Honda Motor Co is recalling CR-V crossovers from the 2002 to 2006 model years because an electrical switch in the driver’s side door could melt and cause a fire.
Honda and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the recall on Saturday.
The problem involves about 268,000 vehicles. Honda said rain or other liquids could enter through a driver’s open window and damage the master power switch on the door. If that happens, the switch could overheat and melt, causing a fire.
PROPERTY DAMAGE
NHTSA said owners should park CR-Vs from those model years outside until the recall is performed to avoid any property damage from a fire. A fire could start even when the ignition is off and the CR-V is parked.
Honda agreed that concerned owners should park their CR-Vs away from structures that could burn.
However, spokesman Ed Miller said that a switch is unlikely to catch fire unless someone spilled liquid on it or let a large amount of rain into the vehicle through the driver’s side window.
FOUR FIRES
Honda said owners have reported four fires, but no injuries or crashes associated with the issue.
The company plans to begin contacting owners next month and will repair the vehicles for free. Honda is to install a cover plate inside the switch to prevent any liquid from coming in, Miller said.
THIRD MAJOR RECALL
It was the third major recall last week for the Japanese automaker, which usually sits near the top in J.D. Power and Associates’ annual rankings of vehicle quality.
Earlier this week, the company said it was recalling 820,000 Civic compact and Pilot SUVs from the 2002 through 2004 model years because the headlights can fail.
CR-Vs were recalled earlier this spring for that same issue.
FAULTY STEERING
Honda also said last week that it’s recalling 600,000 Accord midsize cars because a faulty power steering house can leak and cause a fire. That recall affects Accords with V6 engines from the 2003 to 2007 model years.
NHTSA also announced earlier last week that it is investigating complaints that Honda Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs can roll away after drivers remove the ignition key.
That investigation involves vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years.
PICKUP TRUCKS
Also on Saturday, the government announced a recall of 44,300 Ram 1500 and Dodge Dakota pickup trucks from the 2009 and 2010 model years.
The trucks have a nut that could loosen on the rear axle, causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles. The government and Chrysler Group LLC said there have been 15 reports of rear axle failure and three minor injuries related to the issue.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six