Recall Mondays: Ford, GM, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz And Toyota Are In The Hot Seat

1. AUTOMAKER: Ford

NO. OF VEHICLES AFFECTED: 194,889

SUMMARY:

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Ford Taurus vehicles manufactured December 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and 2011-2013 Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured June 1, 2011, to October 31, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the interior door handle return spring may unseat, resulting in interior door handle that does not return to the fully stowed position after actuation.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the interior door handle return spring is unseated, the door may unlatch in the event of a side impact crash, increasing the risk of personal injury.

REMEDY:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four of the interior door handles and either repair or replace them, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 16, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S02.

2. AUTOMAKER: Mercedes-Benz

NO. OF VEHICLES AFFECTED: 147,224

SUMMARY:

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 E350 Sedan, E350 4Matic Sedan, E350 4Matic Station Wagon, E400 Hybrid Sedan, CLS 550 CGI, and CLS550 4Matic, 2013-2014 E550 4Matic Sedan, 2013 E63 Sedan, E63 Station Wagon and CLS63, 2014-2015 CLS63 4Matic, E63 4Matic Sedan, E63 4Matic Sedan "S", and E63 4Matic Station Wagon, 2015 CLS400, 2015 E400 Sedan, E400 4Matic Sedan and CLS400 4Matic and 2014 CLS63 "S". The affected vehicles have a rubber seal at the back of the engine bay that may temporarily stick to the hood when it is opened and then may fall into the engine bay when the hood is closed.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the rubber seal falls into the engine compartment, it may contact parts of the exhaust system, increasing the risk of a fire.

REMEDY:

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will attach four additional retaining clips to the rubber seal, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by mid-March 2015. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-201-573-5339. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2015020001.


3. AUTOMAKER: Jaguar Land Rover

NO. OF VEHICLES AFFECTED: 61,793

SUMMARY:

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Land Rover Range Rover vehicles manufactured August 23, 2012, to February 5, 2015, and 2014-2015 Range Rover Sport vehicles manufactured June 16, 2013, to February 5, 2015. In the affected vehicles, a light weight adult front seat passenger may be improperly classified by the occupant classification system (OCS) and, as a result, the front seat passenger air bag may be disabled.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the front passenger air bag is disabled during a vehicle crash, there is an increased risk of injury.

REMEDY:

Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin April 17, 2015. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is P059.

4. AUTOMAKER: Toyota

NO. OF VEHICLES AFFECTED: 51,495

SUMMARY:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Toyota Avalon vehicles manufactured February 9, 2010, to October 22, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the sub-woofer speaker located in the trunk may experience an intermittent electrical short which may cause damage to the integrated circuit (IC) in the audio amplifier. In some cases, the damaged IC may allow a constant electrical current flow to the sub-woofer.

CONSEQUENCE:

A constant electrical current flow may cause the sub-woofer to overheat, increasing the risk of fire.

REMEDY:

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will provide a remedy for the audio system, free of charge. Until the remedy is available, Toyota will mail an interim notice and dealers will disconnect the sub-woofer. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.


5. AUTOMAKER: General Motors

NO. OF AFFECTED VEHICLES:69,633

SUMMARY:

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2006-2007 Chevrolet Malibu and Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured April 1, 2006, to June 30, 2006, and 2006-2007 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured April 18, 2006, to June 30, 2006. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist that could occur at any time while driving.

CONSEQUENCE:

If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.

REMEDY:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the torque sensor assembly, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 14772. Note: This is an expansion of recall 14V-153 to cover additional vehicles built between April 1, 2006 and June 30, 2006.