At least 4,900 vehicles recalled in UAE over safety issues

Dubai: Thousands of more vehicles have recently been added to the ongoing recall campaign in the UAE that seeks to address safety risks.

In the latest series of notices posted since September 4, auto dealers across the country are targeting owners of at least 4,900 cars, including sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

Some of these vehicles have problems with the power steering wheel, seat belt and brake that could lead to injury or road crash.

Vehicles covered by the latest round of recall notices include certain models of Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado and Suburban, among others.

Over the last few months, car distributors have issued a series of notices, encouraging customers to take their vehicles to the workshops for inspection and repair.

This is in compliance with a directive from the Ministry of Economy, which had earlier called on auto dealers to conduct a review of all their products in order to ensure public safety.

Since July 2018 to date, at least 21,000 vehicles have been included in the series of recalls, based on notices posted by auto dealers.

Among the latest to issue a recall, General Motors (GM) said that from October 7, 2018, it is recalling certain 2015 Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado Light Duty, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra Light Duty and Yukon in UAE.

The automaker said the vehicles are safe to drive, but they “may experience a temporary loss of electric power steering (EPS).” According to earlier reports, about 30 road crashes had occurred due to the faulty power-assisted steering.  

“These vehicles may experience a temporary loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist followed by a sudden return of EPS assist. The loss and sudden return of EPS assist typically happens within a one-second period and is caused by an electrical/software issue,” the automaker’s notice reads.

In another notice issued by Al Tayer Motors/ Premier Motors, owners of certain 2015 to 2018 Ford (F-150) Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles, which were manufactured in the United States, have been asked to bring their car for some reworks.

Last September, Ford had issued a recall of F-150 pickup trucks in North America to fix a seatbelt issue that could lead to fires in the event of a car accident. At least 3,454 vehicles are covered by the recall in the UAE.

“In some of the affected vehicles, deployment of the front seatbelt pre-tensioners during a crash event may cause a fire insider the driver or passenger side B-pillar trim in the vehicle passenger compartment,” the distributor said. The fire may spread within the vehicle and increase the risk of injury.

At least 238 cars in UAE have also been recalled by Al Nabooda Automobiles and Ali & Sons Motors Co.  The affected units are 2018 Volkswagen Teramont and NMS Passat. At least 169 of these vehicles are in Dubai and northern emirates, while 69 other units are in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

A similar recall was earlier issued by Volkswagen, targeting a number of its models including 2018 Passat sedans- some of which were already repaired previously - due to a braking issue. A brake caliper bolt may become loose, leading to increased stopping distances, wheel damage or loss of vehicle control, according to Consumer Reports.

With regards to the affected cars in UAE, the distributor said “it is possible that the bolts for the brake calipers were tightened with insufficient torques when extra work was carried out. All affected vehicles will require examination and repair where necessary.”

Al Futtaim Motors has also issued recall notices for 1,135 MY Toyota Prius manufactured between 2016 and 2018, as well as 14 units of 2017 Lexus LC500.

The Japanese automaker had recalled almost 200,000 units in the United States due to a fire risk. A defect in the engine wiring attached to the power control unit could lead to a short circuit and start a fire.

“The subject vehicles have an engine wire harness which is connected to the hybrid vehicle power control unit. A portion of the wire harness could contact the connector cover and wear over time, causing an electrical short circuit,” Al Futtaim Motors noted.

For the Lexus units, necessary repairs are to be made in order to fix the improper programming in the ECU. “Due to improper programming in the ECU, there is a possibility that, when the accelerator pedal is quickly depressed during normal highway driving, signals from the ECU commanding the transmission shift gears may cause the transmission to deviate from standard operation,” the notice reads.

Juma Al Majid has also issued a notice to recall seven units of 2017 to 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid MY.