Safety


Jeep recalling over 161k 2007-2008 Wrangler AT models due to tranny temp. sensor absence

Owners of model year 2007-2008 Jeep Wranglers with automatic transmissions may have to visit their local dealers as Chrysler is recalling 161,450 of the SUVs over potential transmission overheating problems. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), Wrangler models manufactured between June 2006 and July 2008 with automatic transmissions were not fitted with a transmission fluid temperature warning system. If the AT fluid in the affected vehicles overheats, it may boil over and come in contact with hot ... Read more →

REPORT: Toyota may 'shorten' gas pedals to fix unintended acceleration issue Chris Shunk

The Toyota "unintended acceleration" issue has been a hot-button topic for nearly two months, with the Japanese automaker working closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association to ...

Pole Dance: NHTSA to add new side-impact crash test? [w/VIDEO] Dan Roth

Not satisfied with cars that manage crash forces well enough to avoid spilling your drink, and engines that run so clean they'll barely asphyxiate ants, a new crash test is reportedly coming in ...

2010 Top Safety Picks announced by IIHS, new roof strength rule shakes things up Jonny Lieberman

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has once again announced the winners of its Top Safety Pick award – all 27 of them. This time out, 19 cars and eight SUVs made the all-important ...

Mercedes-Benz and Hughes release app-based "mbrace" telematics for iPhone, Blackberry Damon Lavrinc

Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with Hughes Telematics to begin offering a new system that allows drivers to enable dozens of their vehicles features with their Apple iPhone or Blackberry. Dubbed ...

Mitsubishi recalls nearly 30k 2008-2009 Lancer/Lancer EVO models over airbag sensors 3 days ago on Autoblog

Potential corrosion of the front impact airbag sensor has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall up to 29,353 2008-2009 Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer Evolution models. NHTSA is concerned that long-term exposure to a mixture of melted snow and salt thrown up by ...

VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG crash-test video shows off exploding door hinges 3 days ago on Autoblog

It's a sad fact that incredibly expensive, highly desirable cars have to be smashed to bits in the name of safety, but we have to admit we quietly enjoy watching the carnage. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG had to endure its time with the crash barrier, and the video proves that the $200,000 supercar ...

REPORT: Michigan legislature pondering eco-friendly motoring tips in driving school 4 days ago on Autoblog

There's always a mouthful of teeth gnashing whenever lax US driver's ed standards are brought up. Yes, we need sixteen-year-olds on the road so they can get to their part time jobs at Taco Bell, but most are really lousy drivers. Or are they just uneducated drivers? Remember, even though 9 and 3 ...

REPORT: Toyota may offer to fix 4 million accelerator pedals 5 days ago on Autoblog

While Toyota maintains its position that recent accelerator issues have only to do with floor mats, the company has reportedly agreed to "make changes to gas pedals in certain U.S. models under an agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration." That means that 3.8 million ...

VIDEO: Low-flying pelican results in Bugatti Veyron Hydro Edition [*UPDATE: Now with actual crash footage!] 8 days ago on Autoblog

This is one of the saddest, yet most amusing sights we've ever seen. A $1.6 million Bugatti Veyron sitting in a salt water lagoon, door open, in two feet of nasty, corrosion-inducing muddy water. While the sight is sad, how the event allegedly transpired is downright hilarious. The unnamed owner ...

NHTSA to investigate 3 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee over gas tank fires? 8 days ago on Autoblog

The position of the plastic fuel tanks in 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees makes them potential fireballs, argues the Center for Auto Safety. The nonprofit organization says that the fuel tank's location makes the pre-2005 Grand Cherokees prone to catching on fire when involved in an accident. ...

REPORT: More than 25% of US bridges are "structurally deficient or functionally obsolete" 9 days ago on Autoblog

Here's some bad news for all of us: Over 150,000 bridges in the U.S. have been judged to be "structurally deficient or functionally obsolete." And get this, there are less than 598,000 bridges in America. That means 25.7% aren't in very good shape. It turns out that the state with the most ...

REPORT: NHTSA probe opened into Honda airbag recall timing 11 days ago on Autoblog

Over the last year, Honda has recalled roughly 444,000 vehicles to repair overpressurized airbag inflators in certain 2001-2002 Honda Accord, 2001 Civic and 2002-2003 Acura TL models. According to the automaker, there has been one death and multiple injuries stemming from the defect, which can ...

Class action suit filed against Toyota over sudden acceleration claims 11 days ago on Autoblog

Following a statement from the DOT and NHTSA asserting that the unintended acceleration issue potentially involving millions of Toyota vehicles is "not closed," McCuneWright, LLP, a law firm in Southern California, has filed a national class action lawsuit on behalf of all Toyota and Lexus ...

NHTSA study indicates hybrids have higher pedestrian crash rates 12 days ago on Autoblog

A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that hybrid vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents with pedestrians and bicyclists under certain scenarios. According to state-level accident data, 77 of 8,387 hybrid vehicles (that's .9 percent) were ...

VIDEO: Mind the pole, please 13 days ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/comedy/Parking_Job_At_Its_Best'; Spending all day blogging from the comfort of our mothers' basements and/or top-secret Dr. No-style lairs, we sometimes forget that there's a world out there filled with people who engage in truly questionable things. And then we get ...

REPORT: Toyota execs deny cover-up after feds rebuke automaker over runaway car investigation 14 days ago on Autoblog

Remember Toyota's massive 3.8 million unit unintended acceleration recall that was attributed to pesky floor mats? It appears defective floor mats doesn't tell the whole story, as the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared in a statement that ...

Ford unveils industry's first* production inflatable seat belts [w/VIDEO] 15 days ago on Autoblog

They started out in our steering wheels before taking up residence across the dash. They then migrated to the side of our vehicles and grew to be full-sized curtains. Automakers seem to stick them everywhere, so where else can airbags go to protect our fleshy, organic bodies when metal meets ...

GM recalling 53,000 Chevy Cobalt, Saturn Ion, and Pontiac G5 models over fuel leak concern 16 days ago on Autoblog

General Motors may have shed itself of much of its pre-bankruptcy problems, but the automaker still has to tend to its warranty and recall duties. As such, GM is recalling 53,000 Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and Saturn Ion models for a potential fuel leak problem that the National Highway Traffic ...

STUDY: 30% of you are genetically predisposed to drive poorly 16 days ago on Autoblog

Well, this explains everything. Scientists scientifically studied the brains of 29 people. Of those, 22 had normal brains while the other seven had a genetic variant that stops their brain from secreting something called a neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Without the BDNF, new memories aren't formed ...

Mazda recalls nearly 40,000 B-Series pickups over cruise control issues 17 days ago on Autoblog

Last month, Ford widened its cruise control switch recall to 4.5 million vehicles. Included in the growing list of cars and trucks was the Ford Ranger pickup – the mechanical twin to the now-discontinued Mazda B-Series pickup. Not surprisingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety ...

Toyota plans to trim trucks, focus on hybrids, improve quality 18 days ago on Autoblog

Stick with what you know. That seems to be Toyota's new mantra going forward, as the Japanese automaker has reportedly diverted its attention away from large trucks like the largely unsuccessful and slow-selling Tundra pickup and back on hybrid vehicles – possibly all wearing the Prius ...

VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated? 21 days ago on Autoblog

The Alaskan Way Viaduct (AWV) is an elevated roadway running along the Elliot Bay Waterway in Seattle. An earthquake in 2001 damaged the viaduct, and the structural degradation has only gotten worse over the years. To forestall the possibility of having the conduit collapse in another natural ...

Nissan recalls 163,000+ 2008-2009 Rogue crossovers over potential steering fault 24 days ago on Autoblog

On Sunday, we brought you word of a Nissan recall affecting 2009-2010 Altima sedans, and today, we bring you word of an even larger safety issue impacting its CUV lineup. The Japanese automaker is recalling 163,659 2008 and 2009 model year Rogue crossovers due to a potentially serious safety ...

REPORT: NHTSA upgrading investigation into Honda Odyssey brakes 24 days ago on Autoblog

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has upgraded their preliminary probe into an issue with the Honda Odyssey to an engineering analysis. The agency has received more than 500 complaints about a braking problem, with drivers saying the pedal gets soft or spongy. According ...

NHTSA releases new info about crash that prompted Toyota floormat recall 25 days ago on Autoblog

Contrary to previous reports, the death of a four people and the largest recall in Toyota's history was caused by a compound of errors. The initial buzz/word on the virtual street suggested that it was simply an improperly placed floor mat that doomed CHP officer Mark Saylor and three family ...

REPORT: Tata investigating as Nano owners report steering column fires 25 days ago on Autoblog

If we weren't car guys, we could understand the attraction of a bare-bones car with a sticker price coming in at a fraction of a conventional car's. Heck, we still do. But we know as well as you do that in order to get the pricing that low, corners probably have to be cut somewhere. And when ...

Nissan recalls 26,000+ 2009-2010 Altima and Maxima models over strut issue 25 days ago on Autoblog

The 2009 and 2010 Nissan Altima and Maxima are being recalled over a suspension issue. The problem is the upper front strut insulators on some cars, which might not meet specified tolerances and therefore crack. Nissan is notifying owners this month and the repair will be taken care of by ...

VIDEO: Man misses runaway bus in Russia by inches 1 month ago on Autoblog

Driving is dangerous. We know that, yet the vast majority of us seem willing to take the risks inherent with strapping ourselves inside a two-ton projectile to share the road with other human-piloted objects of mass destruction. With all of these behemoth chunks of metal flying around at high ...

VIDEO: Autoblog tries out Volvo City Safety on boss's BMW 1 month ago on Autoblog

A number of bloggers on our team actually have real jobs, those crazy 9-5 things we full-time bloggers hear so much about. Sure, an actual 40-hour work week can tie one arm behind your back when trying to be a power blogger, but our own Dan Roth gets around this by incorporating his two incomes ...

OnStar prevents its first high-speed chase 1 month ago on Autoblog

We were wondering how long it would take before OnStar's Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service was used to prevent a high speed chase. Though announced nearly two years ago, the service that allows OnStar to remotely disable a vehicle's gas pedal is still not yet available on all GM models – for ...

REPORT: NY cracking down on cabbies using cell phones - only took 10 years 1 month ago on Autoblog

It's hard to believe, but cab drivers in New York City are prohibited by law from talking on cell phones, with or without headsets. That doesn't seem to stop them, says the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. Citing phone-related accident statistics, the commission is now proposing more ...

Consumer Reports sees what happens when your floor mat sticks 1 month ago on Autoblog

In the wake of Toyota's huge floor mat recall, theorists have come up with several survival strategies designed to overcome a throttle that's stuck wide-open. Putting some of these theories to the test – and debunking several myths in the process – is the team over at Consumer ...

REPORT: Ford widens cruise control recall by 4.5M vehicles - now biggest in company history 1 month ago on Autoblog

For the past ten years, Ford has been doing a dance with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and consumers over the issue of leaking cruise control switches in certain company vehicles. As of 2008, it had recalled some 9.6 million vehicles to repair a faulty Texas Instruments ...

REPORT: Chrysler retiree saves two men in fiery pickup crash with his power washer 1 month ago on Autoblog

Retired Chrysler worker Stipe Botica is a hero today after putting out an engine fire after a single-vehicle accident, likely saving the life of the passenger. The accident occurred at 4 am when two men in a Ford Ranger crashed into a vacant house next door to Botica's residence at Forest Glade ...

Viper app allows remote start of your car with iPhone 1 month ago on Autoblog

As the iPhone continues to introduce apps both silly and indispensable, it should come as no surprise that there's now an app for starting your car remotely. Introduced by car alarm company Viper, the SmartStart app comes in two flavors: a $299 package if you already have a compatible Viper ...

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Autoblog Podcast #153: With Phil Berg

Phil Berg puts his reputation on the line and hangs with the podcast crew.

 
 

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