Tag Archives: Consumers For Auto Reliability and Safety
Edison Calls Settlement That Left Consumers On Hook For $3.3 Billion Reasonable
by Ivan Penn, Los Angeles Times
Consumer advocates filed their own arguments Thursday in favor of reconsidering the settlement. They argue that Edison should be held responsible for the premature closure of San Onofre in June 2013 after faulty replacement steam generators were installed at the plant. Read More ›
DMV Issues Proposed Regulations For Self-Driving Vehicles
by Mark Glover, Sacramento Bee
“The liability issue is paramount,” [Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety President Rosemary Shahan said.] “With this, what is the driver there for? So, you’re going to have less control and more liability. … Why would anyone lease a car like that?” … Addressing privacy and cybersecurity issues, the DMV said “manufacturers must disclose to the operator if information is collected, other than the information needed to safely operate the vehicle.” It said autonomous vehicles will be equipped with self-diagnostic capabilities that detect and respond to cyberattacks or “other unauthorized intrusions.” Read More ›
Call Kurtis Investigates: Some Jeep & Dodge SUVs Are Catching Fire After Recall Repairs
The Hanson family brought their 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee into the dealer for a recall repair expecting to take away the danger. Instead, the family is just one of at least nine that have had fires after the recall repairs. … Stacie Hanson says she and her two kids were just sitting down to eat at Taco Bell, when her daughter yelled, “mom your car has smoke coming out of the whole inside of it,” said Stacie. Eric points out his family was sitting in the SUV just minutes earlier. Read More ›
A Fiat Chrysler Discount Will Cost You Your Right To Sue
by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
Until now, experts say, no major car manufacturer has sought to encourage customers to forgo their right to sue. … Many large businesses prefer arbitration because settlements are limited and because professional arbitrators often favor the corporate side. Arbitrators’ fees are typically paid by the company in a dispute. A 2007 report by Public Citizen found that over a four-year period, arbitrators ruled in favor of banks and credit card companies 94 percent of the time in disputes with California consumers. Read More ›
California Assembly Member Pulls Auto Recall Bill As Opposition Mounts
by Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times
Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-San Mateo) said he notified the state Senate that he plans to hold AB 287, titled the Consumer Automotive Recall Safety Act, until next year to see if he can establish a consensus among dealers and a growing opposition. … Consumer advocates praised Gordon’s move. “The whole concept of allowing dealers to sell recalled cars is bad news for consumers,” said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. “No one else in the industry thought this was a good idea.” Read More ›
California Groups Say CarMax Sells Unsafe Used Vehicles
by Mark Glover, The Sacramento Bee
“CarMax is playing recalled car roulette with its customers’ lives and endangering the safety of others who share the roads,” said Rosemary Shahan, [Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety president]. … The report released Wednesday said “approximately 9 percent of all cars recently offered for sale at that location had an unrepaired federal safety recall.” The report said 34 of 386 vehicles for sale at a local CarMax on May 26-27 were subject to safety recalls. The report listed defects including engines that could stall, possible air bag failure, worn parts, key systems failures and bad electrical connections. Read More ›
More Auto Title Lenders Are Snagging Unwary Borrowers In Cycle Of Debt
by Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
“I look at title lending as legalized car thievery,” said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a Sacramento advocacy group. “What they want to do is get you into a loan where you just keep paying, paying, paying, and at the end of the day, they take your car.” … In California, the number of auto title loans jumped to 91,505 in 2013, the latest data available, from 64,585 in the previous year and 38,148 in the first year, 2011, that was tracked by the state Department of Business Oversight. Read More ›
NHTSA launches online search tool so consumers can find out for themselves if a vehicle has been recalled
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
A new online search tool from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration aims to help consumers determine if their vehicles are among the more than 46 million recalled so far this year. Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, encourages consumers to use the tool before purchasing a vehicle, but she notes the system is only in English and only available online. It’s illegal to sell recalled products like microwaves and blenders, but there’s no similar law for recalled vehicles. Read More ›
California bill would require recalled cars be repaired before sale
by David Undercoffler & Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times
Used cars that get recalled by manufacturers need to be fixed before they’re sold. That’s what a bill pending in the California Legislature would require of all new and used car dealers in the state. And with 2014 on pace to break the auto industry records for most recalls in a year, the bill is taking on more urgency, supporters said Tuesday at a news conference. A vast majority of those recalls involve older vehicles. Read More ›
Scrutiny over disparity in loan fees at auto dealerships
by Rachel Abrams, New York Times
Dealerships are not required to disclose what percentage of the interest rate goes to them, and consumer advocates and some regulators are concerned that dealers’ ability to decide how much to charge has led to discriminatory lending against minorities. That concern has prompted a number of government investigations into the growing business of auto lending. Read More ›
Billboard seeks to name and shame in California automobile forced arbitration case
by Will Carless, Voice of San Diego
A San Diego consumer bought a “certified” used car that turned out to be a nightmare. His ordeal has been featured in Consumer Reports magazine and is garnering national attention about forced arbitration clauses in contracts. See the YouTube video about his plight that has attracted over 550,000 views so far. Read More ›
Automobile guide revisions provoke uproar
by Christopher Jensen, New York Times
Proposed changes to the federal used-car buyers guide have stirred disagreements over whether the wording reduces protection for consumers. Read More ›
Proposed used-car window stickers may not help consumers
by Eric Evarts, Consumer Reports
Window stickers on used cars specify warranty terms and inform consumers of their rights. Those stickers are about to change and consumer advocates say the new ones take a step backward. Read More ›