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Incidents In China Lead To Worldwide Aston Martin Vantage Recall

Aston Martin has never been a name synonymous with reliability. In fact, some models from the ‘70s and ‘80s were downright deplorable in this area, especially the ill-fated Lagonda luxury sedan. Even today, an automotive era that sees Aston Martin upping its game slowly but steadily year after year, the Gaydon-based company can get it wrong sometimes.
Aston Martin Vantage 6 photos
Photo: Aston Martin
Aston Martin VantageAston Martin VantageAston Martin VantageAston Martin VantageAston Martin Vantage
Here’s the lowdown from Automotive News: “Aston Martin is ordering a global recall of 1,658 Vantage cars after problems with a routine transmission software update led to incidents in China in which some cars stalled and lost power.” The call back operation comes as a result of an investigation prompted by customer complaints that date back since 2014.

The affected vehicles, according to the cited publication, were built from June 2010 through September 2013, and they’re equipped with the Sportshift I and Sportshift II transmissions. In the British automaker’s jargon, that would be an automated manual boasting electro-hydraulic control. When it made its debut in 2006, Aston Martin described the box as being capable of shifting three times faster than the manual on which it’s based.

Being an automated manual, the clutch is the this transmission’s Achilles heel. The automaker told Automotive News that some dealerships failed to reset the position of the clutch after performing software updates to the transmission. Stalling on this occasion, in layman’s terms, comes as a result of the clutch not being retaught the pre-software update biting point.

Chief executive officer Andy Palmer declared that he blames himself and the other higher-ups for this situation. “Basically, we should have explicitly said within the service action for the software that we should reteach the clutch. We didn't explicitly say that. Therefore, we take responsibility for fixing it."

Up to this point in time, Aston Martin is aware of 21 instances of sudden engine stall in China. Among others, the fix also consists of replacing the Sportshift transmission’s fluid pipe connectors.

In related news, there’s an all-new Vantage on the horizon. And just like the current generation of the baby Aston, the newcomer will be offered with a good ol’ manual as standard.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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