(Newswire.net — June 25, 2018) — Automotive recalls are a particularly risky business. There are already a staggering number of road fatalities each year, not to mention crashes that result in injuries, that are associated with normally functioning vehicles. When an integral part of a car does not operate properly – the results can be even more deadly.
Just this month, findings of a malfunctioning cruise control feature in millions of Fiat Chrysler made vehicles were announced. The company was forced to recall 4.8 million of its vehicles driving on roads across America. The defect of the cruise control mechanism prevents drivers from being able to turn off the cruise control. This malfunction could potentially place drivers in extremely dangerous situations.
Fiat Chrysler did not report or know of any injuries that resulted from the malfunctioning system. The company claims that the occurrence of the defect is very rare and that of all the millions of cars affected, which together have driven over billions of miles, hardly any of them have experienced problems.
Even so, the risk remains. In the recall, Fiat Chrysler announced that the cruise control mechanism of 15 different types of its cars should not be activated until it the problem is fixed with a software update that can be administered at the dealership. The fix is free of charge and Fiat Chrysler stated that affected consumers would be notified. The company also issued instructions as to what drivers should do in the rare case that the cruise control does indeed malfunction.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that only those cars made between 2014-2019 are affected by the recall.
Automotive recalls are more common than many people may think. According to Gassman Legal, P.C., automotive vehicle equipment defects are “some of the more common product liability cases an injury lawyer sees.”
In 2017, the number of recalls on cars actually decreased from the previous year, yet the huge number of recalled vehicles remains a significant problem for both the industry and the consumers. In 2017, 30.7 million cars were recalled for problems which represents the lowest number since 2013.
Consumers can check whether their vehicles are affected by recalls by going to the NHTSA’s website to see if there are recalls for a particular year, make, and model of a vehicle.