North Carolina Product Liability Blog : North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

On January 29, 2010, Honda announced a worldwide recall for 646,000 of their Honda Fit (Jazz if sold outside the U.S.) models. Of these, 141,000 were purchased in the U.S. The models included in this recall are the first generation Honda Fit, sold in 2007-2008.

This recall is due to reports that water or liquid can leak into the vehicle’s master switch through the window and/or door-lock switches, creating the potential for the switches to overheat, melt, smoke and even catch fire. Honda spokesman Chuck Schifsky says, “There have been 7 confirmed cases in the U.S. In two cases those have involved fires.” No injuries or deaths have been reported thus far.

Honda plans to correct the problem by replacing the switch on the driver’s side door, or by installing a waterproof skirt. Owners of recalled Honda Fits should be conscious of leaving car windows open until the appropriate remedy can be administered to their vehicle. Open windows could easily allow rainwater to come in, and leak into the faulty switches.

Owners should contact Honda Customer Service at 1-800-999-1009 for more information and further instructions.

If these defective switches have resulted in your injury, please call our office immediately at 1-877-829-7211 to discuss your legal options.
 

 

/ab

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Audi has issued a recall of approximately 10,200 Audi A3, TT, and TT Roadster models for involving MY 2006 through 2010. It appears there may be an issue a spring found in the fuel tank ventilation valve, leading to its inability to close during extreme driving conditions. when not closed, fuel can leak out, and with an ignition source, could lead to a car fire.

VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006 THROUGH 2010 AUDI A3, TT, AND TT ROADSTER PASSENGER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 AND AUGUST 26, 2009. THE CLOSING FORCE OF AN INTERNAL SPRING OF THE FUEL TANK VENTILATION VALVE IS NOT ADEQUATE ENOUGH TO HOLD THE VALVE CLOSED UNDER EXTREME DRIVING CONDITIONS POSSIBLY ALLOWING FUEL TO LEAK.

 

If you have had a car fire and would like to discuss your situation with our firm, please contact us immediately at 919.233.0520.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A new database will be launched Friday allowing consumers a place to search out whether a used car they are thinking of purchasing has been in a wreck and rebuil, had fire and been repaired, been stolen or other information.

 A federal database that will allow car buyers to learn whether a vehicle has been stolen or rebuilt after a wreck will be launched on Friday – more than 16 years after Congress passed a law requiring its creation, and a year after three safety groups sued the federal government to force it to act.

This database goes online January 30 in large part to a lawsuit brought by Public Citizen and two other consumer groups. However, it appears there are still more than a dozen states that are refusing to comply which leaves the database incomplete.

Last year, Public Citizen, joined by Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) and Consumer Action, sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in federal court in San Francisco, asking the court to order the government to implement the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. In September, the court told the DOJ it had until Jan. 30 to make the information available on the Internet and to issue a rule requiring states, insurance companies and junk yards to report safety information.

 

Currently, 10 states are not reporting vehicle data at all, while two states that are – New York and California – are attempting to prevent public access to that data. The data will be available through third-party Web sites, which will charge a nominal fee per record search.  View the full story here

We have helped numerous clients who have been victims of auto fraud and products liability. It would be a great start to enable consumers and give them a place to research a vehicle before putting their lives in jeopardy.

If you have been a victim of fraud or products liability and would like to discuss your matter with our firm, please do not hesitate to contact us at 919-677-0144.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

When you think of a product liability case you may think of automobiles, air bags, and other big items failing.  Or you may think of child safety issues such as recalls involving cribs and toys. Not often do you think of furniture and mattresses. However, these products do fail. And when these dangerous items  make it into the marketplace  they pose risks to the public. In the past we have heard of furniture catching on fire when it should not have, and today the CPSC announced a recall of 6,100 Serta mattresses because they fail to meet mandatory federal safety standards for mattresses.

Name of Product: Serta Zipper-Covered Foam Core Mattresses

Units: About 6,100

Manufacturer: Serta International Mattress Co., of Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Hazard: The mattresses fail to meet the mandatory federal open flame standard for mattresses, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

 

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recalled mattresses have a zipper cover over a foam core. The mattresses were sold in twin, full, queen, king and California king sizes. They were manufactured between November 30, 2007 and May 20, 2008. The mattress name, date of manufacture, model, and serial numbers are located on label attached to the mattress. Only specific serial numbers are included in the recall. The recalled mattresses are listed in the chart below.

Mattress Name	Model Number	Serial Number
Serene Signature Zip	810098, 810298, 810198, 810598	Contact Serta to determine if your serial number is included in the recall.
Accord Zip	830098
Perpetual Zip	830298, 830498
Solara Zip	830798
Solara II Zip	830898
Compass Zip	830198, 831598
Bellbrook Zip	830398
Elysian Zip	830698
Allington Zip	831098
Araceli Zip	831498
Royce Select Zip	831698

To read the entire notice click here.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a product failure and you would like to discuss your matter, feel free to contact us at 1-877-829-7211.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

It seems lately we have been hearing more and more form victims of car fires. GM has announced that they are recalling 42,408 Saturn Vues. The recall is due to

a potential leak of power steering fluid that could cause a fire

Apparently this recall affects model year vehicles from 2008-2009 with 6 cylinders.

The recall covers a group of Saturn Vues from the 2008 and 2009 model years that are equipped with six-cylinder engines. GM said dealers would inspect and tighten the nut and check the fluid level as needed.

The report says there have been no reported injuries from this product defect, which brings up another very important point. Should you ever have a product defect you should always report it. Even if there are no injuries, it is important the defects are reported so that investigations can take place, and if a product proves to be unsafe, the public is made aware. If you need to report a defect, the link to the Office of Defects Investigation is:http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Nissan has issued a recall for 180,664 model year 2005-2006 Titan, Armada, and Infiniti QX56 manufactured after March 17, 2005 as announced on the NHTSA ODI website. It seems these vehicles that are equipped with the Visteon air conditioning condenser air motor. The fan may not be properly sealed thereby allowing excessive water intrusion. This corrosion can lead to overheating thus resulting in a car fire.

If you have been involved in a  car fire and think our firm can assist you please do not hesitate to contact us. The notice is as follows:

Summary: NISSAN IS RECALLING 180,664 MY 2005-2006 TITAN, ARMADA AND INFINITY QX56 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED AFTER MARCH 17, 2005, THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH A VISTEON AIR CONDITIONING CONDENSER FAN MOTOR. THE FAN MOTOR MAY NOT BE PROPERLY SEALED ALLOWING EXCESSIVE WATER INTRUSION AND INADEQUATE DRAINAGE OF MOISTURE.

Consequence: THIS COULD CAUSE CORROSION IN THE MOTOR LEADING POSSIBLY TO OVERHEATING AND A FIRE.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A 'THERMAL PROTECTOR KIT' AND TEST THE AIR CONDITIONING CONDENSER FAN MOTOR AND REPLACE IT IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN NEAR THE END OF JULY 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

If you have a Ford please take note. The National Highway Safety Administration announced certain Ford vehicles pose a fire risk due to malfunctioning cruise controls.

WASHINGTON -- The National Highway Safety Administration today urged owners of more than 4 million unrepaired Ford Motor Co. vehicles that are at risk of fire because of a defective cruise control deactivation switch to "immediately" get it fixed.

The Detroit News reported Monday that Ford won't have an adequate supply of parts to repair trucks and vans until June.

Ford has urged owners to take vehicles into dealerships to get their cruise control deactivated as an interim fix until it has enough parts on hand to fix the cruise control.

Ford expanded its recall by 3.6 million vehicles last August, but NHTSA has continued to receive complaints of fires -- about 60 since then.

In a statement, NHTSA said: "Many dealers will perform this as a 'drive through' service so owners do not have to leave their vehicles at the dealership or schedule an appointment in advance. Failure to have the switch disconnected could lead to a vehicle fire at any time, whether or not the key is in the ignition, and whether or not owners use the cruise control system. The safety agency said the fire danger is present regardless of the age of the vehicle, and could even occur while the vehicle is parked and unattended."

Ford has had seven separate recalls since 1999 of a total of 9.6 million vehicles, including 220,000 vehicles re-recalled earlier this month.

Combined, the campaigns represent one of the largest recalls in U.S. history.

The $21 Texas Instruments switches were installed in 16 million Ford vehicles over a decade before the automaker stopped using them in 2002.

The switches have been linked to nearly 550 vehicle fires and 1,500 complaints. Ford faces more than 125 lawsuits around the country.

The switch is used to deactivate a vehicle's cruise control when a driver taps the brake pedal. Most of the suits allege fires began well after the vehicles were turned off.

In many cases, insurance companies initially paid for damage to homes in fires that the owners claim were sparked by Ford vehicles, and then the insurers sued Ford to try to recoup their losses.

Only a few cases involving the faulty switches have gone to trial, among them one in South Carolina. A jury in March 2007 awarded a couple $3.5 million, including $3 million in punitive damages over a house fire allegedly set by a 2000 Ford Expedition. That case is under appeal.

If you have been affected by such a product defect and would like to discuss your situation please contact our firm.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

It sounds  like something  out of a scary movie where the toaster is possessed, turns on  by itself and the house catches on fire.  Well, it seems  for approximately 5200 QVC toasters, that is exactly what has been happening.  These toasters have been recalled for ...

Hazard: The toaster can turn on without bread in the slots and ignite items placed on top of it, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: QVC has received information that ten toasters reportedly turned on spontaneously, including one incident of fire damage to kitchen cabinets and two incidents of toaster covers burned. No injuries have been reported.

The entire notice from  the Consumer Protection Safety Commission can be found here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Ford recalls another 3.6 million vehicles due to engine fires resulting from faulty cruise controls.  They had recalled 6 million back in 2005 for what appears to be the same defect.  Apparently the issue is with vehicles primarily out of the Louisville plant.

More on this here.  Just hope they got them all this time.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks