Dubai: Car dealers in Dubai are recalling thousands of old and new vehicles in the UAE, following a directive from the Ministry of Economy.
Between June and July this year alone, more than 13,000 sedans and sports utility vehicles have been included in a safety recall campaign due to a number of issues, including defective airbag sensors, sunroof glasses and fuel tanks that could lead to crashes or injuries.
Affected vehicles include GMC Terrain; Mercedes Benz; Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Lancer, Outlander and ASX. Some of these cars were manufactured between 2012 and 2018.
The Ministry of Economy had earlier directed auto dealers in the UAE to conduct a review of all their products in order to ensure public safety.
Starting July 22, 2018, General Motors will be recalling certain 2018 GMC Terrain vehicles after it was found that a faulty sensor could prevent airbags from deploying in the event of an accident.
“In these vehicles, the sensing diagnostic module, which provides crash sensing and deploys airbags in the event of a crash, may not power down correctly when the vehicle is powered off,” GMC said in a notice to customers.
Al Habtoor Motors also confirmed that it has launched a recall campaign to carry out an inspection of engine auto tensioner on 2008 to 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer, Outlander and ASX vehicles, and to replace the sunroof glass assembly on 2008-2010 Mitsubishi Lancer and Outlander.
More than 13,300 Mitsubishi vehicles in the UAE are believed to be affected by the campaign. The dealer suggested that in some of the vehicles, the sunroof glass may detach from the outer frame and fly off. In other cars, the accessory drive belt could come loose and the engine could overheat.
“Due to prolonged exposure to temperature and humidity, the adhesive strength of the outer frame of the sunroof glass assembly may become weak due to inapprorpriate resin material. As a result, the sunroof glass may detach from the outer frame because of vibration and/or wind pressure during driving and could pose an accident or injury risk to the vehicle occupants and other road users,” the dealer said.
Al Tayer Motors/Premier Motors has launched a safety recall campaign for certain 2015 to 2017 model year Ford Ranger vehicles. There are approximately 178 units affected by the recall and these were manufactured in Argentina, Thailand and the United States.
“In some of the affected vehicles, the gearshift cable retaining clip may not be fully engaged with the metal portion of the handbrake cable, which could lead to gearshift cables contacting the rear driveshaft. Continued contact between the gearshift cables and driveshaft can damage them, resulting in difficulty changing gears or loss or drive,” the dealer noted.
At Gargash Enterprises and Emirates Motor Company, certain 2012-2016 Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in UAE are also being recalled.
The German carmaker had earlier announced that it is recalling more than 9,000 cars due to possible oil leakage from the oil reservoir of the Active Curve system.
Owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted by the auto dealers to arrange a convenient time for the repair work.
What cars are being recalled by which dealer?
GMC Terrain
Auto dealer: General Motors
Model year: 2018
Vehicle identification number (VIN) range (last eight digits): From 3GKAL8EV0JL156384 to 3GKAL8EXXJL314506
Mercedes-Benz
Auto dealer: Gargash Enterprises and Emirates Motor Company
For "leakage oil reservoir Active Curve system":
GLE, GLS (166 platform) and GLE Coupe (BR292) with hydraulic roll stabilization “Active Curve system” (Code 468);
Model years: 2012 to 2016
VIN range: From 166 A 041503 to A 773232 (GLE/GLS); from 292 A001261 to A 042622
For material defect inflation housing driver airbag:
GLC (253 platform)
Model year: 2018
VIN range: Not supplied
For “missing nuts pre-fuse-box”
S-Class (222,217 platform)
Model year: 2018
VIN range: From 217 A 032321 to A 032595 and from 222 A 344269 to A 389032
Ford Ranger
Auto dealer: Al Tayer Motors/Premier Motors
Model years: 2015-2017
VIN range: Not supplied
Mitsubishi Lancer, Outlander, ASX
Auto Dealer: Al Habtoor Motors
For inspection of engine auto tensioner:
Vehicles affected: Mitsubishi Lancer (CY4A), Outlander (CW5W), ASX (GA2W)
Model years: January 2008 to December 2012
VIN range: Not supplied
For sunroof glass:
Vehicles affected: Mitsubishi Lancer (CY2A, CY4A); Outlander (CW5W, CW6W)
Model years: January 2008 to December 2010
VIN range: Not supplied
Note: The VIN appears on the plate attached to the driver’s door jamb and on a plate fastened to the top of the dashboard on the driver’s side.
