What company has the most recalled 2007 models?
BusinessWeek has trolled the NHTSA files to find out which automakers have had to recall their brand new 2007 models the most, and the winner is Volkswagen thanks to a recall of just over 1 milion 2007 New Beetles because of potentially faulty brake light switches. Of course, Ford announced a major recall of 3.6 million vehicles earlier this month for defective cruise control switches, but none of the vehicles affected were 2007 models and so don't count for this list.
We've complied the rest of the data for you in a handy list after the jump, because we hate having to click through BusinessWeek's 15-part slideshow, and we suspect you might, too.
[Source: BusinessWeek]
Most Recalled Vehicles of 2007
2007 Volkswagen New Beetle
1,002,000 units affected
On certain passenger, wagon, and convertible vehicles with or without cruise control, a brake light switch may malfunction if it was installed incorrectly.
2007 Toyota Sequoia
533,124
On certain trucks and minivans, due to possible improper finishing of the front suspension lower ball joint, some ball joints may experience an incidental deterioration of the internal lubrication. This may cause the ball joint to wear and loosen prematurely, which could result in increased steering effort, reduced vehicle self-centering, and noise in the front suspension.
2007 Jeep Liberty
149,605
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with Valeo heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, the blower motor may overheat.
2007 Nissan Altima
140,582
On certain vehicles, if a sufficiently hot object enters the air filter housing through the engine fresh-air-intake system and comes in contact with the engine air filter, the air filter may ignite.
2007 Hyundai Tucson
128,300
On certain sport-utility vehicles, static air-bag deployment testing-conducted by NHTSA using fifth-percentile female dummies-indicated if a small-stature adult driver, not wearing a seat belt, is involved in a frontal or near frontal crash, deployment of the driver air bag may result in an insufficient margin of compliance as measured by the test dummy used in the NHTSA test.
2007 Dodge Nitro, Jeep Wrangler
80,894
On certain vehicles, the totally integrated power module was programmed with software that may allow the engine to stall under certain operating conditions.
2007 Suzuki Forenza, Reno
75,697
On certain passenger vehicles, the front seat-belt tongue will not latch into the buckle and, in rare cases, the locked tongue will pop out under low stretching force. If the buckle does not latch completely, the buckle could release without the release button being pressed.
2007 Volkswagen Passat, Passat Wagon
58,800
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.0-liter engine with 147kw may have a vacuum line that may fracture and become disconnected at low ambient temperatures. On certain sixth-generation passenger vehicles, the wiper motor may fail during heavy rain due to excessive moisture in the wiper motor.
2007 Chrysler Sebring and 300; Dodge Caliber, Magnum, Charger and Nitro; Jeep Compass, Liberty, Commander, Grand Cherokee, and Jeep Wrangler
50,665
On certain vehicles, the antilock-brake-system control module software may cause the rear brakes to lock up during certain braking conditions.
2007 Infiniti G35 Coupe
23,934
Certain vehicles fail to comply with the vertical gradient and headlamp photometric values requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108.
2007 Chevrolet Aveo
17,676
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 1.6-liter engine, during a severe frontal crash test, the fuel line in the engine compartment developed a fracture. In addition, the crash damage caused four short-circuits in the fuse block, the combination of which allowed the fuel pump to continue running and fuel to leak onto the ground.
2007 Nissan Versa
16,309
On certain hatchback vehicles, the terminals for the passenger-side seat-belt tension-sensor harness connector may have been damaged during the manufacturing process. This could result in a loss of electrical continuity causing the occupant detection system to become inoperative.
2007 GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook
13,032
On certain vehicles, the sensing and diagnostic module, which controls the function of front air bags, may not operate properly. As a result, the front air bags may fail to deploy in a frontal crash. Also, the air-bag warning lamp on the instrument panel may fail to provide warning that the system is inoperative.
2007 Ford Expedition
10,061
On certain sport-utility vehicles, the front and rear tires on the driver's side of affected vehicles may have been damaged at the center tread during production.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
JSacharuk 7:39PM (8/13/2007)
More Beetles may be recalled, but I'd rather have that problem than most of the others on that list.
Reply
Carlos V. 9:17AM (8/14/2007)
The New Beetle has a Wagon version?
joe 8:07PM (8/13/2007)
Well said. Not all recalls are created equal.
I'd rather have a faulty brake light, than...oh....ABS failure, complete engine failure, air bag failure, fuel leak, steering failure, air bag failing to protect a small person from not wearing a seatbelt, tire defect, and god forbid if you have a car that "fail to comply with the vertical gradient and headlamp photometric values requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108."
OH NOES!
Dan 8:52PM (8/13/2007)
Actually my girlfriend had the same problem on her Jetta and it was recalled also. The problem doesn't sound that bad but it is a huge hassle.
The break light switch I believe they are referring to is located behind the break pedal. When that switch malfunctions it causes the car to never think that the breaks are on. The car does physically break but the lights never come on and that is extremely dangerous. Also the car can't shift out of park because it thinks the breaks aren't on. She was stranded and we had to trick the car by having the shifter in between gears and putting it into drive when we got it started.
This all happened before they sent out a recall notice.
Mike 8:36AM (8/14/2007)
I agree with Dan, I had a Jetta and I was pulled over by a police officer at night who insisted I tow the car home because I had no brake lights activating as I pressed the pedal. VERY DANGEROUS and VERY INCONVENIENT as I was on a date! Damn you VW.
XJ 10:05AM (8/14/2007)
Joe, Volkswagon's recall was serious as others have eluded to. I'd rather have the Hyundai Tucson's problem out of all these because (1) I wouldn't put a small kid in the front seat and (2) if I had to put a small kid in the front seat I would certainly make them wear a seatbelt.
MiniMe 7:52PM (8/13/2007)
Toyota recalled nearly as many vehicles in the US as did Ford and GM. Considering how Toyota has a lower market share in the US than either Ford or GM, that means they actually had a higher recall rate in terms of percentage of vehicles sold that year.
So much for the religious mythology of Toyota's supposedly superior quality.
And these weren't trivial recalls by Toyota, they were recalls for extremely serious things like steering linkages and lower front ball joints.
Reply
Barney 10:20PM (8/13/2007)
You seem to have missed the other vehicles listed or did you only read the unusual recall of the Toyota. Rare but as you can see, it does happen with every car maker.
MiniMe 12:00AM (8/14/2007)
There's certaintly nothing unusual about a Toyota recall.
On a worldwide basis, they recalled more vehicles in 2006 than they sold in the US.
MiniMe 12:00AM (8/14/2007)
There's certaintly nothing unusual about a Toyota recall.
On a worldwide basis, they recalled more vehicles in 2006 than they sold in the US.
Barney 12:06AM (8/14/2007)
"On a worldwide basis, they recalled more vehicles in 2006 than they sold in the US."
Data? for what, which vehicles and specifically, how many?
Matt 2:54AM (8/14/2007)
How is HALF A MILLION "unusual"?
MiniMe 7:54PM (8/13/2007)
I meant to add that I was referring to the 2006 model year.
Reply
Greek Boy 7:56PM (8/13/2007)
Wow, most are imports.
No Ford vehicles recalled, that's certainly nice. Well, technically no vehicles, just tires.
Reply
Phillip 10:29PM (8/13/2007)
You seem to have missed the millions that are being recalled right now...
james fear 2:36AM (8/14/2007)
The Real wow is that most are built in north america and not really "imports" at all
joe 7:59PM (8/13/2007)
"On certain vehicles, if a sufficiently hot object enters the air filter housing through the engine fresh-air-intake system and comes in contact with the engine air filter, the air filter may ignite."
What the fawk?
So are they saying that every other car on the market, when a "sufficently hot object comes in contact with the engine air filter" the air filter will NOT ignite? I mean like if a molotov cocktail were to somehow contact the air filter of any other 2007 model year cars......
Yes, and if a sufficiently poisonous enough object enters through your esophagus/trachea and comes into contact with your inner oragns, you might die. Yeah, better send a recall upstairs.
Reply
Greg A. 8:06PM (8/13/2007)
Presumably, other vehicles have air intakes designed so that objects, sufficiently hot or not, CAN'T make contact with the air filter.
joe 8:16PM (8/13/2007)
ah, indeed.
But as I say, the world is unpredictable. Who's to say that a run-a-way molotov cocktail won't sneak its way into your air filter element?
Although it was probably the case that objects would probably have an easier time getting in than other vehicles.
mark 11:57PM (8/13/2007)
It's amazing the stuff that my air intake has sucked in over the years, including cigarette butts. Given that smokers seem to have an aversion to actually using their ashtrays, I can't say this is surprising.
Thank god for the pre-filter...