Recall Roundup: Mitsubishi, Mazda, Ford Announce Major Recalls

During the past week, various automakers, including Ferrari, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Toyota, issued recalls affecting a total of just under 1.5 million vehicles. Issues include air bag deployment, tire-pressure monitoring, and braking systems. Details for each recall are below, in alphabetical order by vehicle brand.

2001-2005 Chrysler Sebring

2001-2005 Dodge Stratus

2000-2005 Mitsubishi Eclipse

2001-2005 Mitsubishi Eclipse Sypder

Mitsubishi Motors North America (Mitsubishi) is recalling a total of 459,618 vehicles, including: model-year 2000-2005 Eclipse vehicles manufactured April 5, 1999, to December 17, 2004; 2001-2005 Eclipse Spyder vehicles manufactured January 19, 2000, to March 18, 2005; 2001-2005 Chrysler Sebring vehicles manufactured April 17, 2000, to February 21, 2005; and 2001-2005 Dodge Stratus vehicles manufactured April 17, 2000, to February 22, 2005. In the affected vehicles, the passenger-side sun visor may be folded down in such a position that, if the passenger frontal air bag deploys, the passenger-side sun visor may detach. If the visor detaches and is propelled rearward, risk of occupant injury would increase.

Mitsubishi will notify their owners, and Chrysler will notify the Chrysler and Dodge owners. Dealers will install a tether strap to retain the front passenger sun visor free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Chrysler and Dodge owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Mitsubishi's number for this recall is SR-15-005; owners may also refer to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) campaign number 15V338000.

2014-2015 Ferrari LaFerrari

Ferrari North America (Ferrari) is recalling 85 model-year 2014-2015 LaFerrari vehicles manufactured May 15, 2014, to March 4, 2015. The affected vehicles have L32 seats as standard equipment for the passenger seat and as optional equipment for the driver seat. In a crash, the headrests of L32 seats may not absorb the required amount of energy; thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 202a: Head Restraints.

Ferrari will notify owners, and dealers will replace the headrests free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in June 2015. Owners may contact Ferrari customer service at 1-866-551-2828. Ferrari's number for this recall is 55; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V305000.

2014-2015 Ferrari LaFerrari

Ferrari is recalling 85 model-year 2014-2015 LaFerrari vehicles manufactured May 15, 2014, to March 4, 2015. In the event of a tire puncture, the affected vehicles will display the incorrect warning message of "Low Tyre Pressure--Max speed 50 mph" instead of the correct message: "Low Tyre Pressure--Do not proceed." As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS No. 138: Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems. The incorrect message may cause the driver to continue driving on a punctured tire, causing a loss of vehicle control, and increasing the risk of a crash.

Ferrari will notify owners, and dealers will update the tire-pressure monitoring system software to give the correct reading, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in June 2015. Owners may contact Ferrari customer service at 1-866-551-2828. Ferrari's number for this recall is 56; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V306000.

2015 Ford Mustang

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling 19,095 model-year 2015 Ford Mustang vehicles manufactured February 14, 2014, to February 10, 2015, and equipped with a 2.3-liter engine. Prolonged exposure to elevated underbody temperatures can cause degradation of the fuel tank and/or fuel vapor lines, which may eventually result in a fuel leak. In addition, this condition could cause seals in the parking brake cable to degrade, potentially affecting parking brake function. If the vehicle experiences a fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source it can increase the risk of a vehicle fire. Reduced parking brake function could potentially result in unexpected vehicle movement, which may increase the risk of injury.

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank shield, add thermal patches to the fuel tank and parking brake cable, and add thermal wraps to the fuel vapor lines. The repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall is expected to begin July 6, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S19; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V339000.

Ford: Various 2011-2013 Vehicles

Ford is recalling 393,623 vehicles, including the following: model-year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5-liter engine; Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles; 2011 Mercury Milan; 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5-liter GTDI engine; and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault. If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin July 20, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V340000.

2015 Lexus NX 200t

Toyota Motor (Toyota) is recalling 3,013 model-year 2015 Lexus NX 200t vehicles manufactured December 18, 2014, to February 2, 2015. These vehicles are equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), traction control system (TRAC), and vehicle stability control system (VSC) which are controlled by an ABS actuator. A component inside the actuator may have been damaged during its assembly and may cause the actuator to not function properly. Under some driving conditions, when the ABS is activated, the malfunctioning ABS actuator could cause a loss of vehicle stability, increasing the risk of a crash.

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the ABS actuator, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in early July 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, and may refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V341000.

2003-2008 Mazda 6

2004-2008 Mazda RX-8

2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling 444,907 model-year 2003-2008 Mazda 6 vehicles manufactured May 29, 2002, to May 5, 2008; 2004-2008 RX-8 vehicles manufactured April 10, 2003, to February 18, 2008; and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6 vehicles manufactured August 4, 2005, to June 29, 2007. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants.

Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 8215F; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V382000.

Note: The remedy for this recall is not yet available. In the meantime, Mazda will install a new production air bag inflator in these same vehicles under safety recall 15V-345. The interim-remedy air bag inflator will be of the same specification as the original air bag inflator to reduce the amount of time that the air bag inflator has been exposed to humidity. However, the interim air bag inflator does not eliminate the long-term potential for rupture and will only be installed as a stop-gap measure until the newly designed air bag inflators can be produced. Owners need to have their vehicle remedied under recall 15V-345 as soon as possible and, when the new air bag inflators are available, have their vehicles remedied again under this recall.

2006-2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse

2007-2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder

Mitsubishi is recalling 74,836 model-year 2006-2009 Eclipse vehicles manufactured April 20, 2005, to February 13, 2009; and 2007-2009 Eclipse Spyder vehicles manufactured December 23, 2005, to February 13, 2009. Due to corrosion inside the ABS unit, one or more of the internal valves may seize. In a braking event that uses the ABS, a seized valve would increase brake pedal travel and reduce braking ability.

Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, flush, and clean the ABS hydraulic unit using high-grade brake fluid, free of charge. If the inspection shows that the valves may seize, the ABS unit will be replaced. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Mitsubishi's number for this recall is SR-15-004; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V337000.

2015 Subaru Impreza

2015 Subaru Legacy

2015 Subaru Outback

2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek

2016 Subaru WRX

Subaru of America (Subaru) is recalling approximately 72,000 model-year 2015 Legacy vehicles manufactured March 10, 2014, to April 16, 2015; Outback vehicles manufactured February 24, 2014, to April 16, 2015; Impreza vehicles manufactured September 9, 2014, to April 14, 2015; XV Crosstrek vehicles manufactured October 16, 2014, to April 15, 2015; and 2016 WRX vehicles manufactured March 23, 2015, and equipped with the Eyesight Driver Assist System. If the switch that activates the brake lights fails, the automatic pre-collision braking component of the driver-assist system will not function, and the vehicle will not react to an obstacle in its path, increasing the risk of a crash.

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the driver assist system free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQS-54; owners may also refer to NHTSA campaign number 15V366000.