Fiat Chrysler US to recall 7,810 SUVs to prevent hacking

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s U.S. arm said on Friday it would recall 7,810 sport utility vehicles in the United States to update software for radios to prevent hacking.

The announcement by FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group LLC, comes more than a month after the company recalled about 1.4 million vehicles in the United States for the software update.

Cybersecurity researchers used the Internet to turn off a car’s engine as it drove, escalating concerns about the safety of Internet-connected vehicles.


FCA said on Friday that it was unaware of any injuries related to software exploitation.

The recalled vehicles include 2015 Jeep Renegade SUVs equipped with 6.5-inch touchscreens.

FCA said that more than half of the recalled vehicles remain with dealers and will be serviced before they are sold.

source: interaksyon.com

Toyota, Honda and Chrysler involved in new air bag recall

DETROIT/WASHINGTON - The auto industry's air bag troubles deepened on Saturday as U.S. federal safety regulators said three big automakers will recall about 2.1 million older vehicles to fix defects that could cause air bags to deploy when they are not supposed to.

The vehicles involved in the recall announced by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are made by Toyota Motor Corp, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Honda Motor Co.

There have been about 400 reported cases of inadvertent air bag deployments in the recalled vehicles, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. The incidents have caused some minor injuries, but no known deaths, he told reporters.

The recall concerned a defective chip in air bag systems and the fix involved replacing the entire air bag module, including circuits manufactured by parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings, Rosekind said.

The automakers involved had issued three earlier recalls to fix the chip problems. But the NHTSA said it had reports that 39 vehicles fixed under those actions had experienced inadvertent air bag deployments, hence the new recall.

It was not related to millions of vehicles recalled over Takata Corp air bags. U.S. safety regulators have said defective Takata air bag inflators in certain vehicles can rupture and spray metal fragments inside the vehicle.

Air bag failures were also central to the controversy last year over General Motors Co's delay in recalling millions of vehicles with defective ignition switches that could unexpectedly cut off power to the safety systems.

Honda said that approximately 374,000 Honda and Acura vehicles are affected in the United States.

"Honda has received a small number of complaints of inadvertent airbag deployment in these vehicles after the original recall repair was completed," Honda said in a statement. "No crashes have been reported to Honda related to this issue."

Noting potential consumer concerns about air bags, the NHTSA said the chances of being involved in a crash in which an air bag could prevent serious injury or death were far greater than the risk of serious injury from an inadvertent bag deployment.

NHTSA blamed the problems it reported on Saturday on "electrical noise" in the air bag system. It said a fully effective solution might not be available until late this year.

The agency said the models affected were: 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty and 2002-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees (about 750,000 vehicles); 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey; and 2003 Acura MDX (about 370,000 vehicles) and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe; Dodge Viper; and Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, and Toyota Avalon (about 1 million vehicles, not all of which were sold in the United States.)

The agency said the affected models had a part called an electronic control unit that controls deployment of its air bags. TRW supplied control units containing the same control circuit to all three automakers.

Although the recalls were not related to the Takata cases, the NHTSA said there was an overlap, in that about 1 million of the vehicles affected were also covered in separate recalls of Takata air bag inflator systems.

The recall highlights the difficulty automakers and regulators have with increasingly complex electronic systems. The agency said in a statement it could take several months for the companies to obtain enough parts to fix all the vehicles involved.

In the Takata cases, Honda on Friday said it has confirmed that a Takata air bag inflator ruptured in a Jan. 18 crash in Texas that killed the driver. Prior to that incident, air bags made by the Japanese company had been linked to at least five deaths.

source: interaksyon.com

Chrysler recalls Jeeps, Ram pick-up trucks

NEW YORK CITY — Chrysler said Tuesday it was recalling 142,800 Jeeps and Ram pick-up trucks to fix a problem with software that controls instrument lighting and, on the Jeeps, the anti-lock braking system.
The majority of the recalls are for 132,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees in the model year 2014. Most of them — 91,559 — are in the United States. The rest are outside the US.

Chrysler, controlled by Italy’s Fiat, said there was a software problem on the Jeeps that randomly lit up the instrument lights or made them go dark. Engineers also discovered a software glitch with the vehicles’ anti-lock braking system that affects the instrument display.

The company recalled 10,800 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups to upgrade software that controls instrument illumination. It said most of the trucks were still at dealerships.

The automaker said it was unaware of any associated accidents or injuries with any of the problems, and will update the software free of charge.

source: interaksyon.com

Chrysler recalls newer Jeeps; stands firm on older models

NEW YORK — Two days after rejecting a push to recall old model Jeeps over a potential fire hazard, Chrysler on Thursday issued a recall for 630,000 newer models for power steering and airbag problems.

Chrysler, a unit of Italy’s Fiat, will call back for repairs 221,000 2012-2013 3.6 liter Jeep Wranglers with automatic transmissions to fix a problem with the power steering system that can damage the transmission cooler line and cause a transmission fluid leak.

Most of the cars are in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In addition, the automaker said it will recall 409,000 2010-2012 Jeep Compasses and Patriots, three-quarters of them in the United States and the rest in other countries, because of a software problem that could delay or prevent the deployment of a side curtain airbag in a crash, leaving occupants of the car at higher risk of injury.

Chrysler told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it will repair the problems free of charge.

The move came after Chrysler on Tuesday rejected the NHTSA’s recommendation that it recall 2.7 million Jeep sport utility vehicles built in the 1990s and 2000s to fix a risk of engine fires that have left dozens dead.

But “the company does not agree with NHTSA’s conclusions and does not intend to recall the vehicles cited in the investigation. The subject vehicles are safe and are not defective,” Chrysler said in a statement.

The rare move to publicly reject a recall recommended by the agency did not put an end to the issue.

The NHTSA said in a statement late Tuesday that it still hopes Chrysler will reconsider “and take action to protect its customers and the driving public.”

“Our data shows that these vehicles may contain a defect that presents an unreasonable risk to safety, which is why we took the next step of writing Chrysler,” it said.

Chrysler said Thursday that it was still preparing its formal response to the NHTSA, which still has the option of ordering the recall.

source: interaksyon.com