Nissan rolled out the 2021 Rogue SUV, and the vehicle is completely redesigned with a fantastic-looking exterior and interior. Recently, the NHTSA published its crash test results for the vehicle, and it earned four-stars overall. However, the 2021 Rogue had a terrible front-passenger crash rating which is highly unusual for a brand-new vehicle that was just redesigned.
Tesla is recalling almost 135,000 cars, finally conceding that the touchscreen displays that dominate its dashboards have a fault that could present a real safety danger to drivers. Both the Model S sedan and the Model X SUV are impacted by the recall, which sees some of the electric vehicles' displays black out either in part or completely.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the US Department of Transportation, plans to speak with Tesla about the 'yoke'-style steering wheel featured in its newly updated and recently unveiled Model S sedan. In the two days since the redesign was introduced, critics have argued that the steering wheel design is unsafe.
The rules for autonomous cars in the US are being updated, with the NHTSA announcing an overhaul that addresses driverless vehicles with no traditional controls, and AVs that aren't designed to carry people at all. Billed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as an "historic step" that should help remove regulatory barriers to deploying autonomous vehicles, it also exempts some types of AV from certain crash-testing.
Yesterday we mentioned that Hyundai had issued a recall on well over 100,000 vehicles in the United States. Kia has also announced a recall of 294,756 vehicles in the United States due to the same risk of an engine compartment fire. Interestingly, while the risk of fire for Hyundai models is blamed on machining debris, the NHTSA reports that the cause of the problem in Kia vehicles is undetermined.
It's been a bad few months for Hyundai. Earlier this month, Hyundai and Kia were fined a combined $210 million over vehicle recalls having to do with potential engine fires, among other reasons. This week Hyundai announced that it planned to recall about 130,000 vehicles in the United States due to a risk of engine failure.
The NHTSA announced this week that it was opening a preliminary investigation into potential safety concerns raised by owners of Tesla Model S and Model X cars. The agency has received 53 complaints alleging failures of the left or right front suspension fore links. Of those 43 complaints, 11 incidents occurred while driving.
GM will be forced to recall almost 6 million vehicles to repair potentially dangerous Takata airbags, after losing a years-long battle with the NHTSA to avoid the hugely expensive repairs. The automaker had argued that the recall - which covers some of its most popular SUVs and pickups - was unnecessary, given it had undertaken third-party tests to show that the airbag inflaters were not prone to dangerous or abnormal explosions.
Chevrolet is recalling more than 68,000 electric cars, after discovering that some versions of the Bolt EV could potentially catch on fire. The recall covers select 2017-2019 model year Bolt EV all-electric hatchbacks, the high voltage batteries of which could post a fire risk - a situation which has already prompted an NHTSA investigation in the US.
On April 16, the NHTSA revealed that Hyundai has recalled certain cars featuring its Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA) feature due to a software issue. The system is only available in a couple of Hyundai models, limiting the recall to a bit under 12,000 vehicles total. Hyundai reported the issue on April 9, according to the NHTSA, which notes in a letter that the software error 'increases the risk of a crash.'
The EPA has finalized its new vehicle emissions regulations, completing the Trump Administration's long-sought overturning of Obama-era green standards for fuel economy. Dubbed the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, the new standard slashes the requirements of CAFE and CO2 emissions to improve from around 5-percent each year under the old system, to 1.5-percent each year through model year 2026.
The NTSB has slammed Tesla for failing to respond to Autopilot safety concerns, as well as criticizing the NHTSA for insufficiently investigating crashes involving the electric cars. While many industry-watchers had expected the National Transportation Safety Board to take a pessimistic stance on advanced driver assistance technologies at its hearing today, the extent of the board's criticisms came as a surprise.