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GM extends Bolt EV factory shutdown amid battery pack shortage
One week after the automaker announced it was suspending production at all but four of its North American manufacturing facilities, it said it plans to extend the shutdown of its Orion assembly plant by two weeks.
GM recalls Bolt EVs once again over fire risks
GM is issuing a second recall for 2017 to 2019 Bolt EVs over potential fire issues.
Tesla recalls almost 6,000 cars due to loose brake caliper bolts
Tesla is recalling 5,974 electric cars, CNBC reports, based on documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla recalls almost 135,000 vehicles over touchscreen failures
Tesla has recalled 135,000 Model S and Model X cars over complaints of touchscreen failures, although it's not convinced these represent defects.
Honda recalls 737,000 Accord and Insight cars over a software flaw
Honda is recalling 1.4 million cars, 737,000 of them for software flaws that could 'break' rear-view cameras, turn signals and windshield wipers.
GM recalls 68,000 Chevy Bolt EVs after reports of battery fires
GM has recalled 68,000 Chevy Bolt EVs to help it identify the causes of multiple battery fires.
Every Polestar 2 is being recalled over a power-killing software glitch
The Polestar 2 is experiencing its first round of growing pains. The first issue involves a software glitch that can cause the vehicle to suddenly lose power while driving, though to date, no one has been injured when the glitches have occurred.
Polestar 2 EV recalled over glitch that can cut power while driving
Polestar has recalled all 2 EVs after learning of a software glitch that leads to a power loss, even while driving.
Toyota recalls 752,000 Prius cars over flawed hybrid software
Toyota is recalling 752,000 Prius cars due to a glitch in the hybrid software that could lead to an engine stall.
Hyundai recalls 2020 Sonata and Nexo over remote smart parking glitch
Hyundai Sonata and Nexo models are being recalled after the discovery of a glitch where cars won't stop when Remote Smart Parking Assist breaks.
A sixth of ridesharing cars have unfixed safety recalls
It's not just ridesharing drivers that merit some safety concerns -- the car might be a risk as well. Consumer Reports has conducted a study indicating that 16.2 percent of the nearly 94,000 ride hailing cars it identified in New York City and King County (including Uber, Lyft and smaller outfits like Juno), Washington had at least one unaddressed safety recall. About 1.4 percent of total rides had Takata's faulty airbags, while 25 had "at least" five open recalls.
Honda recalls another 2.2 million vehicles over airbag trouble
The ongoing saga of defective Takata airbags continues. Honda just announced that it added 2.23 million more vehicles to its recall list, making for a total of 8.51 million affected vehicles in the US, Autoblog reports. At issue is the airbag inflator used by Takata, which can potentially spray shrapnel on drivers and front-seat passengers. The airbag issue has steadily grown over the last few years -- now it affects 14 carmakers and 28 million inflators, reports the New York Times. So far, 10 deaths have been linked to the airbags worldwide, along with over 100 injuries.
Uh-oh, Moto: AT&T is sending back early Nexus 6 units over a bug
If you're an AT&T customer eager to get your hands on the over-sized Nexus 6, get ready to wait a bit. AT&T stores are apparently returning the first crop of Nexus 6 units to Motorola over a software bug, Droid Life reports. And it'll likely be a while until their stock is replenished. The bug reportedly kills network connectivity on affected phones after displaying a black screen. We haven't seen too many complaints about the issue yet, but they've only started shipping out to preorder customers a few days ago. In any case, be prepared to hop it back to an AT&T store if the bug hits you. While the recall doesn't inspire much confidence, it could be worse. Just imagine if Motorola had to issue a widespread recall after thousands of people had their phones for weeks. For now, would-be Nexus 6 owners an AT&T can keep a giant candy bar or block of cheese nearby to train their hands for the phone's massive proportions.
Apple to replace European iPhone chargers
Apple has launched an exchange program for 5W European USB Power Adapters that were sold between October, 2009 and September, 2012. The affected adapter is Model A1300. Apple illustrates exactly how to identify it here. Apple has determined that this model may overhead and become a safety risk. Those with affected adapters are encouraged to make an appointment at a local Apple Store or authorized retailer. Those who can't get to a store may contact Apple directly. All A1300 adapters manufactured during the identified time period will be replaced free of charge.
Fitbit halts sales of the Force fitness tracker due to skin-irritation issues, recalls existing units
Get a rash from the Fitbit Force? You're not alone. Turns out, the fitness band has been causing lots of people skin irritation. So many, in fact, that the company is halting sales of the product, and has issued a voluntary recall for units already sold. In a statement (embedded after the break), the company said that a small number of users have been affected, and that it decided to stop sales after consulting with "independent labs and medical experts." All told, Fitbit will refund users the full retail value if they decide to turn their band in -- just like Jawbone did when it turned out the original Up band was defective. For now, if you're in the market for a fitness tracker, we suggest you instead look into the Jawbone Up24 or the Nike+ FuelBand SE. As for Fitbit, you can still buy the Flex, which has a similar wristband form factor. In addition, a company rep said Fitbit is already working on a next-gen device, but we've no word on when that will come out -- or if it will fix the skin-irritation problem.
Zero Motorcycles recalls 2012 models with 'lack of weatherproofing'
If you took Zero Motorcycles up on its offer for 25,000 free miles with the purchase of a bike, you might be turning in those wheels for a fix-up soon. According to Asphalt and Rubber, the electric motorcycle maker is recalling 254 of its 2012 units due to "insufficient weatherproofing." The affected models are at risk for an electrical short inside the battery management system, which could cause the bikes to cut power during in wet weather. Zero says it will notify owners with faulty motorcycles and repair the bikes free of charge. This isn't the company's first recall -- in 2009, it pulled models that were prone to crashing more than usual, and just a few days ago Zero recalled 2011 and 2012 bikes with a faulty brake light switch.
Mophie, Best Buy recalls overheating cases
A couple of recall notices went out earlier today for Mophie and Rocketfish battery cases. Mophie is recalling the Juice Pack Air for the fourth-generation iPod touch. Affected models will have the first five digits of the serial number be between TR113 and TR120. Mophie said a small number of those units might overheat, causing the plastic to deform and damage the iPod touch. Those with affected units should stop using them and call (877) 308-4581 or fill out a form through Mophie's site. Best Buy has issued a recall for its Rocketfish mobile battery case model RF-KL12, which appears on the inner surface of the case. These are for the iPhone 3 and 3GS. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada said the case could possibly overheat while charging, causing a fire hazard. There were 14 cases of this happening in the U.S. with three of those incidents causing minor burns and another four causing property damage. Those with affected units should stop using them and contact Best Buy at (800) 917-5737 or visit its recall site. Affected customers are eligible for a Best Buy gift card for $70 in the U.S. or $105 in Canada. [Via Macworld]
Apple returns a few Verizon iPad 2s to sender (updated: some got through)
Several 9to5Mac readers noticed a rather peculiar phenomenon this last week -- their freshly-ordered Verizon iPad 2 units shipped all the way from China just fine, only to boomerang back to sender right before delivery time. Now, Reuters has the official word: Apple's recalling an "extremely small number" of Verizon iPad 2s which were flashed with a duplicate MEID code. Should they have been delivered, users would probably have found themselves unable to connect to 3G, or booted off before long, as Verizon reportedly can only have one device with that unique identifier on the network at once. We're not sure whether to applaud, but it's good to see manufacturers taking responsibility for their hardware before it hits shelves. Update: We spoke with Apple about this, who wouldn't give us much beyond the official quote -- which is, for the record: "Duplicate MEID codes were flashed onto an extremely small number of iPad units for the Verizon 3G network." That said, we were able to confirm that a few of these 3G iPad 2s sneaked through and got into the hands of customers. Apple is, of course, replacing those free of charge, so if you're in possession of a brand new iPad that was never able to get on 3G... you know who to call. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
RIM recalls 900 faulty BlackBerry PlayBooks, here are the serial numbers (update)
We found the BlackBerry PlayBook to be a pretty solid piece of hardware, but it seems there was a problem batch -- an inside source tells us that nearly 1,000 faulty tablets were shipped to Staples, and now they're being recalled. We're hoping that Staples (and any other affected retailers) will reach out to customers and inform them of the problem right away, but just in case that doesn't happen, we've compiled a searchable spreadsheet of all 935 alleged serial numbers for you to check against your own. Find it right after the break. Update: RIM tells Crackberry that the faulty batch of the 16GB tablets was indeed limited to the approximately 1,000 units described here, and that they had a faulty build of the OS "that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up." Furthermore, the company says that only a few went out to customers and that most are still in distribution, so with any luck you'll never have to deal with this problem to begin with.
WakeMate sleep-aid recalled due to 'exploding' USB charger, gives new meaning to being hot in the sack
Early this morning, Perfect Third Inc. -- makers of the less than perfect WakeMate wristband -- issued a recall for the sleep analyzer's USB charger, which apparently has a tendency to go up in smoke, and we don't mean disappear. An e-mail sent out by the company's CEO at 12:30 AM states, "we were informed by a customer of a safety incident with the black USB chargers." A little vague if you ask us, considering the video we received shows the device "smoking after exploding." The recall ensures that the WakeMate itself is perfectly safe, and that the Chinese-manufactured USB cables are at fault, but if you ask us, anything that is supposed to help you sleep soundly shouldn't put you in danger of catching fire. [Thanks, Ringram and Nick]
