auto recall

Federal safety regulators are investigating complaints that accelerators can stick in Ford Tauruses from model years 2005 and 2006. The investigation, opened Wednesday, covers an estimated 360,000 of the sedans. The probe could lead to a recall, but so far none has been ordered by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal safety agency.

Shares were mixed in Asia Wednesday. In Japan the Nikkei 225 Index sank 0.6% as Toyota announced yet another vehicle recall. In China, however, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched up 0.2%.

2010 may be the year of the car recall, with the U.S.'s six-largest suppliers recalling more than 19 million vehicles over the last 12 months. Toyota, which recalled about 7 million cars this year, tops the list. General Motors, at about 4 million, came in second.

Topping off a week in which Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, VW, Chrysler and Ford between them recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles, General Motors today announced it is recalling 100,000 SUVs to repair front row seat belts that may come loose in a crash.

Swedish automaker Volvo is recalling 7,420 sedans and wagons to fix seats that may allow front passengers to move the seats too far forward, putting them at risk of injury in a crash, federal safety officials said Monday.

First Toyota, now Honda: Japan's No. 2 automaker said Thursday it also plans to recall an as-yet undetermined number of vehicles because of brake fluid leaks that could lead to reduced braking power. Toyota's recall for same issue, announced earlier in the day, affects 1.5 million vehicles.

If you're driving an older model Ford Windstar minivan you may need to get that car back to the dealer, pronto. Ford is issued a recall, warning that corrosion could contribute to the rear axle cracking and could potentially cause an accident. "An axle breaking is a very serious defect," said...

DailyFinance's Peter Cohan has found that certain models of BMW's 335 and 535 might have faulty fuel pumps that can result in diminished engine power or a complete stall. No recalls are in effect. And so far, no one has been seriously hurt. What happens if that changes?