Recalls for Tesla, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Citroen, Land Rover

A NUMBER of brands including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Citroen and Land Rover have issued recalls for some of its models this week due to manufacturing faults found in the construction of the vehicles.

Tesla’s voluntary recall affects its all-electric Model S sedan and Model X SUV after a potential fault was discovered in its electric park brake which could lead to a malfunction.

The call back was issued for US-built Teslas built between February and October 2016 and relates to a small gear that “could have been manufactured improperly by our third-party supplier”, said the EV-maker.

Although no reported incidents have occurred, Tesla says the gear could break and cause the parking brake to remain in place – either up or down – but won’t affect the vehicle’s regular braking system.

“We do not believe this issue could every lead to a safety concern for our customers, and we have not yet seen a single accident or injury relating to it,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

“However, in order to be overly cautious, we are going to be proactively replacing these parts to ensure that no issues arise.” The recall envelops 53,000 Teslas globally and affected Australian customers will be contacted this week.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz has called back examples of its previous-generation C-Class sold between May 1 and May 31, 2013 for an incorrectly tightened bolt in the steering system.

If the bolt comes loose, it could lead to the coupling and steering shaft could become decoupled, which “may cause a loss of steering control and an increased risk of an accident”, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) notice.

Owners with defective vehicles will be contacted by mail and the repair work will be carried out by a nearby Mercedes-Benz dealer.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) has also recalled 20,148 Pajero off-roaders as part of the growing Takata airbag scandal, as well as 19,131 ASX and Outlander crossovers for a faulty door latch.

Affected Pajeros are built between January 6, 2010 and December 28, 2012 and the fault, like all Takata airbag-related recalls, could see metal fragments released form the inflator container when an airbag is deployed.

The error in the ASX and Outlander on the other hand, could lead to doors opening while the car is in motion, and pertains to vehicles built from April 23, 2015 to March 14-15, 2016.

MMAL will contact affected vehicle owners as parts become available, where they will be directed towards a dealer to fix the respective problem free of charge.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has once again recalled its Range Rover Sport, this time for an issue with the activation of the front passenger airbag.

Vehicles built between September 20 and October 25, 2016 are affected and the ACCC says that “in the event of a crash of sufficient severity, the front passenger airbag may not deploy when required”.

Lastly, Citroen is recalling 14 C4 Cactus crossovers sold in the month of September in 2016 for sub-standard electric relay component.

Affected vehicles may have their starter control disrupted, which, according to the ACCC, could cause unwanted starter activation and cause the vehicle to overheat.

Australian owners of both JLR and Citroen affected vehicles will be contacted shortly to take their cars in for repair.