Eight automakers are recalling more than 12 million vehicles in the U.S. to replace potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. Documents detailing recalls by Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Ferrari and Mitsubishi were posted Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Read more: Remember These? Pinto, Tylenol & Other Infamous Recalls They’re part…
Answers to Questions About Volkswagen Dirty Diesel Deal
People who own one of 482,000 Volkswagen vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines will be able to sell them back to the company or have them fixed under terms of a deal announced Thursday by a federal judge. The owners also will get unspecified “substantial compensation” from the company, which has admitted to programming the cars…
Source: VW, Gov’t Ink Deal to Pay Owners of Cheating Diesels
A person briefed on the matter says Volkswagen has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners of diesel-powered cars that cheat on emissions tests. The person says it’s an agreement in principle that does not include final details of how much each owner will get. Those…
VW Owners Seek Trial If There’s No Fix in Emissions Case
Lawyers representing thousands of people who own diesel Volkswagens that cheat on emissions tests are asking a judge to order repairs and compensation if the company and government regulators don’t agree to a fix by Thursday. The request was made in a proposed agenda for hearing Thursday before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer…
VW U.S. Chief Ousted Over Clashes with Management, Dealer Says
Michael Horn, Volkswagen’s top U.S. executive, was ushered out of his job for clashing too often with the German headquarters as he tried to keep sales afloat before and during the company’s diesel emissions-cheating scandal, a top dealer said. Horn, the U.S. president and CEO, was the automaker’s public face when the scandal broke in…
Safety Advocate Asks Gov’t to Reopen Jeep Fire Investigation
An auto safety advocate is calling on the government to reopen an investigation of rear-crash fires in older Jeep SUVs after finding at least 11 more deaths since the vehicles were recalled. The deaths show that the recall repair — installing a trailer hitch to protect gas tanks in low-speed crashes — hasn’t been effective,…
Feds Probe Complaints that Ford Focus Doors Won’t Latch
U.S. auto safety regulators have opened an investigation into complaints that doors won’t latch properly on about 400,000 Ford Focus compact cars, including some reports that the doors have opened while the cars are moving. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers Focuses from the 2012 and 2013 model years, according to…
VW CEO Plans to Submit Emissions Fixes to EPA Chief
Volkswagen’s new chief executive plans to present remedies for fixing diesel engines that cheat on emissions tests when he meets with the top U.S. environmental regulator this week. CEO Matthias Mueller said that as of now VW has only given technical data to the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. But he…
U.S. Regulators Slap BMW with $40M Fine for Safety Violations
German automaker BMW is facing a $40 million penalty from U.S. safety regulators for moving too slowly to fix Mini brand cars that didn’t pass federal crash tests. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says BMW didn’t recall cars quickly enough, and failed to send the agency accurate recall information. The agency says BMW AG…
FAA to Require Most Drones to Be Registered & Marked
Spurred by numerous reports of drones flying near jets and airports, the federal government will require that the aircraft be registered to make it easier to identify owners and educate amateur aviators. The move, announced Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration, comes at a time when the agency is receiving more than 100 reports per…
GM Ignition Switch Fund Pays Out $594.5M on 399 Claims
Lawyers hired to compensate victims of General Motors’ faulty ignition switches have paid out $594.5 million to settle 399 eligible claims. The numbers were released Thursday in a final report from compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg. A total of 4,343 claims were filed with the GM fund. Only 9.2 percent were deemed eligible for payments, including…
Japanese Company Fined $70 Million Over Exploding Air Bags
U.S. auto safety regulators fined Japan’s Takata Corp. $70 million Tuesday for concealing evidence for years that its air bags are prone to explode with grisly consequences — a defect linked to eight deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide. Under an agreement with the government, Takata will phase out manufacture of air bag inflators…
Lawsuits Could Force VW to Buy Back Cheating Diesels
Volkswagen almost inevitably will have to compensate owners of diesel cars equipped with emissions-rigging software. Some legal experts say the automaker could be forced to buy back the cars altogether. Many of the more than 200 lawsuits filed in the past few weeks allege that for seven years VW marketed four-cylinder diesel Golfs, Jettas, Beetles…
GM to Pay $575M to Settle Ignition Switch Lawsuits
General Motors will pay $575 million to settle hundreds of civil lawsuits filed against the company over faulty small-car ignition switches, including the bulk of pending wrongful death and injury cases. The company on Thursday said it reached a deal with Texas personal injury lawyer Bob Hilliard to settle 1,385 death and injury cases that…