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Howdy, and welcome to another recall roundup. Mazda announced this week it is issuing a recall to corral a herd of malfunction-causing spiders out of the fuel systems of 52,000 of its Mazda6 cars from model years 2009-2010.
Spider-wrangling isn't normally part of Mazda's job description, but the yellow sac spiders in question "may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent line" which can cause a buildup of pressure, eventually leading to cracks in the fuel tank, according a press release by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The yellow sac spider is causing fuel leaks in Mazda6 cars (photo by Joel Mills).
To make the fix, Mazda won't be employing my first choice, which would be hiring highly trained spider wranglers outfitted with miniature lassos to catch and hogtie any spiders that sneak into Mazda6s before they can weave their webs. Instead, they'll install a (boring) "'spring to prohibit spider intrusion' and the computer will be reprogrammed to prevent a build-up of pressure in the emission control system," according to David Shepardson of the The Detroit News.
For more information, contact Mazda at (800) 222-5500.
Here's the rest of the recall roundup.
- Chrysler is recalling almost 250,000 Town and Country, Grand Caravan and Journey minivans and crossovers from the 2010 model year. The recall addresses engine stalling issues linked to key fobs that fit into the dash switching from the run to accessory position while driving, causing the engine to shut off. For more information on getting your vehicle squared away, contact Chrysler at (800) 853-1403.
- Ford has two recalls this week. The first recall involves 24,000 Ranger pickups, and seeks to remedy a potential fire hazard created by a throttle body shield chafing the fuel line, eventually causing a fuel leak. The other covers 8,000 Ford Edge, F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550 and Lincoln MKX vehicles from the 2011 model year. A fault in the body control module could overheat and cause a vehicle fire. For more information, contact Ford at (866) 436-7332.
