Automotive Articles

Bloomfield Hills, MI: General Motors is under fire in a national class-action suit for allegedly failing to honor its so-called bumper-to-bumper warranty and replace defective spindle rods. A class-action suit filed against GM says defective spindle rods caused customers to replace the tires on the vehicles, and rendered potentially hundreds of thousands of 2007 and 2008 Chevy Impalas unsafe to drive.

Detroit, MI: Various complaints have dogged Chrysler with regard to steering problems inherent with some of their trucks. This week, the manufacturer made it official and pulled the trigger on a voluntary recall of nearly quarter million Ram pickups over the potential for "loss of directional stability," according to Chrysler.

Torrence, CA: Toyota has agreed to pay federal officials $32.4 million in fines resulting from investigations into the handling of several massive recalls the Japanese automaker instigated in 2009 and 2010. According to a report on CNN.com the two fines - $16.375 million and $16.05 million – are the most severe allowed by law. These fines are in addition to the $16.375 Toyota has already paid for failure to notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration within five days of learning of the 'sticky pedal' effect. The so-called effect resulted in some Toyota vehicles accelerating without the ability to stop.

Tokyo, Japan: And now, it is Nissan. The automaker announced today that it is recalling more than 2.1 million vehicles worldwide over engine problems that could cause an engine to stall, with the possibility that it could not be re-started in extreme cases.

Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp. has announced yet another recall. This time 740,000 vehicles in the US (1.53 million globally) are being recalled to fix a brake-related problem that may cause fluid leaks. The models recalled include the 2005-2006 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2006 Toyota Highlander (non-hybrid models), 2004-2006 Lexus GS300, 2004-200 IS250, 2004-2006 IS350.

Detroit, MI: Chrysler is recalling approximately 600,000 vehicles because of brake or wiring problems that could cause safety issues. The recall, which affects minivans and Jeep Wranglers, was announced on June 6, 2010.

Philadelphia, PA: A TV news item in Philadelphia recently featured a family of six standing beside their defective Ford Windstar minivan up on the hoist in a local garage. A mechanic was inspecting the vehicle because its rear axle had cracked into two, exposing rust corroded interior axel tube.

Westchester, NY: Cash-strapped state and local governments are feasting on drivers who put traffic fines low on their to-do lists. "The great thing about a traffic ticket from the government's point of view is that traffic tickets are a great source of revenue," says traffic law attorney Casey Raskob. "And they basically add whatever fees they want."

San Diego, CA: An allegedly defective automobile that killed four people—including a highly trained police officer—is still under investigation. And while the San Diego crash triggered the largest auto defect recall in Toyota's history, there is much more to this automobile defect story than improperly installed floor mats.

Detroit, MN: The one-time Japanese upstart that emerged to become the biggest supplier of vehicles to North America and set the standard of quality for everyone else to follow has just announced a massive recall that is easily the biggest in its history. Yesterday, Toyota announced the recall of 3.8 million vehicles due to a defective design .