Manufacturer recalls for June 2018

From the Mercedes-Benz’s diesel emission scandal to the Takata airbag issue playing a cameo, here is a list of all the recalls that happened in the past month.

Mercedes Benz evades a massive fine of US$ 4.4 billion by recalling 774,000 diesel vehicles in Europe based on an order made by Germany’s Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer. This was a follow-up to the finding made by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) that some of the brand’s Euro 6 diesel vehicles were fitted with “prohibited shutoff devices” that tampered with the emission results. Mercedes Benz GLC crossovers, C-Class sedans and Vito vans are affected by this recall. There will be updates made to the engine and exhaust system control software with no change in hardware. This will help the automaker dodge fines of up to US$ 4.4 billion as the recall will cost them less than US$ 120 million, according to a Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst with Evercore ISI in London.

Audi has announced that they won’t be selling their A6 and A7 models in the U.S. for an undetermined amount of time as a defective sensor in some seats which may stop the airbags from deploying. A total of 139,249 vehicles are estimated to be affected by this problem and these were fitted with Standard or Super Sport Seats and manufactured between January 2011 and April 2018. The automaker will also be recalling all examples of these models from 2012 to 2018 for an inspection. It is unclear how many models are affected in the GCC.

The Takata airbag issue makes its presence felt in one way or the other. Now it’s Ferrari that is being thrown under the train as 1,507 vehicles from 2009 to 2013 are being subjected to a recall. The models include 2009-2013 California, 2010-2013 458 Italia (including the Spider), 2012-2013 FF, and 2013 F12berlinetta. The airbags from Takata are known to degrade over time which will turn into a safety hazard later. And the recall is not going to stop here. More Ferraris from 2016 and 2017, about 2800 of them, are suspected to harbour the faulty components.

About 507,000 Kia vehicles in the U.S. are being recalled due to an airbag fault which is unrelated to the Takata airbag issue. This recall is a follow-up to an announcement made by NHTSA in March that it was investigating some crashes in which the airbags did not deploy. The crashes involved Kia and Hyundai vehicles and were very horrific with 4 people dead and 6 injured. The recall covers 2010-2013 Kia Forte (Cerato), 2011-2013 Kia Optima and 2011-2012 Kia Optima Hybrid and Sedona vehicles. The airbag circuit in these vehicles may short circuit due to electrical over-stress which prevents the frontal airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners from deploying. It is unclear if cars sold in the GCC are affected.

Contact your local dealer for further information.