Mazda and the NHTSA have today issued a recall for up to 39,600 B Series trucks of the 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 model years.

The recall focuses on the Texas Instrumentals “speed-control deactivation switch and/or antilock brake system manufactured before Dec. 5, 2002.” Basically, the various parts are accused of corroding at an alarming rate which could lead the switch to overheat possibly causing a fire.

As always, you can take your car down to your local Mazda dealership to get it inspected and fixed if need be.

via kickingtires

Tags: b series, Mazda, nhtsa

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The celebrated Cash for Clunkers program is more complex than one would think. At least concerning the dealers, there is a fine print which states that “All trade-ins must be disabled and scrapped by a disposal facility that is a part of the End of Life Vehicle Solutions program and has been approved by the NHTSA.”

This means that in order to avail of the Cash for Clunkers program, dealers need to properly dispose of traded-in cars, meaning that they still have to add another area of business when it comes to operations. But thanks to disposal facilities such as JunkMyCar.com, the process has been sub-contracted, making sure that the requirements of the CARS rebate program are properly addressed.

The benefits Junk my Car offers to dealers include ensuring they receive the Disposal Facility Certification Form, determining the scrap value that will be passed on to the customer, and receiving payment for each vehicle removed.

Hence, for the consumers thinking of availing of the Cash for Clunkers Program, make sure that the dealer you are negotiating with has the proper means of properly processing your intent to avail of the special rebate program. Better yet, inquire if they have an affiliation with Junk my Car, a free junk vehicle removal service that facilitates the removal of cars, trucks, and motorcycles in the United States and Canada.

(Source) Press

Tags: affiliation, Canada, Cars, consumers, free junk, ins, junk vehicle, management services, motorcycles, nhtsa, rebate program, salvage, salvage management, scrap value, trucks, united states, vehicle solutions

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Here’s something that is ridiculously obvious but still needed some official study to make it official: Texting while driving will increase the likeliness that you will get into a crash.

This study comes to us from the Virgina Tech Transportation Institute that suggests texting while driving will increase your chance of crashing by 23x. To put this into perspective, the NHTSA says that driving while on the phone or with a .08 blood-alcohol level only increases your chance of a crash by 4x.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone as when you’re texting your eyes are situated on the handset rather than the road for prolonged periods. The bad news is that this will be extremely hard to police as those who text usually keep the phone in their laps or otherwise out of view from those looking into the car.

Read (New York Times)

Tags: Driving, nhtsa, safety hazard, study, Texting, virgina tech transportation institute

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Subaru and the NHTSA have recently issued a recall for 15,633 Bajas of the 2005-2006 model year.

This recall will begin in September and focuses on potential cracking of Baja’s fuel hose connection to the fuel pump. If it were to crack it could lead to fuel leaking from the vehicle thus increasing the risk of a fire.

Subaru says that when they begin the recall owners of 2005-2006 Bajas will be able to bring their vehicle to a local dealership to get the problem inspected and fixed free of chrage.

Tags: baja, fire, fuel bump, nhtsa, Recall, safety, Subaru

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BMW and the NHTSA have recently issued a recall that concerns all 2009 X5 and X6 SUVs, confirming the fact that this is a rather widespread problem.

According to the recall, the issue deals with the rear brake disks which have been potentially manufactured incorrectly. This means that if a vehicle is effected it could have severly reduced rear wheel breaking performance thus leading to increased stopping distance. I’m sure you can guess what kind of problems would arise from this.

BMW hasn’t said what they will do to remedy the problem but just to be safe head to your local BMW dealership to get the problem checked out.

Tags: BMW, brakes, c6, nhtsa, rear brake discs, Recall, safety, x5

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VW and the NHTSA have recently issued a recall that will effect up to 14,416 Touareg SUVs of the 2007-2009 model years. Unfortunately, the car’s spoiler won’t cause the entire vehicle to take flight but the spoiler itself? That’s a different story.

According to VW the spoiler attached to the back of the effected Touaregs poses the threat of possible coming loose from the vehicle and causing all sorts of havoc. The problem deals with loose fastening struts connecting the spoiler to the car.

VW owners can head to their local dealership if they have an effected vehicle where the problem will be fixed for free.

Read (Autoblog)

Tags: detachment, nhtsa, Recall, safety hazard, spoiler, touareg

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The alarming rate of car crashes and accidents have claimed a large number of young drivers due to reckless imprudence. Being at the prime of their youth and foregoing the importance of driving safely on the roads, perhaps this effort by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) can help make them aware of what awaits them if they are not careful on the road.

The Advertising Council joined today with a coalition of state Attorneys General and consumer protection agencies to launch a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to save lives by reducing youth reckless driving.

NHTSA data shows that, on average, more than 300,000 teens are injured in car crashes each year, nearly 8,000 are involved in fatal crashes and more than 3,500 are killed. Research also shows that teen drivers are involved in more than five times as many fatal crashes as adults. Young drivers are more likely to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns and die in an SUV rollover.

Here is a sample ad:

(Source) Press

Tags: advertising council, consumer protection agencies, fatal crashes, highway traffic safety, national highway traffic safety administration, nhtsa, psa, public service advertisements, reckless driving, reckless imprudence, teen drivers, traffic safety administration, young drivers

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