Photo: Mazda
In the world of cars and SUVs the Mazda CX-90 is the newest and hottest kid on the block. Launched at the beginning of this year, the model plays in the large SUV segment, where the competition is at its highest, so everything about it has to be perfect. Only it isn't.
Recalls in the automotive industry are not uncommon, but it doesn't happen all that often for a brand-new vehicle to be subject to such drastic actions. Yet, in the span of just two months, the CX-90 has been the focus of not one, but two recall actions.
The first one was announced back in June, and it is needed because certain suspension and steering bolts may have fallen off because of improper tightening. The number of cars affected was not that great, just 18, but the action probably made Mazda feel a bit uneasy.
And now comes something that may have the same effect on the company, if not more. The carmaker's American branch announced this week it has filed a defect notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning the brand-new SUV.
This time the recall has to do with the pedestrian alert system, more specifically that component of it that is responsible for activating the warning sound while the SUV is driving in reverse.
You know, it's the sound you hear whenever a car is backing out of a parking spot, for instance, and it's there as a means to alert pedestrians to that fact. Such a sound coming on when a car is not actually moving in reverse may "affect perception of vehicle directional movement and may increase the risk of an accident or injury."
Mazda has found that the warning sound may be activated regardless of the gear the SUV is in, especially when drivers go through gears fast. There is no preceding symptom to the alert sound kicking in, so the driver can't prevent it from occurring.
Mazda believes the reason for this behavior of the system is caused by missing software in the amplifier that controls the warning sound for reverse.
Now, we've told you the previous recall affected just 18 CX-90s, and that is no big deal. This one, however, is much, much larger, with the carmaker saying it impacts a total of 17,600 CX-90 SUVs in the U.S.
The recall has not yet begun and Mazda says it will begin notifying owners via email. A date for the start of the recall was not announced, and no details on the fix have been provided – it's probably a matter of simply installing the missing software.
At the time of writing Mazda says there have been no reports of accidents and injuries as a result of the fault.
The first one was announced back in June, and it is needed because certain suspension and steering bolts may have fallen off because of improper tightening. The number of cars affected was not that great, just 18, but the action probably made Mazda feel a bit uneasy.
And now comes something that may have the same effect on the company, if not more. The carmaker's American branch announced this week it has filed a defect notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning the brand-new SUV.
This time the recall has to do with the pedestrian alert system, more specifically that component of it that is responsible for activating the warning sound while the SUV is driving in reverse.
You know, it's the sound you hear whenever a car is backing out of a parking spot, for instance, and it's there as a means to alert pedestrians to that fact. Such a sound coming on when a car is not actually moving in reverse may "affect perception of vehicle directional movement and may increase the risk of an accident or injury."
Mazda has found that the warning sound may be activated regardless of the gear the SUV is in, especially when drivers go through gears fast. There is no preceding symptom to the alert sound kicking in, so the driver can't prevent it from occurring.
Mazda believes the reason for this behavior of the system is caused by missing software in the amplifier that controls the warning sound for reverse.
Now, we've told you the previous recall affected just 18 CX-90s, and that is no big deal. This one, however, is much, much larger, with the carmaker saying it impacts a total of 17,600 CX-90 SUVs in the U.S.
The recall has not yet begun and Mazda says it will begin notifying owners via email. A date for the start of the recall was not announced, and no details on the fix have been provided – it's probably a matter of simply installing the missing software.
At the time of writing Mazda says there have been no reports of accidents and injuries as a result of the fault.
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