Recalls have become a way of life. One reporter has noted that because they are happening so frequently consumers are ignoring them. Not smart. Don’t ignore a recall notice if your vehicle or child seat is on this list. If you have purchased your vehicle used, it is particularly critical since you will not receive any notification from the manufacturer. Don’t assume that, if you purchase a vehicle used from a dealer, the recall repair has been done. Dealers are not required to report recalls to the manufacturer. It is up to you and could save someone’s life — maybe your own.
Recalls since June 30
Graco infant and toddler car seats
Graco has issued a recall for certain seats that have harness buckles that are difficult to open, particularly after they become sticky (and which buckles don’t). There is a list of seats at graco.com, but the company is very astute this time. If you have a Graco child seat — infant, toddler, convertible or harnessed booster — and want to update your seat with the improved harness buckle — contact Graco and they will send you their current design buckle.
Remember: a buckle that suffers from this condition will impede your chances of removing your child from the vehicle in an emergency.
In the meantime, there are also cleaning directions on the Graco site to make your current buckle easy to use.
General Motors
The parade of recalls continues for the all-time recall champion. Here is the list released this week.
Unintended ignition key rotation:
Insulation on the engine block heater power cord (if equipped) may become damaged during very cold conditions
Improperly torqued “superhold” joint fastener
Overload in the feed of vehicles equipped with auxiliary battery may cause underhood fusible link to melt due to electrical overloading, resulting in damage to electrical center cover and/or nearby wiring harness conduit
Possible electrical short in the driver’s door module could disable power door lock and window switches and, in rare cases, overhead the module
Not a recall, but in a new service bulletin, GM is extending the warranty on the following V-8 powered vehicles that have a condition causing the engine to run rough, exhibit reduced engine power and/or cause check engine light to illuminate. New warranty period is 10 years/120,000 miles. Previous repairs will be reimbursed. To determine if your vehicle is covered by this, refer to customer satisfaction campaign number 11273B.
Ford
2014 F-150 pickup trucks are being recalled for a potential issue with the electronic power assist steering gears. Most of these have not been delivered to customers. Dealers have been told to stop delivering any affected vehicles and to stop using them for test drives until the steering gear on potentially affected units have been replaced. This is serious enough that owners have been told to not their vehicles and to contact dealers immediately.
Chrysler
An addition to a previous recall from 2010 that expands from 196,000 to 695,957 the number of Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Journey vehicles manufactured from January 2007 through June 2010 This is similar to the problem with GM’s ignition switch displacement. At no cost to customers, Chrysler Group dealers will install a new WIN module detent ring to fix the problem.
Nissan
Front passenger airbag may not deploy
Spare tires may have been significantly under or over inflated
Fire risk
Faulty Takata airbag
Defect that could cause vehicle to roll away unexpectedly
Possible failure of inverter
Possible airbag failure
Battery terminal fuse may blow causing vehicle to stall
I would suggest going to the nissan.com website to check for any other recalls since the company has issued a full recap that could be helpful to you.