safety problem with the third-row seats. Those vehicles account for the recalls in the United States, with another 33,500 or so vans being recalled elsewhere globally, although primarily in Canada.

Specifically, the issue deals with the third-row seats experiencing corrosion in such a way that they cannot be folded down properly and locked in place. Ford told the NHTSA that it doesn’t feel the corrosion issue poses an “unreasonable” risk, but it has proceeded forward with the recall in order to avoid problems with the administration.

The recalls taking place in the United States are limited to Washington D.C. and 20 states: West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Michigan, Massachusetts, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Vermont, and Rhode Island. This includes vehicles that were registered in these states.

According to Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker, owners of one of the affected models outside of the states where the recalls are happening should contact their local Ford dealer if they feel there’s a corrosion issue with their vehicle. Those in the areas where the recalls are taking place will have the mounting bracket moved and the area susceptible to corrosion both fixed and reinforced.

[via New York Times]

Ford recalls 196,500 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans due to corrosion issue is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BMW has recalled almost 570,000 cars due to an issue with one of the battery cable connectors, which is prone to failure and could result in a perma-stalled vehicle. The failure results from gradual degradation, which is why the earliest vehicle models being recalled go back to 2007. You can check out which models and years are included on the list after the jump.

Also affected by the problem is one terminal in the fuse box, which can also degrade and fail. When this happens, the connection between the battery located in the car’s trunk will no longer be connected to the fuse box, causing the engine to suddenly stall. According to the manufacturer, the problem has resulted in one small crash in Canada, but no one was hurt.

The 3-Series, 1-Series, and the Z4 have been recalled. In the 3-Series, coupes, wagons, and convertibles from 2007 to 2011 are affected, while the 1-Series cars span 2008 to 2012. The sleek Z4 sportscar, meanwhile, has affected years from 2009 to 2011. The United States is home to most of the affected vehicles at 504,000, while Canada has the rest at 65,000.

Drivers who have one of the affected models will receive a notification from BMW starting next month. When notified, the driver can take their vehicle to the nearest dealer, where the battery cable connector will be replaced for free. Those who have questions about the issue can contact BMW at 800-525-7417.

[via USA Today]

BMW recalls over half a million cars over battery cable connector is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sure, we may have internet in the skies and refrigerators with Evernote integration, but here’s one thing that science can’t do: deliver a trouble-free heated jacket. A few years after Ardica hung up the dream due to a battery recall, Columbia is doing likewise. The sportswear company has issued a recall for seven Omni-Heat electric jacket models, citing a manufacturing defect in the heated inner wrist cuff. There have been two non-injury incidents reported (Canada, UK), but no injuries. According to the company’s own statement on the matter, a “small number of the 2012 Columbia heated jackets may contain a heated inner wrist cuff component with a manufacturing flaw that may cause an electrical short to occur, giving rise to a potential burn risk.” This is all in addition to a separate recall in early January specific to a small number of batteries, (part number 054978-001) that — according to Columbia — “may have been included with a small number of electric jackets may overheat and result in a fire hazard.”

If you’ll recall, the Circuit Breaker was actually one of our favorite gadgets of 2011, but curiously, we never could pinpoint when and where these were set to go on sale. We were independently contacted by a company that claimed Columbia was using its technology in breach of contract, but never could verify if that was the reason sales seemed to be on hiatus. [Update: Columbia affirmed to us that said claims are “unfounded” and “had no impact the delivery of its Fall 2011 Omni-Heat Electric products.”] Evidently, a few hundred of these finally made their way into the warm embrace of consumers, but considering that “Refund” looks to be the only remedy here, we sort of doubt a second generation will emerge. It’s important to note, however, that Columbia’s non-electric Omni-Heat offerings aren’t included in the recall — and, for the record, that stuff does a stellar job of keeping one warm without any whiz-bang circuitry. Hit up the links below if you’re thinking of sending yours back.

Filed under: Wearables

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Via: @itsmescotty (Twitter)

Source: CPSC, Columbia

Another day, another round of recalls it seems. Yesterday we heard that Subaru was recalling more than 600,000 vehicles due to a potential problem with accessory lights short circuiting and catching fire, but today it’s GM‘s turn. The company is recalling right around 69,000 trucks, vans, and SUVs due to a steering column defect that could potentially allow the cars to roll away after being put in park.

That is obviously no good, and specifically, the problem centers around faulty park lock cables and warped steering column lock actuator gears. If your car is affected by the issue, it means you could potentially shift your car from park without the key in the ignition or without pressing the brake pedal while the key is in the off position. This in turn could lead to a very bad day, and to make matters worse, this problem seems to affect a number of different models.

The 2013 Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT are the cars from Cadillac that could potentially be affected by this flaw. For Chevrolet, we’re looking at the 2013 Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe. Finally, GMC cars affected by this defect include the Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL. A total of 55,000 of these vehicles are currently in the US, while 6,310 are in Canada, 670 are in Mexico, and the remaining 7,084 are exports.

Despite this potentially dangerous flaw, there is some good news in that GM hasn’t had any reports of injuries or crashes. The company also says that only 1 in 1,000 of the recalled cars are believed to be affected by this issue, and that most of them are still on dealer lots or on the way to dealers. Affected cars that are still with dealers will be fixed before being sold off, while GM will be sending out letters to owners starting January 22. GM will replace the flawed steering columns at no cost to the owners.

[via Reuters]

Steering column issues force GM to recall nearly 70k trucks, SUVs, and vans is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.