The Bad Boy Classic built from 2003 to May 2010 was the only Bad Boy model affected by the recall.

About 9,300 off-road electric buggies are being recalled because of the danger of sudden, unintended acceleration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated in a news release Wednesday.

The agency said it was aware of 59 complaints of unintended acceleration, including some that resulted in injuries like broken bones, and advised owners to stop using the vehicles immediately.

The buggies were produced by Bad Boy Enterprises of Natchez, Miss. The recalled model was the Bad Boy Classic, made from early 2003 to May of this year. The models may have hunter green, red, black or camouflage paint. The XT model is not being recalled.

About 3,900 of those vehicles were recalled in October 2009 for the same problem, but this year, the company acknowledged that the fix did not work, resulting in this second, expanded recall.

While the buggies were made by Bad Boy Enterprises, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall was being handled by BB Buggies, “which recently acquired certain assets of Bad Boy Enterprises LLC.”

Additional information is available at badboybuggies.com.

2011 GMC Terrain.

12:43 p.m. | Updated

Capping a week during which automakers recalled nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the United States, General Motors said Friday it was recalling about 98,000 crossovers because the front seat belts might not hold in a crash.

G.M. told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the seat-belt anchor on the 2011 Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain might fracture. It blamed the problem, which could affect either the driver or front-seat passenger, on “an unauthorized change to the anchoring tooling.”

The problem was discovered in September during testing at G.M.’s proving ground in Michigan. Under federal regulations, a manufacturer has five business days to notify N.H.T.S.A. about a safety problem. G.M. told the agency its investigation of the issue required “component testing” that continued until earlier this month.

Alan Adler, a G.M. spokesman, said the automaker was not aware of any injuries related to the problem.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s unusual warning last month to owners of more than half a million recalled Ford Windstars to quickly fix rusty rear axles before they could break was prompted in part by the death of a Massachusetts man.

Courtesy of the Bowman family On the day Sean Bowman was killed he had been scheduled to use the Windstar to pick up his daughters, Hope, left and Lilly, according to his wife, Justine.

Karen Aldana, a spokeswoman for the safety agency, said N.H.T.S.A. investigators inspected the vehicle in which Sean Bowman, 28, died and then decided to issue the warning. She said there was also a concern that the axle failure could increase the chance of a crash and that the agency needed to make sure consumers got the vehicles fixed. Ford had originally denied there was any danger involved should a rear axle break.

The safety agency was criticized earlier this year by some Windstar owners for taking so long to investigate despite having about 200 complaints in its files. Mr. Bowman’s wife, Justine, said experts she hired told her that the rear axle on the 2001 Windstar broke and caused the crash in Whitman, Mass., that killed her husband.

In an interview, she said Ford did not act quickly enough to notify owners of the danger because the recall notice to Mr. Bowman was postmarked three days after he was killed.

“My biggest concern on all this is how quietly this recall has been done, therefore a lot of people don’t know of the seriousness of this,” she said. “That to me is very, very scary. This is very dangerous.”

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2008 Dodge Grand Caravan.

10:39 a.m. | Updated

Volkswagen and Chrysler are recalling almost 750,000 vehicles in two separate recalls, according to documents filed recently with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler says its recall covers about 367,000 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. The automaker said a water leak could cause the passenger side air bag to deploy without the vehicle being in a crash.

Chrysler told N.H.T.S.A. that the problem resulted from improperly assembled drains for the air-conditioning, which allowed water to leak onto the carpet. It also told the safety agency it knew of the leak early in 2008 and that “over time” it had reports of “some inadvertent air bag deployments.” The automaker said it later learned that the water leaks were the cause of the deployments.

The document filed by Chrysler did not make clear when the automaker discovered the cause of the deployments. Under federal regulations, once an automaker learns of a safety problem it has five business days to inform N.H.T.S.A. of a recall.

A Chrysler spokesman said that from July to September there was a “spike” in the number of complaints of air bags deploying leading to the recall.

Chrysler also said it would reimburse owners whose warranty had expired and who paid to have the leak fixed if they can provide an “original receipt and/or other adequate proof of payment.”

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2003 Nissan Frontier Open Sky.

10:55 a.m. | Updated

Nissan is recalling about 501,000 trucks in the United States because of a steering problem, the automaker said Friday in a news release.

Nissan said the recall covers 240,000 2002–4 Frontier pickups and 261,000 Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicles from the same model years. The automaker said that “in certain rare instances, the lower steering column joint on the affected Frontier and Xterra vehicles can develop corrosion that limits the movement of the joint. If the vehicle continues to be driven in this condition it may, in an extreme case, lead to cracking of the steering shaft.”

Nissan said it learned of the problem after getting three reports from Canada, and it had no reports of the problem in the United States. The company said it was not aware of any accidents.

Nissan also announced it was recalling about 14,000 2010-11 Sentras (assembled from May 15-July 8, 2010) because a problem with the battery cable could cause the engine to stall. Worldwide, the recall covers almost 605,000 vehicles in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.

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So far Toyota has retrofitted almost 2.2 million of its older vehicles with its Smart Stop system, designed under some circumstances to override the gas pedal and cut power to the engine. The automaker announced the system as part of its effort to deal with unintended acceleration concerns.

Toyota says if the gas pedal is depressed first and then the brake pedal is being pushed “firmly for longer than one-half second at speeds greater than five miles per hour” the system tells the engine to cut power and idle.

Toyota says in a technical service bulletin that “system logic” keeps  Smart Stop from interfering with normal driving. For example, the system is disabled if the driver wants to start on a steep hill and presses the brake pedal and then applies the gas. Whenever the brake pedal is released, the system is deactivated.

Toyota is also equipping its new vehicles with its Smart Stop system. The automaker says all its new models would have the system by the end of the year.

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2007 Suzuki SX4.

Suzuki is recalling almost 70,000 SX4 compact cars because the outside mirrors may fall off. The recall covers some 2007 SX4 hatchbacks, all 2008–9 SX4 hatchbacks and sedans and some 2010 hatchbacks and sedans. Suzuki told the agency it became aware of the problem in 2009 after discovering a supplier had stopped using thread lock on the screws.

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Honda is saying that 470,000 vehicles could be involved in its latest recall, for brake fluid leaks, reports The Detroit News. It is the same problem for which Toyota issued its latest recall, of 740,000 vehicles in the United States. Honda and Toyota use the same supplier, the Advics Company in Japan, for the parts.

Honda said the recall, affecting 2005-7 Acura RL and 2005-7 Honda Odyssey models, involves one seal in the brake master cylinder. A leak may occur if any brake fluid other than Honda Genuine brake fluid is used.

According to a Honda spokeswoman, Christina Ra, any fluid leak “will result in the brake fluid light illuminating before there is any loss of brake system performance. Although one brake circuit could gradually lose performance due to this cause, there would be no effect on the other brake circuit.”

Drivers who see the warning light should go directly to a dealer for repairs, she said.

Toyota is recalling 1.53 million vehicles worldwide, including 740,000 vehicles in the United States, that could leak brake fluid and cause stopping power to “gradually decline.”

In a news release issued this morning the automaker said the models were the 2005–6 Avalon; the 2004–6 Highlander (except for the hybrid) and Lexus RX 330; and the 2006 Lexus GS 300, IS 250 and IS 350 models.

Toyota said the problem was that brake fluid used during maintenance might not contain the same amount of polymers as “Toyota genuine brake fluid,” and that could allow a seal to dry out, causing a small leak. That leakage would cause the brake warning light to illuminate.

Toyota described the recall as “voluntary,” but once an automaker learns of a safety problem it has no choice but to immediately recall the vehicles.

Hiroko Tabuchi reports from Japan that Toyota also announced it had found a separate problem, an electrical issue with fuel pumps that could cause engine stalling, primarily affecting Japanese-market models. That recall affects the Toyota Crown, Crown Majesta, Harrier, Mark X, Alphard and Kluger models, as well as the Lexus GX 350, Lexus IS 250, and Lexus IS 350.

Mercedes-Benz is recalling 85,000 of its 2010 and 2011 models because a steering problem could make the vehicles difficult to control.

The models are the 2010 C-Class and the 2010-11 E-Class, the automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a recent report.

Mercedes said a connection fitting on the high-pressure power steering line might not be tight enough, allowing power-steering fluid to leak.

As a result, the automaker reported, “Owners may not have sufficient control of the vehicle under circumstances such as parking where maximum power steering is required.” The company added that the problem “could lead to a vehicle crash.”

Mercedes said it learned of the problem from customer complaints. Its report to the safety agency did not say whether there had been any accidents. A Mercedes spokesman could not immediately be reached.

In its report to the safety administration, Mercedes described the recall as voluntary. But once an automaker identifies such a safety defect, the law gives it no option but to recall the vehicle.

The Ferrari 458 Italia, a midengine 560-horsepower sports car that sells for well over $200,000 and drew rave reviews after its 2009 introduction, has proved to be a lot hotter than its owners anticipated.

The machine apparently has a tendency to burst into flames and is now subject to recall by its Italian manufacturer.

A Ferrari spokesman, who asked not to be named because of company policy, said the source of the problem was a wheel-arch heat shield that came too close to an exhaust pipe. The adhesive that secures the shield can smoke or catch fire because of excessive heat. Dealers have contacted Ferrari 458 owners, the spokesman said, and have asked them to bring their cars in as soon as possible for modification.

The spokesman said that all Ferrari 458 cars built since the end of the July had been modified at the factory to resolve the problem. Since the machine wasn’t introduced to the United States market until June, only a relative handful of Stateside Ferraris are subject to the recall.

The Daily Mail of Britain reported that five Ferrari 458 Italias have caught fire as a result of the flaw. The Ferrari spokesman confirmed that “four or five” fires had been reported in 458 models but added that only one had occurred in the United States. He said that the destroyed vehicles would be replaced at no charge to the owner.

Despite the relatively small number of incidents, the conflagrations have created quite a bit of bad press for the Italian manufacturer. Among the news items Ferrari probably doesn’t want you to see is a BBC slide show of Ferrari 458 fires.

2001 Ford Windstar. Ford is recalling 1998-2003 models because of rear axles rusting.

Ford will announce on Friday that it is issuing a voluntary recall of 575,000 1998-2003 Windstar minivans because of rear axles rusting, said Said Deep, a Ford spokesman.

In May, the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation into broken rear axles on 1999–2003 Windstars. At the time, the agency said it had received 234 complaints, including two reports of accidents (and no injuries).

According to that evaluation document, the problem seemed to be worse in states that use a lot of road salt. “The rear axle beam in the subject vehicles is an inverted ‘U’ channel design, which appears to provide a collection point for road salt slurry, resulting in corrosion that progressively weakens the part until it fractures,” the document stated.

According to Mr. Deep, the recall will be for the rear axle and Ford will reimburse consumers who have already paid for the repair.

Meanwhile, the safety agency has began a preliminary evaluation of powertrain problems on the 1999-03 Windstar and the 2004-07 Ford Freestar and Monterey. The agency says technical service bulletins issued by Ford indicate the power control module may get wet because of a problem with its cover, causing problems ranging from harsh shifting of the automatic transmission to engine overheating and misfires.

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CREDIT A 2007 Corolla LE. Toyota has issued a recall of 1.1 million 2005-8 Corollas and Matrixes, and 162,000 Pontiac Vibes.

2:21 p.m. | Updated

Toyota said on Thursday that it was recalling about 1.1 million 2005–8 Corollas and Matrixes as well as well as almost 162,000 Pontiac Vibes to fix a stalling problem. The Vibe is a mechanical sibling of the Matrix.

The announcement comes four days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was intensifying its investigation of the issue.

In the course of that investigation, Toyota told the agency it thought the problem did not pose an unreasonable risk to safety.

In its filing with the agency, Toyota said it was recalling the vehicles “to address customer concerns.” The automaker also said the problem is a manufacturing defect in the engine control unit module, manufactured by Delphi, the computer that controls the engine.

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Almost 293,000 aftermarket sunroofs are being recalled because the glass portion could fly off the vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The sunroofs are used on a wide variety of vehicles and are typically installed by dealers. They are produced by Webasto Product North America of Fenton, Mich.

The company told the safety agency that the bonding between the glass and metal frame might loosen for reasons it was still investigating. That could allow the glass to fly off, although the failure is likely to be preceded by additional wind noise.

The models being recalled are the 2002–9 Hollandia 700 and 600 Series as well as the 2007–10 Hollandia TVS 900 Series.

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