Power-steering in Police Vehicles Leads to GM Recalls

Warren, MI — April 04, 2016 — Though no accidents have yet been detected, General Motors will recall 6,280 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit vehicles, with production dates ranging between 2013 and 2014. The official Part 573 Safety Recall Report, submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on March 16, noted that these vehicles could be subject to a power steering assist failure that could leave drivers struggling to properly steer.

This source stated that the components associated with this recall come from the Mando corporation, based in the Republic of Korea. This specific hazard comes as the result of normal police work, as systems within these vehicles are affected during use.

“Subject to the extended idling times and elevated temperatures experienced in typical police applications, these vehicles may experience loss of electric power steering (EPS) assistance while driving or idling as a result of fretting corrosion on the connector between the EPS module and the torque sensor,” the report asserted.

The repair instructions address both those vehicles already in the field and those en route: the latter will get epoxy to support the connector, while dealers replace the steering gear assemblies in the former. The newer gears will better resist corrosion.

The Associated Press mentioned the 20 hour periods that police cars often run in its coverage of this recall. Drivers in affected cars won’t lose control of steering completely, and the NHTSA Report noted that drivers will see a malfunction indicator light and hear a warning chime if the issue is present.

General Motors first detected this issue through complaints submitted as part of the Speak Up for Safety program in 2015. The vehicles were assembled in Holden, Australia, and impacted cars with model years between 2014 and 2016.

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New VW Recall Concerns Brake Pedals

Herndon, VA — April 01, 2016 — Currently, the most well-known Volkswagen recalls concern the many vehicles affected by the diesel emissions scandal. However, the manufacturer has another issue on its hands involving non-secured brake pedal pivot pins.

According to a statement from Volkswagen, included in a post on Autoblog, 46,700 Volkswagen Touaregs are included in this action. A similar issue also affected 409,477 North American Porsche Cayenne vehicles, with the majority (88,300) in the United States.

With both manufacturers, the suspect vehicles could be missing a vital securing clip that will affect braking performance. No accidents in North America have yet been connected to this issue, but eventually the brake pedal itself could be displaced if users and car dealers don’t take further action.

“If the clip is missing, the pedal pivot pin could start to move and the pedal could lose guidance,” the statement read. “If this remains undiscovered, the pedal hinge could fracture after continued operation, allowing the pedal to dislodge. A customer may not be able to properly actuate the brakes with a dislodged brake pedal.” Dealers can replace the clip to fix the problem.

Last year, 91,800 Volkswagen vehicles were involved in a different recall concerning braking issues, as a Part 573 Report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. These vehicles, which included Passat Golf and Beetle models, among others, were potentially subject to “unexpected, reduced engine power.”

This was because of the way camshafts could deteriorate, leading to a greater difficulty in braking. The first reports of camshaft failures related to this recall were detected in February 2015, the report said, and the decision to recall came after several months of analysis, with October 16, 2015 the official “date of determination.”Drivers may have noticed an increased effort in braking with this issue.

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