Archive for the ‘Recall’ Category

There are lots of ways to enjoy music from portable devices in your car. Many new vehicles come with built-in iPhone/iPod docks, but there are a range of other options,  including Belkin's popular TuneBase device. The TuneBase plugs into your car's cigarette lighter, keeping gadgets charged as you listen to music and take hands-free calls. Unfortunately, if you bought one of these devices in the U.S. or Canada, you might want to return it -- and pronto. Seems like a faulty washer can cause the TuneBase to melt your car's dashboard and possibly catch fire if left plugged in overnight. We're guessing that's not the sort of thing you want to...

In a move almost too strange to be fiction, Toyota is apparently advising its Toyota and Lexus brand dealers to zip tie loose floor mats to the seats in the 3.8 million vehicles affected by the recent safety recall. Of course, it's phrased much more eloquently than that.

"We have reviewed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration what we’re calling a semipermanent floor mat installation process, and we’re providing these instructions to our dealers," Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons told Automotive News.

The "plastic wire ties" obviate the need to turn out a whole new fastening system for the mats and vehicles, allowing Toyota and...

One week ago today, owners of eight Toyota and Lexus models got an urgent plea from the U.S. Department of Transportation, delivered via the media: Remove your driver's side floor mat immediately, and don't replace it until you've taken your car to the dealer.

With much of the coverage calling it a recall of 3.8 million vehicles,  Toyota issued a cautious statement the next day saying that it wasn't yet a recall but a "safety advisory."

Well, it's a recall now.

The company will send letters to customers before the end of the month--and it left open the possibility that the list vehicles being recalled might expand beyond those already...