Jalopnik: Nhtsa

NHTSA grenades Mustang transmission investigation

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:30:00 EST

Earlier this year, after Jalopnik pointed to a tide of transmission complaints from owners of 2011 Ford Mustangs, Ford identified several issues with the car's Chinese-built Getrag MT82 six-speed, and issued a pair of service bulletins. Now, the Feds are done poking around. The verdict? No recall. The transmission's safe as milk. The problem was "abusive" Mustang owners. More »

Enthusiasts, FTL! Petition against 25-year import rule dies

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST

The U.S. law allowing the importation of grey-market cars that are 25 years old or older will stand. A petition to get the government to shorten the waiting period to 15 years failed to attract the necessary 25,000 signatures. More »

Disagree with 25-year car import ban? Sign this petition

Mike Spinelli — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST

The U.S. constitution guarantees citizens the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. And who's more aggrieved than people who want to bring cool, gray-market cars into the states? Sign a petition, and we all might get our wish. More »

Are electric cars safe?

Wes Siler — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST

After a Chevy Volt caught fire in a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) junkyard three weeks after it was crash tested, the agency's now investigating the safety of Lithium-Ion batteries in all electric cars. Is an environmentally-safe vehicle safe for your family? In a word, yes. More »

Chevy Volt fire explodes into federal investigation of electric car safety

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:45:00 EST

The federal government is now investigating the safety of electric cars, and specifically, lithium-ion batteries, after a Chevy Volt caught fire three weeks after a side-impact crash test. More »

These are the ten cars thieves most want to steal

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EDT

The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows thieves would rather snatch a high performance car over chop-shop money-makers like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. In 2009 numbers, released last night, the Audi S8 and Shelby GT500 Mustang jumped to the top of the list of preferred targets for a generation of car thieves raised on Grand Theft Auto. More »

Feds block Pagani Huayra U.S. sales over air bags for kids

Justin Hyde — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:45:00 EDT

The Pagani Huayra, the insanity-squared Italian supercar with a catfish front-end, a 700-hp twin-turbo V12 engine, and an unpronounceable name has now joined a distinguished group: Cars blocked by the United States government from being sold on these shores. The reason? Air bags for kids. More »

Feds launch Mustang transmission probe after Jalopnik, forum stories

Justin Hyde — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EDT

Earlier this year we told you about a rising number of Ford Mustang owners complaining of faulty manual transmissions that Ford can't seem to fix. Now U.S. safety regulators have opened a defect probe into 26,000 cars. More »

Terrafugia flying car gets DOT approval

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EDT

The Terrafugia flying car just won NHTSA exemptions for special tires and polycarbonate glass. The guys at Popular Mechanics are now just a few years away from their 95-year-old promise of flying cars coming true. More »

Ford expands F-150 air bag recall to 1.2 million

Justin Hyde — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:35:27 EDT

After arm-twisting by U.S. auto safety regulators, Ford will expand a recall of F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT trucks to 1.2 million vehicles from 2004-2006 model years, due to air bags that could deploy without warning. More »

Kids now locked into rear-facing child seats until two years old

Justin Hyde — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:45:00 EDT

The new guidelines for strapping your children into cars: Use a rear-facing seat until they are two years old (up from one) and a booster until they're taller than 4 feet 9 inches — no matter how old. More »

15 foreign exotic cars the feds won't seize

Keith Barry, Wired Autopia — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EDT

Our story about the crackdown against imported Nissan Skylines raised another set of questions about which foreign exotics can be brought into the United States. Keith Barry at Wired's Autopia explores the murky world of "show and display." — Ed. More »

Mazda recalls Mazda6 over spider threat to fuel system

Justin Hyde — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST

Mazda has to recall 52,000 Mazda6 sedans because spiders like to nest in its fuel system. Spider-car, spider-car, does whatever a spider-car does... More »

Truck guards fail to stop fatal wrecks

Justin Hyde — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:01 EST

The guards on tractor-trailers designed to stop the back of a truck full of 20-gallon mayonnaise drums from decapitating you in a rear-end collision are often worthless even in crashes as slow as 35 mph, according to insurance industry tests. More »

Feds find no sign of electronic flaws in runaway Toyotas

Justin Hyde — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:45:00 EST

U.S. auto safety regulators say after several months studying 280,000 lines of code, they found no electronic cause for unintended acceleration in Toyotas — only mechanical issues like sticking pedals and crappy floormats. What about sheepish drivers? More »

Ford Recalls 2011 F-Series After Two Fires

Wes Siler — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

Continuing its proud history of vehicle fires, Ford is recalling the 2011 F-Series and the Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX crossover after two 2011 Ford F-150s caught fire at the Dearborn Assembly Plant. Built Ford flammable? [Pickuptrucks.com and @DavidShepardson] More »

Toyota To Pay Record $32.4 Million Safety Fine

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:45:00 EST

Their reluctance to talk about this is gonna cost Toyota a record pittance. [LATimes] More »

Toyota's 2010 Recallathon

Justin Hyde — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST

For Toyota, 2010 was a year that'll live in infamy. The year'a biggest car story was the automaker issuing safety fixes for every Toyota-brand model car and truck sold in the United States. Here's the damage in one easy-to-see graphic. More »

2011 Dodge Ram Gets Smashingly Poor NHTSA Crash Rating

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:06:46 EST

My name is Ram, my crash protection is less than optimal. [PickupTrucks.com] More »

NHTSA Seeks GM, Ford And Toyota Data In Jeep Probe

Ray Wert — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:15:00 EDT

NHTSA asks Toyota, GM and Ford for data as it investigates potential fire hazard in Jeep Grand Cherokee fuel tanks. [Detroit News] More »

U.S. Transportation Secretary Hates Facebook, Twitter While Driving

Justin Hyde — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EDT

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's fatwa against distracted driving could grow to include a ban on all in-car cellphone use and new tech automakers have already rolled out. Distracted driving is dumb; so are over-reaching regulations buffaloed into existence. More »

New U.S. Safety Rankings Grade On A Steeper Curve

Justin Hyde — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:40:00 EDT

U.S. auto safety officials unveiled toughened safety grades today. The downside? They won't get around to testing around 40% of 2011 models. [NHTSA] More »

BMW Recalls 198,000 Cars Over Brake Issues

Ms. Motor — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EDT

BMW is recalling 198,000 BMW and Rolls-Royce models over brake fluid leaks. [BMW NA] More »

Mini Cooper Probed Over Power Steering Failures

Justin Hyde — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:15:00 EDT

U.S. safety regulators looking at 80,000 '04-'05 Mini Coopers with potential steering failures. [AP] More »

Feds Open Probe Into 1.4 Million F-150s Over Fuel Tanks

Justin Hyde — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:15:00 EDT

NHTSA opens probe after 32 complaints of fuel tank straps failing on F-150 pickups from 1997-2001. [NHTSA] More »

NHTSA Investigating 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Stalling Issue

Ray Wert — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:45:00 EDT

NHTSA's opened a preliminary investigation into the diesel 2009 Volkswagen Jetta over possible engine stalling issues. [DetNews] More »

New Fuel Economy Window Stickers Chock Full 'O Numbers

Justin Hyde — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EDT

One of the draft window stickers released today will give buyers of 2012 models efficiency data for gas and electric vehicles. U.S. regulators want you to decide: How do you like letter grades? UPDATE: Automakers give it a "F." More »

Toyota Recalls 1.13 Million Corollas, Knuckles Under To U.S. Again

Justin Hyde — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:45:00 EDT

Toyota says today it will recall 1.13 million 2005-2008 model year Corollas and Matrix to fix engine computers that could fail and stall the cars. Toyota had argued it wasn't a safety problem. NHTSA didn't agree. [Toyota] More »

U.S. Investigates Three Million Jeep Grand Cherokees Over Fire Risk

Justin Hyde — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:15:00 EDT

U.S. officials looking into post-crash fires among three million Jeep Grand Cherokees from 1993-2004. [DetNews] More »

Investigators Find No New Defects, Enlist NASA Help In Toyota Probe

Justin Hyde — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:45:00 EDT

Data from black boxes in 58 Toyotas involved in sudden acceleration cases shows no evidence of any other defects beyond sticky pedals and chunky floormats, according to a report U.S. regulators gave Congress today. But you already knew that. More »

Toyota Planted WSJ "Driver Error" Story. So What?

Ray Wert — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

An unnamed spokesperson at NHTSA, the U.S. agency responsible for examining Toyota unintended acceleration problems, claims last week's Wall Street Journal story asserting "driver error" was the main cause, was planted by Toyota. It probably was. Good for them! More »

Driver Error Biggest Culprit In Toyota Accidents

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:20:00 EDT

Data collected from Toyota vehicle crash recorders by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows driver error — gas, no brake — was to blame in all but one crash. That argument sounds familiar. More »

NHTSA Kills Customer Complaint Database Access After Privacy Violations

Ray Wert — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:01:00 EDT

NHTSA kills customer complaint database access after web site reveals privacy concerns. [TTAC] More »

How The U.S. Government Killed The Safest Car Ever Built

Justin Hyde — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:15:00 EDT

Thirty-five years ago, the U.S. government built a fleet of cars that were safer than anything on the road. Twenty-five years ago, the government shredded them in secret. Two escaped the crusher. This is their story. More »

LaHood: NHTSA Won't Rule Out Second Fine on Toyota

Ray Wert — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:30:00 EDT

Transportation Secretary LaHood won't rule out fining Toyota a second time for peanuts. [AutoNews] More »

How An Ex-Road & Track Editor Fooled The Car World

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EDT

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This weekend automotive forums were abuzz over a story alleging a new government appointee's targeting "environmentally unfriendly" high performance vehicles. They'd be rightfully frightened... if it weren't a hoax. The perpetrator, a former Road & Track editor-in-chief, confessed to Jalopnik. More »

Feds Claim Toyota Should Be Fined $13.8 Billion!

Ray Wert — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EDT

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In a letter to Toyota today, NHTSA claims that were it not for federal caps on fines, the automaker should have faced $13.8 billion in penalties. Yes, that's billion with a "b." Beige almost bit Toyota back real hard. More »

Feds Study Whether Toyota's Problems Caused By Cosmic Rays

Ray Wert — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:45:00 EDT

Federal regulators are studying whether recent Toyota sudden unintended acceleration problems are caused by cosmic rays. Seriously. Full NHTSA email below. More »

STAT: Americans Driving More, Dying Less

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EST

Preliminary statistics from NHTSA show Americans drove an additional 6.6 billion miles in 2009 and yet only 33,963 died in accidents, down 8.9% from 2008 and 22% from 2005. Thanks nanny state! More »

Toyota Neglects To Mention Sale Of Vehicles Halted Because Feds Forced Them

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:45:00 EST

Yesterday, Toyota announced they'd stop selling eight vehicles with sudden-fiery-death-accelerator-pedals. What they failed to mention was this is something they were legally forced to do. More »