BMW is recalling 489,000 vehicles worldwide due to a possible engine-bolt defect, widening a repair program that was initiated in China.
Daily Archives: April 12, 2014
NHTSA closes probe into Ford pickup trucks
U.S. safety regulators have decided against seeking a recall of Ford F-150 pickup trucks after investigating complaints about reduced power in EcoBoost engines.
Recalls are more widespread than you think
If a car has a fundamental and possibly dangerous problem, such as the potential to catch on fire or to lose a wheel at high speed, then you’d think it would be well publicised – but that’s not always the case. A safety problem will often lead to a recall, but usually this won’t be public knowlesdge.
R1234yf MAC refrigerant consist of highly toxic carbonyl fluoride
Chemists at Ludwig Maximilians Universität München report that 20% of the gases produced by the combustion of R1234yf—the approved low global warming potential refrigerant for mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems, the adoption of which has met with resistance from German automakers —consist of the highly toxic chemical carbonyl fluoride.Carbonyl fluoride is structurally related to phosgene (which contains chlorine in place of fluorine), which was used as a chemical weapon during the First World War. Kornath and his co-workers have just published the results of their investigation in the journal Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B.
Renault to offer twin-turbo diesel engines
Renault has confirmed it will add a new twin-turbocharged 1.6-litre diesel to the Megane range from 2015.
