According to the Los Angeles Times: “Automakers recalled about 60 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, almost double the previous record set a decade ago. But as many as 35 million of these vehicles have not been repaired, according to some estimates—even though many have defects that have been linked to multiple fatalities.”

This amazes me. Here are vehicles that you drive and in which you transport your family and friends and you fail to get the safety issues fixed when you are warned? Does that make sense? Recall repairs are free of charge, and still there are people who won’t spend the time to fix their vehicle.

More importantly, these statistics tell me that we will all, sooner or later, work on vehicles that have not had their recalls completed. I will continue to post recall issues on this blog that an automotive glass technician should know. I hope this knowledge will help in awareness of installation concerns, or simply give you the opportunity to remind customers that their vehicle should be fixed.

Here are a couple more that I thought might come in handy doing your work. One is the hood release on Nissan vehicles that may not operate correctly. Make sure the hood is fully closed when the installation is completed. The others involve the inadvertent deployment of the airbags. The odds of these failures occurring during the installation is slim but they may fail after the installation is completed. It is always wise to remind the customer of the recall and urge them to have it fixed sooner rather than later.

Report Receipt Date: JANUARY 26, 2015

NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V033000

Component(s): STRUCTURE

Potential Number of Units Affected: 170,665

Vehicle Make, Model, Model Year(s)

• INFINITI JX35 2013
• INFINITI QX60 2014
• INFINITI QX60 HYBRID 2014
• NISSAN PATHFINDER 2013-2014
• NISSAN PATHFINDER HYBRID 2014

Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.

SUMMARY:

Nissan North America Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012 to November 18, 2013, 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid vehicles manufactured July 18, 2013 to November 18, 2013, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles manufactured November 29, 2011 to June 14, 2013, 2014 QX60 vehicles manufactured May 16, 2013 to November 18, 2013, and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles manufactured July 18, 2013 to November 18, 2013. In the affected vehicles the hood release cable assembly may have been installed incorrectly preventing the latching claw from fully engaging. The secondary latch may remain in the open position when the hood is closed.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the primary hood latch is released and the secondary latch fails during operation of the vehicle, it could cause the hood to open during vehicle operation impairing the driver’s vision, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

REMEDY:

Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will modify the angle of the hood release mechanism to provide additional length to the release cable, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Report Receipt Date: JANUARY 28, 2015

NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V043000

Component(s): AIR BAGS

Potential Number of Units Affected: 1,006,849

Vehicle Make, Model, Model Year(s)

• PONTIAC VIBE 2003-2004
• TOYOTA AVALON2 003-2004
• TOYOTA COROLLA 2003-2004
• TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX 2003-2004

Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

SUMMARY:

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 200, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002 to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002 to December 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured January 18, 2002 to April 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.

CONSEQUENCE:

Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.

REMEDY:

Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. These parts are not currently available, however, an interim repair is available, free of charge that reduces the risk of an inadvertent deployment. This recall remedy was applied during earlier recall campaigns of these vehicles under safety recalls 13V-029 and 14V-147. All owners that have not had a recall repair performed under safety recalls 13V-029 or 14V-147 are strongly encouraged to have it performed and not wait for the final remedy to be deployed to the field. The replacement ECU parts needed for the final remedy are not expected to be available until the latter part of 2015. Owners will be mailed an interim notification in late March 2015 and will be mailed a follow up notification when new air bag control modules are available. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V-029 and 14V-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Report Receipt Date: JANUARY 28, 2015

NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V045000

Component(s): AIR BAGS

Potential Number of Units Affected: 374,177

Vehicle Make, Model, Model Year(s)

• ACURA MDX 2003
• HONDA ODYSSEY 2003-2004

Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

SUMMARY:

Honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey vehicles manufactured February 13, 2002 to August 13, 2004, and 2003 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured February 21, 2002 to September 23, 2003. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.

CONSEQUENCE:

Inadvertent deployment of the air bags may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.

REMEDY:

Honda dealers will replace the supplemental restraint system electronic control unit (SRS ECU). These parts are not currently available, however, an interim repair is available free of charge that reduces the risk of an inadvertent deployment. This recall remedy was applied during an earlier recall campaign of these vehicles under safety recall 13V-412. All owners that have not had the recall repair performed under safety recall 13V-412 are strongly encouraged to have it performed and not wait for the final remedy to be deployed to the field. The replacement ECU parts needed for the final remedy are not expected to be available until the latter part of 2015. Owners will be mailed an interim notification by late March 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009. Honda’s number for this recall is JN6 (Odyssey), and JN7 (MDX). Note: This recall supersedes recall 13V-412. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for that campaign need to have the SRS ECU replaced under this campaign.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Report Receipt Date: JANUARY 28, 2015

NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V046000

Component(s): AIRBAGS

Potential Number of Units Affected: 753,176

Vehicle Make, Model, Model Year(s)

• DODGEVIPER2003-2004
• JEEPGRAND CHEROKEE2002-2004
• JEEPLIBERTY2002-2003

Manufacturer: Chrysler (FCA US LLC)

SUMMARY:

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty vehicles manufactured January 9, 2001 to March 28, 2003, 2002-2004 Jeep Cherokee vehicles manufactured February 13, 2001 to May 23 2003, and 2003-2004 Dodge Viper vehicles manufactured November 1, 2001 to June 30, 2004. Due to electrical noise beyond the tolerance of the air bag electronic control module (ECM), a component in the ECM may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.

CONSEQUENCE:

Inadvertent deployment of the airbags may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.

REMEDY:

Chrysler dealers will replace the airbag control module and front and/or side impact sensors as required, free of charge. These parts are not currently available, however, an interim repair is available free of charge that reduces the risk of an inadvertent deployment. This recall remedy was applied during earlier recall campaigns of these vehicles under safety recalls 12V527 and 13V040. All owners that have not had the recall repair performed under safety recalls 12V527 or 13V040 are strongly encouraged to have it performed and not wait for the final remedy to be deployed to the field. The replacement ECM parts needed for the final remedy are not expected to be available until the latter part of 2015. Owners will be mailed an interim notification in late March 2015 and will be mailed a follow up notification when new air bag control modules are available. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler’s number for this recall is R06.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.