On Wednesday, March 7, 2012, two major automotive recalls were announced. Due to the potential of serious problems leading to drivers’ loss of control, Chrysler announced recalls of nearly 210,000 Jeep Liberty SUVs from the model years 2004 and 2005. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), some of these vehicles are equipped with rear lower control arms that may corrode from exposure to highway salt and break, resulting in loss of control of the vehicle. The recalls are scheduled to begin by the end of April. The rear lower control arms on recalled vehicles will be replaced. Although no motor vehicle accidents or injuries have been reported, the NHTSA began investigating the problem in April 2011 after receiving multiple complaints of fractured control arms caused by excessive corrosion.
Vehicles included in the Jeep Liberty recall were sold in or are currently registered in 20 states, including Ohio.
Also on March 7, 2012, the Toyota Motor Corporation reported that is recalled an estimated 681,000 vehicles. Approximately 495,000 Tacoma pickup trucks from 2005 to 2009 will be recalled because of a potential problem in the steering wheel spiral cable assembly. Friction in the cable assembly can result in deactivation of the driver’s side airbag causing failure of the airbag to deploy in a motor vehicle accident.
Also recalled are approximately 70,600 Camrys and 116,000 Venza vehicles, model years 2009-2011. In these vehicles, silicon grease may increase electrical resistance causing the vehicle not to start or freezing the shift lever in the “park” position.
Source: MSNBC, “Chrysler recalls 210,000 Jeep Liberty SUVs,” March 7, 2012.