Ford recalls 212,911 Ford Explorer SUV’s and Ford Police Interceptor utility Vehicles

 Ford Motor Company is recalling model years 2011 to 2013 Explorer SUV’s and Police Interceptor’s for side door spring failure, the spring controls the interior door handle. The spring could come loose and in a side impact crash the door may become unlatched increasing the risk of injury. So far there have not been any reports of accidents or injuries related to this issue.

Teen Driver Feature on 2016 Redesigned Chevrolet Malibu

General Motors is offering Teen Driver feature on its redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The Teen Driver feature is basically a report card for parents to see how their teen drivers are doing behind the wheel. When activated the Teen Driver will keep the radio muted until the front seat belts are fastened.

Some of the features parents can pre-set on the Malibu:

·         Maximum radio volume level

·         Set a maximum speed between 40 and 75mph

  Teen Driver also tracks:

·         Over speed warnings used

·         Stability

·         Maximum speed traveled

·         Distance driven

·         Antilock brake events

According to a General Motors safety engineer Mary Ann Beebe, GM developed this system to be used as a teaching tool for parents of teen drivers.

Unfortunately the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S. are motor vehicle crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety the fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16 to 19 year old's in the U.S. is nearly 3 times the rate for drivers over the age of 20.

The Teen Driver feature can be enabled by creating a personal ID (PIN) number in the settings menu of the MyLink system. The PIN number allows parents or adults to register their teen’s key fob the systems settings and are only activated for registered key fobs

.

The redesigned 2016 Malibu has optional safety features available that automatically turns on and cannot be turned off manually when the system is activated:

·         Side blind zone alert

·         Stability control

·         Rear cross traffic alert

·         Front and rear park assist

·         Forward collision alert

·         Front pedestrian braking

·         Traction control

Teen Driver system will be standard on the Malibu Premier and offered as an option on LT models if they are equipped with the Convenience Package and up-level radio.

This is not a subscription based service and will remain with the vehicle permanently. There are plans in the works for Chevrolet to offer the Teen Driver system other models.

Honda Recalling Additional Vehicles for Faulty Takata Airbags

According to the National Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA) Honda is recalling an additional 104,871 vehicles equipped with the faulty Takata airbags that can fail during deployment spraying the interior of the vehicle with shards of metal hitting passengers. On March 16, 2015 Honda began an advertising campaign in the US advising Honda owners to replace the potentially lethal airbags immediately. Included in this latest recall are the 2008 Honda Pilot SUV, 2001 Honda Accord and Civic Sedans.

Jaguar unveils the redesigned 2016 Jaguar XF

The New York International Auto Show opens next month with Jaguar unveiling the redesigned second generation XF sports sedan. In 2008 the first generation XF went on sale in the United States to compete with the BMW 5 series sedan and the Mercedes-Benz E class. The 2016 second generation XF will be built on an aluminum-intensive unibody. Jaguar is currently at the forefront of aluminum technology in the automotive industry. The lightweight construction is a core element of the Jaguar design 75% cars structure is made of lightweight aluminum. The 2016 Jaguar goes on sale fall 2015.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Did you know that in 2006 the most passenger vehicles/most vehicles worldwide were produced by Japan?

64,000 Volts recalled for carbon monoxide risk

Approximately 64,000 Chevrolet Volts are being recalled by General Motors for a software update limiting the time the car can be left idling to prevent carbon monoxide buildup if the driver fails to turn off the car. GM stated “If the gas engine runs for a long period of time within an enclosed space, such as a garage, carbon monoxide could build up”. GM is aware of at least two injuries resulting from carbon monoxide exposure.

The Volts does have a warning sound that alerts the driver when exiting the car that the engine is still running. The new software upgrade will reduce the time that an idle Volt can be in the on position. The recall is for model years 2011-2013.

After close to a decade GM will no longer offer the 100,000-mile Powertrain warranty

2016 Chevrolet and GMC vehicles will no long have the 100,000 mile coverage powertrain warranty. General Motors plans to cut the miles down to 60,000 claiming the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty just wasn’t a strong enough selling point.

 Answer to yesterdays repair stumper

The old spark plugs were extremely worn causing high resistance which effects engine timing. (The coil drivers inside the PCM are designed to work at a specific resistance.) After installing the new spark plugs this resistance was changed affecting the idle speed, the computer needed to relearn to operate correctly.

Automotive Stumper…Test your knowledge

Question: The repair technician finished a tune-up, serviced the MAF and IAC on a 2005 Honda Pilot, the engine started up, however the idle was too high, the technician drove the car and after a while the engine idle returned to normal. What happened?

Answer will be posted on 3/10/2015

Range Rover Recall

Jaguar Land Rover North America is recalling some Land Rover Range Rover vehicles model year 2013-2015 manufactured 8/23/25-2/15/15 also Range Rover Sport vehicles 2014-2015 manufactured 6/16/13-2/5/15 for faulty occupant classification system (OCS) that may not classify the a light weight adult front passenger resulting in the front airbags not deploying in the event of a crash which could lead to injuries to the passenger.

 Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by Land Rover.