Manufacturer recalls for May 2020

As activity in the automotive market has plummeted due to the pandemic, the month of May registered a very low number of recalls than usual. Here is the list.

Toyota has launched a recall campaign for the 2019-2020 RAV4 crossovers and its hybrid models in the U.S. due to the risk of faulty suspension parts. “The front lower suspension arms may have cracks, which may result in the suspension arm separating from the front wheel assembly,” reads the NHTSA campaign no 20V286000 pertaining to this recall. The front lower suspension in these vehicles can eventually separate if driven frequently with rapid acceleration and deceleration. A total of 9,502 vehicles are believed to be affected by this issue.

Mitsubishi jumps in with two recalls this month. The larger of which is caused due to corrosion of suspension components. This recall prevails over the 2008-2010 Lancer, 2008-2013 Outlander and 2011-2016 ASX models. According to the U.S. NHTSA, Mitsubishi is recalling 141,000 of these vehicles in total, to detect the corrosion issue in the front cross member. But this issue is at its worst only in snowy regions, where the road salt used to melt the snow on the road can aid corrosion. So it may be largely irrelevant for our market but if your vehicle falls in this list, it’s best to give your suspension a glance the next time you pop in for a service.

The smaller U.S. recall from Mitsubishi is for 2019-2020 Outlanders and 2019 Outlander PHEVs. The second-row seat belts in these vehicles might have been fitted with the wrong part. The guide piece of the left side seat belt may have been mistakenly fitted with the guide piece meant for the right side. This can reduce the efficiency of the seat belts. Only 3,238 vehicles are being recalled.

Ford has announced two different recalls that affect about 40,000 cars from 2014 to 2020. The first recall is for the 2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. More than 25,000 of these large SUVs are found to be affected with an issue that prevents the Pre-Collision Assist features from turning on. Thus, the SUVs may not alert the driver when a collision is imminent or may not slow down to avoid the accident. This defect can have serious consequences. But luckily, no accidents or injuries are reported yet that can be traced back to this defect.

The second U.S. recall from Ford involves the 2019 and 2020 Ford Mustang and 2019 Lincoln Navigator. In these vehicles, a “transmission not in park” message and the chime along with it are found to come on only for three seconds after the driver door is closed. By regulation, the message should remain in the instrument cluster for thirty minutes and the chime should sound for ten seconds after the door is closed. About 10,460 vehicles are affected and these vehicles will get their instrument cluster reprogrammed.

If your car happens to be in this list, ring up your dealer and ask if the recall applies to your GCC-spec vehicle.