It seems like vehicle recalls make the news more often than not these days. From the Takata airbag recall to the Toyota recall over the shift levers, these recalls address critical safety issues. All drivers on the road should find out if their vehicles are the subjects of recalls. That way they can determine how to address the issues and determine whether their vehicles are safe to drive.
There seem to be many misconceptions surrounding vehicle recalls, including the fact that vehicle owners are always notified. There are some cases in which the current owner might not know about the safety issues lurking in their driveway. Here are a few recalls that are included in the April 2018 Consumer Reports magazine about which vehicle owners should know.
Pacifica minivans
Fiat Chrysler recalled Pacifica minivans manufactured in 2017 because of a risk of stalling, which could lead to fatal or serious accidents if the vehicle stalls in traffic. The 153,859-vehicle recall impacts only non-hybrid models.
Soul SUVs
Kia issued a recall for 342,381 Soul SUV models from 2014 to 2016 because of an issue with the steering gear assemblies. Problems could potentially cause the drivers to lose control of their vehicles.
BMW 3 Series vehicles
BMW recalled 3 Series vehicles from the years 2006 to 2011 because of wiring issues that can lead to fires. The more than 670,000 vehicles can catch on fire even if they aren’t running at the time.
Sienna minivans
Toyota Sienna minivans have an issue with a shifting lever that can lead to the vehicles shifting suddenly out of park even if the brakes aren’t depressed. Models from 2005 to 2007 and 2009 to 2010 are impacted, for a total of 310,000 vehicles.
Ram pickup trucks
The Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 models from 2009 to 2017 are the subject of recalls due to gear shifter problems. The 1.5 million heavy-duty trucks involved all have shifts mounted on the steering column. The issue is that the trucks can shift out of park even if the brake isn’t pressed, the trucks aren’t on or the keys aren’t in the ignition.
F-150 and Super Duty pickup trucks
Ford recalled F-150 trucks from 20015 to 2017. It also recalled 2017 Super Duty pickup trucks. The more than one million trucks in the recall have doors that might not close or open as they should because of a kinked actuation cable or frozen latch. This issue can lead to the doors opening while the truck is motion.
