August car recall roundup

(AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA)

August has seen a number of car recalls from major automotive manufacturers in the US and around the world.

At the end of July, Toyota recalled 373,000 2000-2004 Avalon sedans in the US over steering issues, along with 39,000 Lexus vehicles made between 2003 and 2007.

On August 9, Honda announced the recall of 427,000 US and Canadian vehicles because of an ignition problem that could allow drivers to remove their key when the vehicle was not in park.

The recall affected approximately 197,000 Accord and 117,000 Civic cars from 2003 and roughly 69,000 Element vehicles from 2003 and 2004 in the United States, and a further 18,000 Honda Accords, 21,000 Honda Civics, 2,000 Acura 1.7ELs from the 2003 model year, and 3,000 Honda Elements from the 2003 and 2004 model years in Canada.

Around a week later, General Motors announced a recall of nearly a quarter of a million Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook vehicles in the US, Canada, Mexico, China and Saudi Arabia over a seat belt issue.

Two days after that on August 19, Mazda recalled 320,000 2007-2008 Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 vehicles in North America over a potentially deadly power steering malfunction.

Last week, Toyota topped the lot, recalling 1.13 million Corolla vehicles in North American due to an engine defect that could make the car stop while it is being driven.

The recall was issued for Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles built between 2005 and 2008.

More information:

http://www.toyota.com

http://www.honda.com

http://www.mazda.com

http://www.gm.com