And the Recalls Keep Coming: Cadillac ATS and Dodge Ram Edition

Wednesday GM announced it’s recalling 121,000 Cadillac ATS cars due to fire risks from the rear defroster/defogger. 97,000 of the ATS sedans are years 2013-16 and in the US; the remaining 24,000 are in Canada, Mexico, and other areas outside North America.

GM has said it’s aware of four fires caused by the rear defroster/defogger, with no injuries, fatalities, or crashes. GM also says the fire risk is in the rear pillar on the driver side.

Some of the ATS cars may have been manufactured with “critically weak terminal connectivity in the coil antenna module, which powers the rear defogger system. If the module has the condition and is subjected to excessive cycling or continuous operation, it may overheat and a fire may develop inside the rear pillar on the driver’s side of the vehicle.”

The fix? The dealer updating the Electronic Climate Control module software to delete the automatic rear defogger “on” function. Owners will still be able to turn the rear defogger manually.

And it doesn’t end there!

A completely unrelated recall of 1,747 2014-15 Ram 1500 trucks by Fiat Chrysler! What is happening?! 10 years ago American cars weren’t recall city…the curse of technology. Back to this recall info. Sorry for that outburst.

An investigation by Fiat Chrysler found a battery wiring harness may chafe against a bracket if assembly protocols weren’t followed. The fix for this is the dealer inspects and reroutes – if necessary – said wiring harness to prevent a short (aka fire risk). The recall is limited to diesel 4x2s. 1,697 Ram 1500s affected are in the US with the remaining 50 in Canada. Fiat Chrysler said they’re not aware of any injuries, crashes, or fires related to this.

I’d hoped to have a witty and hilarious comment by the time I was done writing this…looks like I don’t.

Wait! There’s MORE!

As of publishing time, I found out about yet another Fiat Chrysler recall! 2012-14 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups and 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs. Additional vehicles totaling approximately 235,925 in Canada; 26,543 in Mexico and 23,635 outside the NAFTA region, will also be recalled.

Instead of airbags that don’t deploy, now we’re looking at airbags that may deploy when they shouldn’t. The Fiat Chrysler statement/announcement reads:

Investigation by FCA US discovered certain trucks may have steering-wheel wiring harnesses that wear because of contact with a spring. Such wear may cause a short-circuit that may lead to inadvertent driver-side air-bag deployment.

The Company is aware of two related injuries, but no accidents. An analysis of warranty data linked to steering-wheel wiring harnesses determined less than one percent of all such repairs involved inadvertent air-bag deployment.

The condition, which may be signaled by illumination of the air-bag warning light, relates to vehicles equipped with an Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC) and may not be present in every vehicle subject to the recall. But FCA US will, at no charge to customers, inspect every affected vehicle and, as required, tie back its wiring harness and install protective caps on its air-bag retainer spring-ends. 

Additionally, if you click the statement, you’ll find a wee bit more information and ways to check if your truck is affected. Ya know, if you don’t want to wait for the recall notice in the mail.