The Department of Transportation Inspector General (DOTIG) is said to have concluded an audit of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and how it’s been identifying safety defects in vehicles. DOTIG is not happy with the findings. Considering traffic collisions remain a leading cause if serious injury and death in the U.S., the news is not encouraging. It’s also nabbed the attention of Aventura attorneys.

Says the Neufeld Law Firm, an Aventura car accident lawyer, an Aventura personal injury attorney is the kind of lawyer who will assist an individual who’s been injured in an auto accident to obtain the financial compensation they require for quality-of-life impacts and for everyday necessities. 

But many auto accidents can be avoided if simple vehicle defects are detected early. According to a new report by Car and Driver, determining what’s potentially wrong with a new vehicle in 2023 takes a long time. Too much time, or so claims DOTIG which has published the comprehensive audit on why the NHTSA is slow-walking its analysis of safety defects in vehicles currently in use in the U.S.

In short, the NHTSA is said to have made some improvements in their handling of defect detection, but it’s believed that far more must be accomplished if lives are to be saved.

Too Many Defects. Not Enough Investigation

With regards to the report, the DOT targeted the NHTSA’s Office of Defective Investigation (ODI) since it plays an important role in both the gathering and analyzing of pertinent data, the investigation of current and potential defects, pinpointing unsafe vehicles currently on the road, plus management of the recall process and motor vehicle equipment.

In 2016 and 2020, ODI began new procedures which included the modernization of the software it uses to analyze and store data, and the restructuring of its entire office according to new hiring guidelines. But this was not enough to stop a large number of harsh criticisms that came directly from the DOTIG.

For example, the ODI did not post documents to its public website in a timely manner. It didn’t meet timeliness goals. It presently does not possess an integrated information system for crucial safety defect investigations plus associated recall processes. Also, the ODI did not consistently follow standard operating procedure for issue escalation. It is also coming up short on guidance regarding pre-investigative procedures and protocols.    

In short, the NHTSA, despite their restructuring efforts, is a failing organization that can directly lead to loss of life on U.S. roads. The report is said to provide specific details regarding these criticisms. For instance, regarding issue escalation, the DOT discovered that ODI regularly did not follow proper procedure which is needed to determine the vehicular problems that require prioritization and that therefore need to be investigated.

In 2019, NHTSA received around 75,300 consumer complaints, along with 32,500 “further substantive review” issues. In turn, NHTSA issued 966 recalls in 2019, but ODI only launched a paltry 88 investigations.   

Automotive Manufacturers Move Faster than NHTSA

Says Car and Driver, one the primary reasons for the lack of investigations is that privately run automakers have made the decision to launch their own recalls before ethe ODI has a chance to launch their own. The ODI is said to welcome these private investigations since it adds to their apparent measurement of success.

DOTIG has stated that ODI counts the number of vehicles that have been recalled instead of the number of potential safety defect investigations it has launched. In other words, they take credit where credit is not due.   

In the end, DOTIG has made more than a dozen recommendations to speed investigations up. The NHTSA has agreed with 10 of them thus far. They are still mulling over ways in which the government organization can meet their timeliness goals but did not agree with DOTs recommendation on developing across-the-board rules for negotiating manufacturers’ potential safety defects.   

Considering NHTSA’s response to the audit, DOTIG has openly said it now considers all 12 recommendations open and pending, but somehow, also “resolved.” But will any of this result in more and speedier recalls? The jury is said to still be out on that crucial issue.

One thing is for certain, the roads and highways in the U.S. are not getting any safer. While autonomous safety features like automatic braking and lane change warnings systems have helped in the reduction of some accidents, without an aggressive and finely tuned ODI, serious injuries and fatalities caused by vehicular collisions and faulty products will only continue for the foreseeable future.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recently posted a notice according to which a some versions from the BMW 7-Series lineup must be recalled to factory for airbag deployment.

This forced BMW pull over 6,110 740Li, 750Li, as well as 750Lxi models, built between 1st of July, 2015 and 11th of December, 2015, because the cars` airbags might not deploy.

All BMW 7-Series are equipped with an air bag control module that can be reset randomly due to some electrical short circuits. These electrical short circuits occur as a result of the residual metallic particles during the manufacturing process.

In case of a serious car crash, if the air bag module resets, the airbags may not open, eventually leading to injury and casualties. Fortunately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that so far, there haven’t been any accidents resulting causes of death or serious injuries.

BMW and NHTSA have also announced that the recall will begin on the 16th of May, with the German car based to start announcing all owners and dealerships.

Owners will also have to contact the dealership immediately for a service appointment which will be free of charge. With the air bag control module replaced the risks of airbag not deploying would be reduced to zero.

The BMW German based luxury automaker has recalled some X5 units back in factory, due to some issues to the child safety locks for the models starting with the 12th of December 2013, up until the 10th of March 2014.

The issue was also confirmed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, stating that there are 6,400 X5s affected, by the recall concerning the possibility of deactivation of the child safety locks.

In case the affected X5 models will not be recalled immediately, there would be increased chances of injuries and even death.

Representatives of the company have declared in an official press release that the mechanism of the rear side door might cause the child safety lock disengage when opening the inside door handle.

“A disengaged child safety lock would allow the rear seat occupant to pull the door handle twice and open the door while the vehicle is parked or in motion, increasing the risk of injury,” the representative also stated.

All the repairs will be made accordingly, free of charge, as long as the recall process is done accordingly. The company thus said that all owners will be announced.

In case your BMW X5 presents signs of child safety lock issues, then you should immediately call the NHTSA or the BMW at 1-800-626-7417.

Aparently the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) doesn’t just investigate vehicles and demand recalls from car makers.

Recently, they also conducted a survey to see which cars are the most or the least stolen in the USA.

It should come to no surprise that BMW’s E70 X5 managed to get a very good score. Out of 1000 units built, the survey showed 0 were stolen. This is quite impressive, and the other two cars that managed to get a perfect score were the Volvo XC70 and the Lexus SC.

On the other hand, the most stolen car in US seems to be the Dodge Charger, which registered 4.8 thefts for each 1000 units. The Mitshubishi Galant, Cadillac STS and Lamborghini Gallardo also make a shameful appearance as some of the most stolen vehicles. As for the E70 BMW X5, the NHTSA thinks the key feature that makes it hard to steal is the ignition immobilizers.

Here’s something where the nearing of a new year doesn’t necessarily signify the beginning of something different, interesting better or… positive.

The owners of a 2012-2013 BMW S1000RR motorcycle will know exactly what I’m talking about since they’ve recently received (or are about to receive) a recall notice.

Their beloved two wheeled beast may have a bit of a problem with its kickstand. Nobody’d want to see it fall over, even without considering other issues.

A lose stand means that you might believe it’s actually fine initially and then find yourself hurt underneath it.

In somewhat more fortunate conditions, your S1000RR might fall over somebody’s car or who knows what, causing some genuine damage.

The affected bikes are the ones manufactured between September 2011 and December 2012, thus sold under 2012 or 2013 modelyears.

According to the recall notice, during the manufacturing process some of the bolts may not have been cleaned properly, thus resulting in loosening over time.

Owner forums seem to be aware of the problem for some time now. The number of complaints isn’t large and most of them consider this little more than an inconvenience.

The all-watching NHTSA isn’t really on the same page as they will not let the Bavarian manufacturer off this easy.

A recall is scheduled to begin as early as possible in January 2013. In the meantime, owners are recommended not to ride their bike.

That’s quite the bummer if you were planning to spend the few remaining days of the year on the road or track with your favorite two-wheeled toy.

It is a flagship model and it rarely ever gets complaints since it’s built similarly to tanks except only using stronger materials.

A few years down the line however, the E65/E66 (previous generations) of the BMW 7 Series is called to quarters by the NHTSA.

The American authority seems to have caught the aging limo off guard due to something related to the soft closing doors mechanism.

Traditionally, this wonderful piece of luxury technology is supposed to do away with door slamming and unwanted noise at any point during the day.

In a few reports coming in from actual owners, it seems that none of these doors really want to lock themselves properly. Instead, they might open altogether.

It’s remarkable to see how the tides turn and there’s plenty of stuff to joke about when rich people lose their money. In all truth, this is a serious problem and BMW won’t hesitate to take responsibility.

As you’d expect from a car that’s built out of more computers than the typical call center the mechanics aren’t problematic.

Something from the software components of the whole thing is what’s to blame for this problem. Nevertheless, a recall will take place early next month.

Affected models of this problem are built between 2005 and 2007, ones in 745i, 750i and even 760i engine options regardless of the regular or long wheelbase versions.

Even though these models have long left their warranty periods, BMW will be forced to make the fix available to customers free of charge.

Here’s a fresh one, BMW is recalling one of their most exclusive cars due to some issues with its steering. The same thing applies to the Z4 sports car.

The first of the cars is the electric version of the BMW 1 Series, a little city runabout known as the ActiveE. Believe it or not, the two cars have something in common.

This is, of course, the electrically assisted power-steering device. The problem isn’t directly linked to them but to the way they’re fed electricity.

It seems that there may be some power losses along the way to them and thus, either of the BMW models could suffer from loss of power assistance.

You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out the sort of issues with car control that could lead to or why the NHTSA got in on the problem.

With the issuing of this recall, BMW are getting a first such situation for the ActiveE model which is a few feet short of an experimental prototype.

The Z4, in its previous iterations may have seen a few other problems in its lifetime but rest assured nobody is comfortable with this idea.

Thankfully, a very small number of vehicles can be affected by the steering problems. This is because the Active E was built in very limited numbers.

Also, since only a small lot of the 2012 BMW Z4 has been involved, the total number of cars that will have to go in for a visit with their dealers is no more than 162.

Cheer and fun is all available everywhere in the BMW Group’s family but occasionally mistakes happen, even within our favorite brand.

The latest such unpleasant situation focuses on a shared component that’s to be found in most of the larger BMW products and the smallest Rolls Royce.

We’re looking at quite the batch of vehicles. It’s the 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, X5, X6 and the Rolls Royce Ghost.

The link between these vehicles is their being powered by BMW’s turbocharged V12 or V8 engines. All of these units are 2012 models.

A total of 2.846 units the above listed models will be recalled. Of that considerable total there’s only a number of 60 Rolls Royce Ghost units to be concerned about.

The problem is to be found in the circuit boards in the cars’ electric auxiliary water pump. Ironically, there’s a risk of it overheating and eventually leading to an engine compartment fire.

Let’s face it, several expensive high end cars are exposed to burning out and really, it’s not a decent prospect. That’s where the NHTSA stepped in.

The recall is scheduled to begin at the end of this month and BMW’s dealers will be notifying the owners of these cars in a few days.

Apart from the inconvenience of losing some time with the process or having less availability with the affected car, the owners of these models won’t have any costs.

BMW will inspect all the circuit boards and make all the necessary replacements on any parts they might identify as being risky.

Not all the news we’ve seen come in recently are that brilliant as the launching of the F12/F13 BMW M6 if we’re honest. There’s one that crept over the weekend and is rather nasty.

In the USA, Land of the Free and plenty such things, people take recalls and such very seriously. Problem is, they’ve decided the Bavarians don’t feel the same way.

That’s why the NHTSA slapped a massive 3 million dollar fine on BMW’s plate. Like I said, not great news, but there is some decent reasoning behind the decision.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started an investigation into BMW’s handling of recalls back in 2010. The investigation span an impressive amount of work.

Looking into 16 recalls that reached as far back as 2002 and covered over 300.000 BMW cars (and bikes) the authority took its time before coming up with a final decision.

The evidence was overwhelming and it seems that in all the cases the NHTSA looked into, BMW behaved in pretty much the same way.

Once they discovered a problem, the Bavarians would file with the NHTSA but they would provide very little information in it.

That essential information came later, in some cases considerably and the authority considered this practice unacceptable.

Since BMW North America accepted to pay the fine as a form of settlement and promised to make some changes in the way they handle recalls, it probably is.

BMW customer care has always felt like something special but this situation shows us that there is still considerable room for improvement.

The Germans from BMW are forced to recall more than 240,000 3 Series models due to possible faulty tail lights. The information comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which says that certain models built between September 1, 2001 and March 1, 2005 may be affected. The American company says that the models may experience increased resistance at the electrical contacts which could lead to the failure of tail lights.

Of course, there are some obvious consequences, the driver being in danger and putting the other motorists in danger as its intentions won’t be pre-indicated anymore.

To be more precise, NHTSA announced that the 325i, 325xi, 330i and 330xi models are concerned by this recall, BMW following to repair the faulty components at no extra charge starting October, this year.

“Over time, resistance in the electrical contacts may cause one or more rear lamp functions (tail light, brake light, and/or turn-signal), within the vehicle’s body panel, to stop working,” says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owners can wait for BMW’s notice or call at NHTSA’s hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153).