VAUXHALL STATEMENT - Information about fires that may occur within certain models and certain engines.

Customer safety is of the utmost importance and we take any report of fire very seriously.

Fires can occur for a wide variety of reasons and it’s worth noting that, on average, there are 18,000 vehicle fires a year across all manufacturers in the UK*.  It is estimated that there are c35 million vehicles registered in the UK.

Vauxhall Corsa D is one of our most popular models, with over 700,000 sold in the UK between 2006 and 2014. Earlier this year we identified a potential fire related issue with a specific Corsa D variant equipped with the 1.4 Turbo petrol engine.  Nine cases had previously been reported to us, which we investigated. Two of these cases had resulted in a fire.  A Safety Recall to address this issue was initiated in April 2016 for the 2,767 vehicles affected.

When customers report a fire to us we explain that an inspection may be necessary but that we need the permission of their insurance company before we can proceed. This avoids the risk of the customer's insurance policy being invalidated.

Our preference is to conduct a joint investigation with the customer’s insurer but for a variety of reasons this is not always possible. For example, in some cases the insurance company has already conducted an investigation. In other cases the vehicle may have already been scrapped.

Following the Zafira B issue we strengthened our processes but even so it is not always possible to arrange an inspection.

What’s more, the destructive nature of fire can make the process of identifying a pattern of fires with a common root cause very challenging.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that manufacturers frequently do not get to hear about fires in their vehicles. We found with Zafira B, for example, that many cases only emerged after media reports in October 2015. Some of these dated back several years.

Better access to vehicle fire data could help manufacturers with early detection of safety issues. We are therefore working through our Industry body to understand how manufacturers can gain access to data in order to build a more complete picture of potential issues.

Customers with concerns relating to the issues raised by Watchdog are advised to visit www.vauxhall.co.uk/watchdog

Toyota Motor, announced that it is conducting a safety recall of approximately 92,000 Model Year 2016 & 2017 Toyota Prius sedan

Toyota Motor North America, Inc., announced that it is conducting a safety recall of approximately 92,000 Model Year 2016 and 2017 Toyota Prius sedan vehicles in the U.S.

On the involved vehicles, there is a possibility that the parking brake could become inoperative.  If this occurs and the driver exits the vehicle with the transmission in a gear other than ‘Park’ while the ignition is on, the vehicle could roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.

Toyota dealers will add clips on the top of the brake cable dust boots to prevent the cable from becoming inoperative at no cost to customers.  All known owners of the involved vehicles will be notified by first class mail starting in November. 

Information about automotive recalls, including but not limited to the list of involved vehicles, is subject to change over time.  For the most up-to-date Safety Recall information on Lexus, Toyota and Scion customers should check their vehicle’s status by visiting http://www.toyota.com/recall and entering the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).  Safety Recall inquiry by individual VIN is also available at the NHTSA site:safercar.gov/vin.  For any additional questions, customer support is also available by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Service at 1-800-255-3987.

USA RECALL - Mazda expands it's recall notice over the Takata air-bags to now cover over 370,000 units

Mazda Safety Recall 9015L expands the affected vehicle population for Takata passenger air bag inflator to all 2003-2008 MY Mazda6 and all 2006-2007 MY Mazdaspeed6 vehicles nationwide. In addition, this recall also includes the following models:

• All Mazda6 and RX-8 vehicles not repaired under recalls 6913D and 7714
• Mazda6 VINs not repaired under recall 8114L

Approximately 374,500 vehicles are affected in Safety Recall 9015L.

There have been no reports of accidents on the vehicles subject to this recall.

Below is a summary of Mazda models with a passenger- and/or driver-side front Takata air bag inflator currently being recalled.

Total Number of Driver’s frontal air bag inflator - 442,266

Total Number of Passenger’s frontal air bag inflator - 416,475

2003-2008 MY Mazda6

2006-2007 MY Mazdaspeed6

2004-2008 MY RX-8 (All Driver-side / Certain Passenger-side)

2004 MY MPV (Certain Vins only. Click here to see if your vehicle is included)

2004-2006 MY B-Series

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through more than 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.