Photo: Aston Martin
Aston Martin will begin a recall campaign in the USA to comply with NHTSA regulations.
Apparently, the double-lock system employed by Aston Martin on many of its models does not meet the rules exercised by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to the NHTSA, regulations (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.206) state that a person who is inside a vehicle must be able to unlock the doors, but the British brand’s system does not allow this.
The system is considered a safety feature by Aston Martin, but the NHTSA disagrees, and refused the automaker’s arguments on the matter. The exclusive sports car maker from Gaydon has explained that many of its models feature alarms with interior detection, which would be activated if a person was locked inside.
The same individual could also attract attention by using the horn, and eventually exit the vehicle without endangering themselves, but the NHTSA rejected the argument.
The campaign affects several models from Aston Martin’s portfolio, and it will only be done in the USA. The newest models are the 2014-2016 Vanquish, 2010-2016 Rapide, 2011-2016 V12 Vantage, and 2010-2016 V8 Vantage. The safety campaign also targets older models, like the 2009-2015 DB9, 2009-2012 DBS, 2012-2013 V12 Zagato, and 2012 Virage.
Aston Martin dealers in the USA will install new software on the affected models, which will permanently disable the double locking feature. Once this is done, a person locked in the vehicle will be able to open the door using the levers on the door cards.
The recall is not mandatory for Aston Martin owners, and the driver’s safety is not in jeopardy. No accidents, fatalities, or injuries have been reported related to this potential problem. If someone is left behind in the vehicle and locked inside, things might not be so fortunate.
Therefore, some owners might ignore this recall campaign, but this action might lead to a potential decrease in value at the time of resale, as the vehicle will appear in Carfax reports as having a recall which has not been performed.
According to the NHTSA, regulations (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.206) state that a person who is inside a vehicle must be able to unlock the doors, but the British brand’s system does not allow this.
The system is considered a safety feature by Aston Martin, but the NHTSA disagrees, and refused the automaker’s arguments on the matter. The exclusive sports car maker from Gaydon has explained that many of its models feature alarms with interior detection, which would be activated if a person was locked inside.
The same individual could also attract attention by using the horn, and eventually exit the vehicle without endangering themselves, but the NHTSA rejected the argument.
The campaign affects several models from Aston Martin’s portfolio, and it will only be done in the USA. The newest models are the 2014-2016 Vanquish, 2010-2016 Rapide, 2011-2016 V12 Vantage, and 2010-2016 V8 Vantage. The safety campaign also targets older models, like the 2009-2015 DB9, 2009-2012 DBS, 2012-2013 V12 Zagato, and 2012 Virage.
Aston Martin dealers in the USA will install new software on the affected models, which will permanently disable the double locking feature. Once this is done, a person locked in the vehicle will be able to open the door using the levers on the door cards.
The recall is not mandatory for Aston Martin owners, and the driver’s safety is not in jeopardy. No accidents, fatalities, or injuries have been reported related to this potential problem. If someone is left behind in the vehicle and locked inside, things might not be so fortunate.
Therefore, some owners might ignore this recall campaign, but this action might lead to a potential decrease in value at the time of resale, as the vehicle will appear in Carfax reports as having a recall which has not been performed.
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