Why there is a record number of car safety recalls: Two.Five million and counting
This year will be remembered as the year of the lemon car. Picture: Supplied.
HAS car quality hit switch sides, or do they not make ’em like they used to?
More cars have been recalled this year than any other time in Australian automotive history.
We’ve already passed the annual record for car recalls — and there is still six months left to run.
A staggering Two.Five million vehicles were the subject of a safety bulletin in the twelve months to the end of June — including more than 1.6 million in the very first six months of 2016.
In the utter two thousand fifteen calendar year, the worst on record for recalls, more than 1.Trio million cars were caught in the safety net — more than triple the 339,000 cars recalled ten years ago, in 2006.
The world’s largest recall involving close to one hundred million deadly Takata airbags that can squirt shrapnel in a crash — including 1.Four million cars in Australia over the past eighteen months — has shoved up the tally.
But the recalls.gov.au website shows there are dozens of other causes for concern, from Hyundai and Subaru bonnets that can fly open, to Jeep’s dodgy gear shifter that emerges to be in park while the car is still in drive (linked to the death of a US actor last month).
Some recalls are more serious than others; Toyota has issued a bulletin to fix power window switches while Jaguar and Land Rover have been worried about diesel cars that can catch fire.
On certain Alfa Romeo cars “the brakes may not function correctly”.
The largest automotive recall in history: one hundred million Takata airbags, including 1.Four million in Australia. Picture: AFP
A Jeep Renegade’s electronic “park assist mode … may not bring the vehicle to a accomplish stop”.
Super-luxury brands are not immune from faults.
Last month more than three hundred fifty Ferrari sports-cars got caught up in the Takata airbag safety campaign.
Fellow Italian brand Maserati recalled close to one thousand vehicles locally to fix floor mats that can interfere with accelerator and brake pedals.
Last week, 800,000 Mitsubishi and Toyota cars were recalled in a 48-hour period. This week Honda and Subaru combined added more than 200,000 cars to the Takata airbag scare.
Experts say the acute rise in car recalls is due to car companies becoming increasingly fearful of being fined or sued for not disclosing faults as soon as the become apparent.
Are cars today made better or worse than they were in the 1960s and 1970s? Picture: Supplied.
Last year General Motors was fined $900 million in the US for not addressing ignition switch defects linked to one hundred twenty four deaths over fifteen years. In the end, thirty million cars were recalled globally (none were sold in Australia).
“Society is a lot more litigious these days and more companies are worried about being sued,” said Jack Haley, mechanical engineer and senior policy manager at the National Roads and Motorists’ Association.
“We are also eyeing more recalls because more brands are worried about what happens to their reputation if they don’t do a recall and get exposed later for attempting to sweep it under the carpet.”
Mr Haley said car companies are “now acting much earlier to capture faults”.
Are cars being built worse due to pressure to cut production costs — and an enhancing dependence on outside suppliers?
“There’s no data to suggest parts quality is getting worse, but the reality is we don’t know. We also don’t have data displaying it’s improving either. You’d hope quality is improving,” said Mr Haley.
Spanner in the works: major recalls so far in 2016
Toyota: nine recall notices covering 465,000 vehicles
Mitsubishi: nine recall notices covering 438,000 vehicles
Honda: five recall notices covering 295,000 vehicles
Nissan: five recall notices covering 111,000 vehicles
Subaru: five recall notices covering 108,000 vehicles
Jeep-Chrysler: eleven recall notices covering 85,600 vehicles
Hyundai: four recall notices covering 60,895 vehicles
Volkswagen-Skoda: nine recall notices covering 12,800 vehicles
Holden: five recall notices covering 12,300 vehicles
Mercedes-Benz: nine recall notices covering eight thousand five hundred vehicles
Jaguar-Land Rover: seven recall notices covering three thousand six hundred vehicles
Peugeot-Citroen: six recall notices covering three thousand vehicles
Maserati: two recall notices covering one thousand nine hundred vehicles
Kia: two recall notices covering seven hundred fifty vehicles
Fiat-Alfa Romeo: four recall notices covering sixty six vehicles
Source: Car companies and recalls.gov.au, not all recalls listed.
How does your car rate?
The recalls.gov.au website lists all major car brands. In the very first six months of two thousand sixteen there have been more than one hundred ten individual recall notices — compared to one hundred thirty six for the utter year in 2015.
This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling
Car recalls in Australia
Why there is a record number of car safety recalls: Two.Five million and counting
This year will be remembered as the year of the lemon car. Picture: Supplied.
HAS car quality hit switch roles, or do they not make ’em like they used to?
More cars have been recalled this year than any other time in Australian automotive history.
We’ve already passed the annual record for car recalls — and there is still six months left to run.
A staggering Two.Five million vehicles were the subject of a safety bulletin in the twelve months to the end of June — including more than 1.6 million in the very first six months of 2016.
In the utter two thousand fifteen calendar year, the worst on record for recalls, more than 1.Trio million cars were caught in the safety net — more than triple the 339,000 cars recalled ten years ago, in 2006.
The world’s fattest recall involving close to one hundred million deadly Takata airbags that can bust shrapnel in a crash — including 1.Four million cars in Australia over the past eighteen months — has shoved up the tally.
But the recalls.gov.au website shows there are dozens of other causes for concern, from Hyundai and Subaru bonnets that can fly open, to Jeep’s dodgy gear shifter that shows up to be in park while the car is still in drive (linked to the death of a US actor last month).
Some recalls are more serious than others; Toyota has issued a bulletin to fix power window switches while Jaguar and Land Rover have been worried about diesel cars that can catch fire.
On certain Alfa Romeo cars “the brakes may not function correctly”.
The largest automotive recall in history: one hundred million Takata airbags, including 1.Four million in Australia. Picture: AFP
A Jeep Renegade’s electronic “park assist mode … may not bring the vehicle to a accomplish stop”.
Super-luxury brands are not immune from faults.
Last month more than three hundred fifty Ferrari sports-cars got caught up in the Takata airbag safety campaign.
Fellow Italian brand Maserati recalled close to one thousand vehicles locally to fix floor mats that can interfere with accelerator and brake pedals.
Last week, 800,000 Mitsubishi and Toyota cars were recalled in a 48-hour period. This week Honda and Subaru combined added more than 200,000 cars to the Takata airbag scare.
Experts say the acute rise in car recalls is due to car companies becoming increasingly fearful of being fined or sued for not disclosing faults as soon as the become apparent.
Are cars today made better or worse than they were in the 1960s and 1970s? Picture: Supplied.
Last year General Motors was fined $900 million in the US for not addressing ignition switch defects linked to one hundred twenty four deaths over fifteen years. In the end, thirty million cars were recalled globally (none were sold in Australia).
“Society is a lot more litigious these days and more companies are worried about being sued,” said Jack Haley, mechanical engineer and senior policy manager at the National Roads and Motorists’ Association.
“We are also eyeing more recalls because more brands are worried about what happens to their reputation if they don’t do a recall and get exposed later for attempting to sweep it under the carpet.”
Mr Haley said car companies are “now acting much earlier to capture faults”.
Are cars being built worse due to pressure to cut production costs — and an enhancing dependence on outside suppliers?
“There’s no data to suggest parts quality is getting worse, but the reality is we don’t know. We also don’t have data showcasing it’s improving either. You’d hope quality is improving,” said Mr Haley.
Spanner in the works: major recalls so far in 2016
Toyota: nine recall notices covering 465,000 vehicles
Mitsubishi: nine recall notices covering 438,000 vehicles
Honda: five recall notices covering 295,000 vehicles
Nissan: five recall notices covering 111,000 vehicles
Subaru: five recall notices covering 108,000 vehicles
Jeep-Chrysler: eleven recall notices covering 85,600 vehicles
Hyundai: four recall notices covering 60,895 vehicles
Volkswagen-Skoda: nine recall notices covering 12,800 vehicles
Holden: five recall notices covering 12,300 vehicles
Mercedes-Benz: nine recall notices covering eight thousand five hundred vehicles
Jaguar-Land Rover: seven recall notices covering three thousand six hundred vehicles
Peugeot-Citroen: six recall notices covering three thousand vehicles
Maserati: two recall notices covering one thousand nine hundred vehicles
Kia: two recall notices covering seven hundred fifty vehicles
Fiat-Alfa Romeo: four recall notices covering sixty six vehicles
Source: Car companies and recalls.gov.au, not all recalls listed.
How does your car rate?
The recalls.gov.au website lists all major car brands. In the very first six months of two thousand sixteen there have been more than one hundred ten individual recall notices — compared to one hundred thirty six for the utter year in 2015.
This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling