Volkswagens, Fords, Toyotas recalled

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-auto-recalls,0,1546928.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

Volkswagen AG is recalling nearly 40,000 Jetta sedans in the United States because fuel could leak and start a fire, federal safety regulators said Thursday.

Jettas from the 2005 model year are involved in the recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a fuel supply line clamp may not be properly positioned, which could lead to a leak.

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Ford Motor Co. is recalling the 2006 Ford Expedition and 2006 Lincoln Navigator because the left-side tires may have tread damage caused by a sharp piece of steel they may have encountered during manufacturing. There are 10,061 vehicles involved in that recall, NHTSA said.

Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 11,592 Tacoma pickup trucks from the 2005 model year that have bench seats. NHTSA said the seat-belt buckle sensor may not function as designed, which could cause the air bag to deploy improperly in a crash.

rubber seal around air pollen filter breaks down and allows water to leak. Directly below filter is electronics - repair costs $800 plus.

No recall, VW denies problem. But just do a good search and you will find hundreds of hits from frustrated owners.

recalled in decades. I laughed when I got a recall on my GMC Yukon...why because people kept pinching their fingers when folding the rear seat.....duh.

What a criminally mismanaged company!

.... recently my wife decided that she really didn't need her small SUV and could get by on a smaller car. She became interested in the Jetta TDI (diesel).

They are fine-looking cars, and run and drive very well. But when I started running CarFax reports on the ones we saw (used) for sale, I noticed something strange. We were looking at 2001/2002 models and every one of them had 2-4 owners already.

Upon further investigation I found that current Jettas are really lousy cars. Tons of problems, often very expensive to fix, in cars only 2-3 years old. We decided on a Honda Civic instead, and she is very happy with it.

Anyone thinking of buying a used car should go to carsurvey.org and read the anecdotal comments from actual owners. It's a real eye-opener.

...the anecdotal evidence is eye-opening, but so is the statistical work done by Consumer Reports.

For the past several years, VWs earned CU's unreliable rating--and got the dreaded "poor" rating in key component categories. Who would buy in the face of such evidence?

Mind, we're VW people from way back. Our '72 Ghia is still on the road! And we were sorely tempted by a new Beetle.

But VW's descent into mediocrity is well documented. Besides the sharp decline in quality, there has been the tragically misguided attempt to sell SUVs--foolishness for which it has paid dearly. Even in terms of style, the sedans have grown less and less distinctive: little separates the Jetta from any half dozen clones on the road other than the name, which sensible buyers know means much less than before.

What a pity. If the company turns itself around, we'll look again in a few years. VW has a lot to prove, first.