Issues
About 1 in 4 CarMax vehicles has unrepaired recall defect, safety advocates say
More than a quarter of used vehicles for sale at CarMax outlets in three states were found to have unrepaired recall defects, a coalition of safety advocates said Thursday. A survey of 1,699 used vehicles for sale at eight CarMax Inc. dealerships in Connecticut, Massachusetts and California found 27 percent had at least one open…
Truck Safety Technology Can Prevent 63,000 Crashes Each Year
AAA Foundation Study Reveals Benefits of Adding Safety Technology to Large Trucks WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 21, 2017)- Equipping large trucks with advanced safety technologies has the potential to prevent up to 63,000 truck related crashes each year, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In 2015, large trucks were involved in…
Federal Regulators Ratchet Up Probe of Ford Explorer Exhaust Complaints
by Christopher Jensen Over the last five years, auto safety regulators have received hundreds of complaints of exhaust fumes and carbon monoxide wafting into the cabins of Ford Explorers. Investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who began looking into the issue only last year, say they’ve uncovered no medical evidence that motorists have…
Driverless Vehicle Makers Get to Steer Own Safety Oversight
The U.S. Transportation Department unveiled a new policy that permits companies developing autonomous vehicles to self-police the technology’s safety, a move that drew plaudits from automakers but criticism from safety advocates. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the policy incorporates concerns raised by companies and others about initial guidance released by the Obama administration and will…
U.S. to Let Automakers Self-Police Self-Driving Car Development
The U.S. Transportation Department unveiled a new policy that permits companies developing autonomous vehicles to self-police the technology’s safety, a move that drew plaudits from automakers but criticism from safety advocates. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the policy incorporates concerns raised by companies and others about initial guidance released by the Obama administration and will…
Tesla Self-Driving System Faulted by Safety Agency in Crash
By NEAL E. BOUDETTE and BILL VLASIC SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
Driver Errors, Overreliance on Automation, Lack of Safeguards, Led to Fatal Tesla Crash
9/12/2017 WASHINGTON (Sept. 12, 2017) — The National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday that a truck driver’s failure to yield the right of way and a car driver’s inattention due to overreliance on vehicle automation are the probable cause of the fatal May 7, 2016, crash near Williston, Florida. The NTSB also determined the operational design of…
Consumer Groups: Subaru Owners Deserve Transmission Recall Not Extended Warranty
By Christopher Jensen Consumer advocates from three groups say Subaru should be recalling models with a stalling problem instead of providing owners with an extended warranty on a troublesome continuously variable transmission. Stalling cars create “potentially dangerous situations for drivers,” said Jason Levine, the executive director of The Center for Auto Safety. “Why isn’t this…
Fatal Jeep Crash Renews Criticism of Recall Fix to Prevent Fires
A fatal accident this week involving a Jeep SUV has revived criticism from safety advocates that a federally sanctioned recall plan to keep the vehicle’s fuel tank from igniting in rear-end crashes didn’t go far enough to protect motorists. Vicki Hill, 58, of Elyria, Ohio, died early Monday morning after her 2007 Jeep Liberty was rear-ended.…
Recall: With 707 Horsepower It’s A Good Idea To Keep The Oil In The Engine
by Christopher Jensen It’s hard to imagine any good coming from the driver of a 707-horsepower vehicle not being able to see out the windshield. That accounts for the automaker recalling about 1,200 of its 2017 Dodge Challenger SRTs with the Hellcat V-8. The problem is a possible oil leak. A hose to the engine…