There were 15 recalls issued over the month of February in Canada, involving 109,434 vehicles made up of 23 models from 12 marques, and concerning a variety of issues from fuel leaks to faulty shift interlocks to incorrect labels.
Of top priority were a couple of airbag recalls of the 2006 Mazda B-Series compact pickup truck. Applicable to 874 pickups, the recalls involved the permanent replacement for the faulty Takata airbag modules (the vehicles had been recalled before and fitted with a temporary fix, pending available parts for the final fix). Additionally, those same vehicles were recalled for priority fitment of those airbag modules due to two deaths in the B-Series’ sister-pickup, the 2006 Ford Ranger.
In terms of sheer numbers, Ram pickups (light and heavy duty) from 2017-18 accounted for 41,903 vehicles recalled to fix the shift interlock that could allow the column-mounted transmission lever to be moved out of Park without the required depression of the brake pedal.
A similar issue also befell the console-mounted shifters of 8,142 Dodge Caravans and Jeep Wranglers from 2017.
Mitsubishi RVR compact utilities from model years 2011 through 2016 were recalled to address an issue with water draining from the windshield cowl area onto the front wiper link ball joint (to a total of 37,654 vehicles), which could lead to corrosion and loss of wiper function.
Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport models from 2018 (8,456 in all) were recalled due to a faulty steering wheel assembly that could lead to the wheel’s separation from the steering column while the vehicle is being driven.
A fifth large recall involved 8,180 Toyota Tundra full-sized pickups and Sequoia full-sized SUVs from 2018 to remedy an electrical issue that could affect the Yaw Sensor and result in the loss of stability control and pre-collision systems, among other electronic systems. 578 Tundras from 2017 were also recalled for a potential problem with child-seat anchor points.