The Detroit News is reporting that DaimlerChrysler has recalled 270,000 units of the 2005 Dodge Caravan and minvans to fix airbag sensors that could corrode and fail to activate. The recall, however, only affects minvans that were sold in 20 states and Washington D.C. where lots of salt is used on public roads to melt ice and snow. Apparently these UF sensors have brass bushings that may corrode from road salt and crack, allowing to water to reach the sensor, which causes it to fail and illuminate a warning light on the dash.

So if you own a 2005 Dodge Caravan and live in Florida, you’re probably safe. If you live in Buffalo, NY, however, you might want to visit your local Dodge dealer this weekend. The number of vehicles affected includes as many 270,958 minivans built from April 24, 2003 to February 2, 2005. We’ve included a list of the 20 states affected after the jump along with the recall report from the NHTSA. DaimlerChrysler will notify owners in each state and replace the brass bushings with steel ones to prevent the sensor from failing in the future. If you live in a different state than one on the list, DCX will offer you lifetime free replacement of any UF airbag sensor that fails on your minivan. If you have more questions, you can contact DCX at 1-800-853-1403.

[Source: The Detroit News, NHTSA]

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by Dan Roth

Boy, that’s one hot car, that Passat. But is it so hot, in fact, that it self-immolates? The NHTSA seems to think that the ignition coil packs are prone to faults that can lead to fires underhood, in the instrument panel, or underneath the vehicle. Passats from 2000 to 2003 are currently under investigation by the NHTSA after 19 reports of spontaneous Teutonic combustion (hey!). Lucky owners who opted for the frugal TDI or spendy W8 can motor along blissfully, while gas-fueled four and six-pot drivers should start parking at the curb. No recall has been issued, but preliminary investigations such as this often end with the manufacturer issuing a recall. If it comes to that, VW’s looking at fixing about 350,000 cars.

[Source: Bloomberg via Winding Road]

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by John Neff

Pickuptruck.com has updated his report on the story surrounding the failure of 20 camshaft in the 2007 Toyota Tundra’s 5.7L V8 engine. Levine noticed that Toyota has already posted on two internet forums expressing regret to Tundra owners over the incident. Though the author’s name was not provided, identical posts were published by “TMSUSA” on ToyotaNation.com and TundraSolutions.com that address customer concerns and provide this expression of remorse:

“Although the number of affected Tundras is very small, we very much regret that even one of our trucks was manufactured with a camshaft processing flaw and certainly any inconvenience caused to our customers.”

Meanwhile, Levine also tracked down a consultant who confirms the estimate we originally reported that it will cost $5,000 to swap out each engine that experiences a failed camshaft. Toyota will certainly pay the estimated $100,000 to repair the 20 trucks already known to have experienced a camshaft failure, but the looming question that’s yet to be answered is how many more trucks might need to have their engine replaced? Toyota Spokesperson Bill Kwong told Levine, “Our dealers have approximately 1,600 new Tundras nationwide for disposal as a loaner vehicle while a customer’s truck is being repaired, and that doesn’t include older Tundras and Tacomas.” While meant more as an assurance that the company will do whatever it can to help out customers who find themselves with an affected engine, that statement also implies Toyota is at least prepared for the number to grow.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

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by Damon Lavrinc

While the recent success of the Wrangler Unlimited bodes well for Jeep and its continued domination of all things off-road, NHTSA is in the midst of investigating a series of complaints claiming that the iconic Jeep is stalling at highway speeds, and in some cases, losing electrical power.

All Wrangler models are under the agency’s watchful eye, both the two- and four-door models, regardless if they’re equipped with four-wheel drive or the standard two-wheel drive. NHTSA says that only 53 complaints have been filed, with 12 reporting a loss of lighting and electrical power.

NHTSA’s investigation will include approximately 35,000 vehicles total, and at this point, no crashes or fatalities have been attributed to the issue.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

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by Frank Filipponio

Blue Oval News is reporting that Ford Motor Company has told its dealers to hold on to certain 2008 F-Series pickups. The affected trucks include the F250, F350, F450 or F550 models with the new 6.4L PowerStroke diesel engines. These certain engines were built between April 3 and May 21, 2007 and may have faulty fuel injectors in cylinders 1, 5 and 7 that need to be replaced with new units. Mike Levine at Pickuptruck.com asked Ford spokesperson Wes Sherwood about the issue, who said the injectors were accidentally damaged during testing at the supplier’s facilities. As such, misfires can occur that will cause the vehicle to run rough or hesitate under acceleration.

For what sounds like a small case of human error, 3,000 engines will need to be repaired because of this issue. Most have already been fixed at the factory or are being taken care of while still in dealer inventory. Ford thinks about 250 of these engines have already been delivered, however, prompting the TSB. Sherwood says it will take a few hours to replace the faulty units with readily available new ones. The Special Service Instruction number is: R07T07.

[Source: Blue Oval News via PickupTruck.com]

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by Dan Roth

It’s no big deal, really, just an eensy weensy potential short circuit in the ABS/Stability control system. A seal on the hardware that the ABS and ESP systems share can allow water infiltration, which leads to electrical maladies. A mass self-immolation of 307s would be rather unseemly, so Peugeot has recalled roughly 240,000 of the vehicles built between 2003 and 2006. Letters have gone out to owners beckoning about 60 percent of the 2 million total 307’s sold to come back before there’s legions of weeping former 307CC drivers stumbling back home.

[Source: Automotive News - sub req]

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