2006 2008 Kia Optima RecallKia has announced a recall that will have almost 70,000 Optima owners taking their vehicles in for repairs. The recall is over concerns that some of the shift cables were not assembled properly, allowing them to detach from the shift assembly dowel pin. The detached cable will prevent the transmission from being put in “park” even though the shift lever is in the “park” position. As a result, the vehicle could roll away causing damage and injury.

The vehicles involved in this recall are the 2006-2008 Optima vehicles built between September 2005 to June 2007. Kia will start notifying owners middle of March, where Dealers will inspect and reinstall the shift cable if necessary. Owners can contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542 for more information.

General Motors has announced a recall for some 2011 Buick Lacross and 2011 Cadillac SRX vehicles for a problem with the windshield defrosting and defogging systems. The problem is being blamed on a bug with the Electronic Climate Control (ECC) module that may disable the ability for the driver to adjust the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The lack of ability to defrost the windows may decrease the drivers visibility and could result in an accident.

Recall notices will be sent out starting middle of March, which will have dealers reprogramming the defrost system free of charge to the customer. Owners wanting more information on the recall can contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080, Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, or go to the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.

Toyota will be recalling certain 2008-2011 truck’s and SUV’s for tire pressure monitoring and regulating systems that do not comply with the federal motor vehicle safety standards. The lack of proper calibration of the system may lead to the low tire pressure warning light not illuminating untill well below the minimum activation pressure. Operating the vehicle with low tire pressure will lead to improper wear of the tires and ultimately tire failure. The vehicles covered in this recall are:

Once owners have been notified of the recall, they can bring their vehicles to their dealership to have the tire pressure monitoring system re-initialized and calibrated. Anyone wanting more information can contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Suzuki is recalling certain 2008-2010 motorcycles for regulator/rectifier assemblies that were produced with insufficient adhesion between the power module circuit board and the rectifier case heat sink. Without proper adhesion, the power module could overheat causing the circuit board to deform and lift from the case. As a result, there could be insufficient charge to the battery. The part numbers of the rectifier assemblies being recalled are: 32800-41F11, 32800-15H10, 32800-05H11, 32800-41G10, 32800-15H00, 32800-18H00, 32800-05G10, 32800-10G10, 32800-05H20, OR 32800-06G01. These rectifiers have been installed on:

  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / AN400
  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / DL1000
  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / GSF1250
  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / GSX-R600
  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / GSX-R750
  • 2008 – SUZUKI / GSX1300B
  • 2008-2010 – SUZUKI / GSX1300R
  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / GSX650F
  • 2009-2010 – SUZUKI / SFV650
  • 2008-2010 – SUZUKI / VL800
  • 2008-2009 – SUZUKI / VLR1800
  • 2009-2010 – SUZUKI / VZ1500

Suzuki will notify owners of the recall starting March 02, 2011. For more information contact Suzuki at 1-714-996-7040 or the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

ford f150 airbag recallInvestigations started by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last September has lead the government agency to urge a recall that could affect almost 140,000 F-150 trucks in the United States. The recall is over concerns that the air bags could deploy without warning. The NHTSA said that they have received almost 240 complaints of unwanted airbag deployment on 2004-2006 F-150 vehicles with almost 80 leading to injuries.

According to Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood, an improperly installed wire in the steering wheel may chaff, causing a short and an illuminated seat belt warning lamp. If it is not serviced, it could lead to deployment of the airbag. The recall will cover 2004-2006 Ford F-150 trucks, built in their Norfolk, Virginia assembly plant, for a relatively low risk of inadvertent air bag deployment. The NHTSA said they will review the recall and determine if it is sufficient.

General Motors Cadillac CTS recall rear suspensionGeneral Motors is recalling some 2009-2010 Cadillac CTS vehicles for a problem that could significantly change the handling of the vehicle, increasing the chance of an accident. GM suspects that some of the vehicles may have a condition where the wax coating on the rear suspension toe link jam nuts may allow the nuts to loosen. The driver may hear a metallic clanking noise coming from the rear of the vehicle, eventually leading to the toe link separating and allowing the wheel to turn inboard or outboard.

Dealers will clean the wax residue from the rear suspension toe link and install two new jam nuts, and if necessary replace the rear suspension toe link. GM has not yet provided an owner notification schedule, but owners may contact Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339 or go to www.gmownercenter.com for more information.

At the end of December, Ford announced a recall that will affect some 2011 model year F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles. There have been no consumer reports of problems due to the defective part, but Ford experienced two vehicles fires at the assembly plant while the vehicles were being built. The problem is being blamed on a faulty Body Control Module (BCM). During a six day period, the module may have been installed in over 15,000 vehicles. Ford will notify customers of the recall beginning January. Owners wanting additional information about the recall can contact Ford at 866-436-7332.

In a recall that will affect only about 3,000 vehicles, Land Rover will be asking owners to bring in their 2010-2011 LR2 Suv’s for an intermittent problem with the driver’s side airbag. The vehicles affected were manufactured between November 2009 and August 2010. According to a report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the problem is with the shorting bar in the clock spring. The shorting bar may have been disconnected when the airbag module was installed leading to the airbag not deploying properly or at all. Owner with questions or concerns can contact Land Rover Customer Service Center at 1-800-346-3493 (1-800-FIND 4WD).