General Motors (GM) is warning customer’s of certain 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles about a problem that could leave drivers unaware that their turn signals are not functioning. When a turn signal lamp fails to operate, the Body Control Module (BCM) is suppose to detect the condition and warn the driver of the problem. A programing error in the BCM system may fail to warn the driver and if the problem goes unfixed, other drivers will not know that the vehicle is turning. This could increase the risk of an accident. Owners wanting more information can contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.

Almost eight years after Cally Houck lost her two daughters in a car accident involving a rental vehicle with a recall on it, the five biggest car rental companies in the nation have agreed to support legislation that makes it illegal to rent or sell recalled vehicles. The historic agreement represents 93% of the rental car industry: Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Dollar Thrifty and National. Law makers announced the agreement on Thursday saying that they expect the Senate will pass the bill later this year.

  • The bill requires companies to stop renting vehicles within 24 hours of receiving a safety recall notice or within 48 hours if the recall involved more than 5,000 vehicles in a company’s fleet. The vehicles will not be rented or sold until the safety defects are repaired.
  • The companies agreed to back the legislation after some revisions, including allowing the rental of a car if there was a manufacturer approved temporary step that eliminated the safety risk until parts were available.
  • Companies also would be allowed to sell a damaged recalled vehicle as junk.
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will have authority to investigate and police rental car companies’ recall safety practices.

While the senators praised Houck’s advocacy along with automotive safety groups that pushed the issue, she thanked the lawmakers and industry “in memory of my treasured daughters.”

General Motors (GM) will be contacting owners of certain Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Saturn models equipped with four speed automatic transmissions, about a problem that could lead to the vehicles unexpectedly rolling away. According to GM, the tabs on the transmission shift cable end could fracture and separate, leaving the driver with inaccurate shift lever readings. The driver may be able to put the vehicle in park and remove the key, but the vehicle is not actually in park. The vehicle may not start and could roll away unexpectedly. GM will be notifying owners as soon as a recall schedule has been decided and dealerships will install a retainer over the cable end or replace the shift cable as necessary. Owners wanting more information on the problem can contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. The vehicles involved in the recall include:

Coda Automotive is asking owners of certain 2012 Coda vehicles to bring in their vehicles to have the side curtain airbag installation inspected. According to Coda, the airbags may have not been installed correctly during manufacturing which could result in the airbags not deploying as intended. Coda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the side curtain airbag installations as needed. For more information on the problem, owners may contact Coda Automotive at 1-855-464-2632.

Ford will be asking drivers of certain 2012 Ford Edge vehicles equipped with 2.0L engines to bring in their vehicle for problems with the fuel system. The fuel line pulse damper housing could crack due to an improper manufacturing process. The driver may notice a fuel odor or a continuous leak while the system is under pressure, and if unrepaired could result in an engine fire. Ford will be notifying almost 5,500 Edge owners of the problem and will be asking them to bring in their vehicles to have the defective part replaced. For more information, owners are asked to contact the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.

Honda has announced problems with two of their popular vehicle models, the 2012 Ridgeline and 2007-2011 Element, that will have owners bringing their vehicles to their nearest dealership for repairs.

According to Honda, certain Ridgeline trucks built on April 18, 2012, may have an incorrect passenger airbag status indicator. Without the proper indicator, the vehicle occupants may not be aware that the front passenger airbag is off and will not deploy in a crash. Honda will replace the incorrect indicator free of charge.

Honda will also be asking the owners of certain Elements to bring in their vehicles equipped with an accessory trailer hitch. The turn signal and brake light wiring may have been inadvertently switched during manufacturing giving inaccurate braking and turning signals when pulling a trailer.

Owners can expect to receive notices about the problems starting at the end of September or early October. For more information about the problem contact Honda Automobile Customer services at 1-800-999-1009

Fisker Automotive is alerting drivers of certain 2012 Fisker Karma vehicles, built between June 15, 2011 to July 9,2012, about an electrical problem in the low temperature cooling fan. According to Fisker, a short in the fan could ignite the fan housing, shroud and surrounding components, causing a vehicle fire. Owners will be asked to bring in their vehicles to the nearest Fisker dealership to replace both low temperature cooling fans with improved fans. Owners wanting more information about the problem can contact Fisker consumer affairs at 1-855-575-7577, option 2.

Lamborghini is notifying customers to bring their 2004-2006 Gallardo Coupe and 2004-2006 Spyder vehicles to their nearest dealership to update the power steering system. In certain driving conditions, the high pressure steering pipes near the steering assist hydraulic pump could leak. If fluid should come in contact with a hot surface or ignition source a fire could result. According to Lamborghini, the problem was discovered during hard driving condition testing, and could affect almost 1,500 vehicles. For more information on the problem, owners can contact Lamborghini at 1-703-364-7042.