Nissan is about to recall 28,294 Nissan Juke built in between April 9, 2010 and May 12, 2011 because - according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - the vehicle could stall without warning. Apparently, the turbocharger boost sensor bracket may separate from the air inlet tube due to a defective weld, and if it does the vehicle could stall without warning, increasing the risk of an accident. Nissan said it is “aware of several stalling incidents in foreign countries,” in documentation filed with the federal safety agency, but also pointed out that all other Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are not affected by the issue as they do not use the same air inlet tube.

The recall will begin in January. At the moment it is still unclear whether the problem is also concerning the Jukes outside the US.

via | Inside Line

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Volkswagen is about to issue a recall for 2012 Audi A6 because of a possible issue concerning the stitching of the airbags, which my prevent them from activating in case of a crash. American transportation authority NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has released a bulletin confirming that the recall concerns A6 models manufactured between April 8 and May 26, 2011.

Volkswagen should notify the recall to the 317 A6 owners affected by the problem in January, when they will be able to take their vehicles to any Audi dealer and get the problem fixed free of charge. At the moment, there are no reports of a similar inconvenience in Europe.

via | The Car Connection

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Opel has taken the decision to postpone the launch of its new hybrid plug-in model Ampera, the European twin of Chevrolet Volt. The move comes in the wake of the safety issues concerning the batteries of the Volt, issues that forced General Motors to announce that the all-electric Chevrolet Spark will be equipped with different lithium-ion batteries.

American authorities are still investigating the three cases of Chevrolet Volts catching fire in the aftermath of standard crash tests, with the flames that were generated by sparks coming off the battery package. Opel announced that until the investigation will shed light on the causes of the inconvenience, the whole process will be put on hold.

Opel has already begun to distribute the Ampera to its dealership networks in Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland and Belgium, while Chevrolet has already launched the Volt in Europe with the symbolic delivery of two units to the American embassy in France. A Chevrolet spokeperson confirmed that the investigation carried on by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US over the fire risk of the model will not be affecting the schedule of its launch in Europe.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States will begin a formal investigation of the fire risk concerning the Chevrolet Volt. The decision was made public through a note published on the safercar.gov website dated December the 6th, and came after two of three crash-tests conducted by the NHTSA in November resulted in one battery pack catching fire and one smoking and emitting sparks, three weeks after being subjected to those tests.

Chevrolet has sold about 6,000 Volts so far - all of which are equipped with the OnStar emergency notification system - but at the moment there are no reports of any road accident resulting in battery-related fires. NHTSA is already working together with General Motors engineers to establish the cause of the problem and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the damage on the lithium-ion battery.

via | Detroit Free Press

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