US DOT NHTSA Safety Recalls 12/21/2015

Mitsubishi Mirage Safety Recall

Safety recall..Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.  is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Mitsubishi Mirage vehicles manufactured August 7, 2013, to September 2, 2015.

Reason? If the driver enters an affected vehicle with their feet covered with water and salt, it may soak through the carpet and cause corrosion to a wiring connector located in a junction box behind a kick panel to the left of the driver’s footrest.

Consequence? In the event of a crash, corrosion of the connector could delay deployment of the frontal air bags, increasing the risk of injury to the driver and the front seat passenger.

What you need to understand: This is more of a rust belt problem, but water intrusion is a problem for electrical components at any time or location.  The left kick panel is that piece of plastic located just to the left of your foot.  Most car manufacturers run electrical wiring in that area  due to the location of these components. Link to recall

Jeep Cherokee Safety Recall

Chrysler/Jeep (aka Fiat) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jeep Cherokee vehicles manufactured February 18, 2015, to September 10, 2015 equipped with the power liftgate option.

Reason? The affected vehicles may leak water into the Power Liftgate Control Module and result in a high resistance short circuit.

Consequence? A short circuit in the module increases the risk of fire.

What you need to understand: A high resistance circuit is what they use in a toaster.  High resistance in an active electrical circuit creates heat. You know those glowing things inside of the toaster that makes the heat to toast your toast? That’s an active high resistance circuit.  Doesn’t work so well with an electrical circuit that is not made to toast toast.  Instead is overheats and could start a fire.  Before your back end catches fire, drive over to the dealer and have this recall addressed. Link to recall

Complete list of 12/21/2015 Safety Recalls

Below is a complete to list of the 12/21/2015 vehicle safety recalls.  Be sure your family and friends are safe; take a minute to look at the list below.
Here’s a VIN check tool you can use as well to check for recalls on any vehicle..  Check my car for a safety recall

What is a recall?

When a manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determines that a car or item of motor vehicle equipment creates an unreasonable risk to safety or fails to meet minimum safety standards, the manufacturer is required to fix that car or equipment at no cost to the consumer. That can be done by repairing it, replacing it, offering a refund (for equipment) or, in rare cases, repurchasing the car.

The following recall may apply to one or more of your vehicles if your vehicle is listed below. Click on the NHTSA Campaign ID number below to read more about the safety issue and the reason for the recall.