Latest news with #NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration
Indianapolis Star
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
If it's hot outside, it's even hotter in your vehicle. Never leave pets or children unattended.
We're gong to see high temperatures next week in Indy and it's important to remember that if it's hot outside, it's even hotter in your vehicle. On hot summer days, always double check your backseat for passengers (whether that be pets or children), drink lots of water and be sure to watch for signs of heat cramps, exhaustion or stroke. It is never safe to leave a child, disabled person or pet locked in a car. For more information about how cars can heat up quickly when left in the sun, check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website in both English and Spanish. While this applies all year round, it is especially important on warm or hot summer days. Every year, hundreds of pets die from heat exhaustion because they are left in parked vehicles, according to the American Veterinarian Medical Association. The temperature inside a vehicle can rise almost 20° F in just 10 minutes, and almost 30° F in 20 minutes. The longer a pet, child or person is inside a car turned off in the heat, the higher it goes. At one hour, your vehicle's inside temperature can be more than 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Even on a 70-degree day, that's 110 degrees inside a car. More on heat safety: How to stay safe and the signs of heat stroke, exhaustion. What to know before Indy's heat wave Indiana law states that a person who forcibly enters a vehicle to remove a domestic animal is responsible for half of the cost of repairing the vehicle damage directly caused by the person's forcible entry if certain criteria aren't met. You have to reasonably believe that the dog is in imminent danger of dying or suffering serious harm, use no more force than needed and determine that the vehicle is indeed locked so forcible entry is necessary to remove the dog. You must also call 911, and remain with the dog until law enforcement or emergency responders arrive. Rescuers are, however, immune from all other civil or criminal liability for other property damage in this case. So the owner who left their pet in the vehicle can't sue or press charges against you. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that bystanders not wait more than a few minutes for a driver to return to the car and to first assess if the child is responsive or unresponsive. You should call 911 right away and get the child out of the car if they appear to be unresponsive. Be sure to check for unlocked doors first. Once the child is freed from the vehicle, they may need to be sprayed or toweled off with cool water until emergency responders arrive. If a child is responsive, the NHTSA recommends staying with the child outside of the vehicle until law enforcement and or first responders arrive to locate the driver. Like with rescuing animals, a person who causes damage without following proper steps — calling 911, checking for unlocked doors, etc. — could be responsible for some of the repair cost.
Fast Company
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fast Company
You're not imagining it: Silly sounds make EVs hard to hear coming down the street
Over the past several years, electric vehicles have garnered something of a reputation for their unusual sounds on the road. Otherworldly EV warning sounds have been compared to ' a celestial choir,' a ' flying saucer hum,' and, in one TikTok with 23.5 million views, the song that might play just before ascending to heaven. But the angelic warble that's come to characterize EV acoustics might have a few drawbacks for pedestrians. A new study conducted by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and published in March examined how well the average person could locate three common types of warning sounds from hybrid and electric vehicles at low speeds. It found that all three of the sounds were significantly harder for pedestrians to locate than the sound of a standard internal combustion engine. Given that they have no combustion engine, EVs are naturally almost silent. That can be a benefit when it comes to urban noise pollution, but it's not ideal for pedestrian safety. For the past six years, all EVs in the U.S. have been legally required to emit some kind of low-level noise— a prompt that automakers have chosen to interpret in a range of creative ways. But it might be time for some automakers to take another crack at their proprietary EV acoustics. What do Hanz Zimmer, a didgeridoo, and fighter jets have in common? Starting in 2019, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled that all hybrid and electric cars have to be fitted with an external speaker that must 'make audible noise when traveling in reverse or forward at speeds up to 30 kilometers per hour (about 19 miles per hour).' While the law sets expectations for when these noises need to play, it largely leaves the contents of the noise itself up to automakers. That's resulted in a variety of EV sounds on the road, from a Cadillac alert made using a didgeridoo to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N's fighter-jet-inspired sound and BMW's portfolio of i4 electric sedan noises by composer Hans Zimmer. This unusual symphony hitting the roads has inspired quippy commentary on social media. Under a TikTok sharing the BMX iX 50's reverse sound, one user wrote, 'is this ribs by lorde?' And in a video poking fun at Tesla's reverse audio, another commenter joked, 'Every time our neighbour pulls onto the drive with their electric car my husband says 'the spaceship has landed.'' Beyond sounding a bit silly, though, there are a few key shortcomings to the sounds that many automakers are selecting for their EVs. Why are EVs so hard (and annoying) to hear? Chalmers researchers examined three of the main categories of EV sounds, also known as acoustic vehicle alerting systems (AVAS): two-tone, multitone, and narrowband noise (a noise concentrated within a small band of audible frequencies, often perceived as a hissing sound). To compare these sounds to that of an internal combustion engine, researchers studied the reactions of 52 test subjects inside a soundproof chamber. Each subject was surrounded by 24 loudspeakers and given a laser pointer fashioned out of a toy gun. When one of the speakers played a simulated vehicle sound designed to mimic the noise of an EV at a low speed, the subjects were to point the laser toward the sound as quickly as possible. The tests demonstrated that all the AVAS categories were harder for subjects to locate than the sound of an internal combustion engine. And, according to Leon Müller, a PhD student at Chalmers and one of the paper's authors, one of the sounds was more problematic than the others. '[The two-tone AVAS] is significantly harder to localize than other types of warning sounds, as well as combustion noise,' Müller says, noting that in a situation with just one vehicle present, these localization errors are relatively small and not particularly concerning for traffic safety. When there are two or three EVs present, though, the situation can get a bit stickier. 'In that case, the participants had much more [difficulty] localizing the cars, up to a point where most participants failed to even detect all presented EVs within an appropriate time,' Müller says. There are a few reasons why pedestrians might have trouble locating EV sounds. First, Müller explains, combustion noise is a very broadband signal—meaning it contains a lot of frequencies, 'and hence more information for our hearing system to work with.' Second, humans have had substantially more time to acclimate to combustion sounds than artificial EV sounds. 'We humans have learned over the last 100 years or so that cars sound in a particular way and how driving behavior, such as acceleration, is reflected in this combustion noise,' Müller says. 'This potential learning effect might also contribute to differences in localization, especially when we need to 'decode' multiple sounds at the same time. One could expect that we would then also get used to EV sounds within a few years. The only problem is that they currently all sound different.' A new sound In the meantime, Müller believes there are two potential avenues to make EV sounds safer. Currently, U.S. and EU regulations are limited to minimum sound levels in a specified number of frequency bands, which he argues 'allows the warning signals to be anything between a futuristic spaceship sound or a racing car engine.' In the U.S., he adds, regulations don't require a velocity pitch shift, meaning that a car might sound the same going 60 mph as it does at 25 mph. To address these problems, Müller says the regulations should 'make more clear demands on the sound characteristics.' On the automaker side of the equation, the Chalmers study indicates that a more broadband AVAS signal, similar to the noise radiated by tires when driving faster, is preferable to a two-tone or multitone AVAS. '[This sound] is potentially less annoying than tonal sounds and has the advantage that we already have 'learned' to interpret this noise since we hear it every day,' Müller says. In the long term, he adds that adaptive AVAS solutions—like pedestrian detection technology—could help EVs radiate a more advanced warning sound directly in the direction of the pedestrian, thus improving safety and reducing noise pollution. 'One important bottom line here is that we are not saying EVs are bad or dangerous. With the right type of warning signal, they are not,' Müller says. 'On the contrary, they have the potential of reduced noise pollution since the warning sound can be controlled, while the combustion noise in [internal combustion engine vehicles] is always there.'
a day ago
- Automotive
Honda recalls more than 259,000 cars across the US due to brake pedal issue
NEW YORK -- Honda is recalling more than 259,000 of its cars across the U.S. due to a problem that can cause the brake pedal to shift out of position, potentially interfering with a driver's ability to stop or slow down. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall covers certain Honda Pilots between model years 2023 and 2025 — as well cars under the auto maker's luxury Acura brand: 2021-2025 Acura TLX and 2023-2025 Acura MDX vehicles. The NHTSA's recall report notes that the brake pedal pivot pin in some of these vehicles was not secured properly during production. That can lead the pedal to shift out of place and 'may lead to unintended application,' the report notes, increasing crash risks. 'The issue could also cause an abnormal brake pedal feeling during operation, illuminate the brake malfunction light in the instrument cluster, or cause the vehicle's brake lights to remain lit even when the brake pedal is not applied,' America Honda said in a statement Wednesday. As a remedy, Honda says authorized dealers will inspect the vehicles covered by this recall and replace the brake pedal assembly if necessary, free of charge. Per the NHTSA's report, the company estimates 1% of these vehicles have this issue. Dealer notifications began on June 13. And mailed owner notification letters are set to follow on July 28. In the meantime, drivers can also confirm if their specific vehicle is included in this recall and find more information using the NHTSA site or Honda's recall lookup. Between February 2024 and June 5, the NHSTA notes, Honda received three warranty claims related to this issue — but no reports of injuries. Honda began investigating the faulty brake pedal in April 2024, after receiving a report of a vehicle experiencing this issue. The company later determined that improper assembly of the brake pedal pivot pin occurred at a supplier's U.S. plant, which has since been closed. Production was transferred to a plant in Mexico — where the supplier now uses a camera sensor 'to verify whether the pivot pin is staked," the recall report notes.
New York Post
a day ago
- Automotive
- New York Post
Ford recalls nearly 200K vehicles over risk of children getting trapped in back seat
Ford Motor is recalling nearly 200,000 vehicles in the US over a risk of children getting trapped in the back seat. When the car's battery is low, a software glitch could make the electronic door latches remain locked after the driver has shut the front door – possibly trapping someone in the back seat who is unable to use door handles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The unexpected lock-out could lead to serious injuries, especially during hot weather, the safety agency warned. Ford is recalling nearly 200,000 vehicles in the US. Getty Images The recall of 197,432 vehicles includes 2021-2025 Mustang Mach E vehicles. Ford estimates 100% of the vehicles have the defect, according to a recall report. Customers should bring their vehicles to Ford dealers, where the software can be updated free of charge, the automaker said. Letters notifying vehicle owners of the recall will be mailed by June 23, and a follow-up letter will be sent when the remedy is available, anticipated for September 29, Ford said. The NHTSA contacted Ford in January about the software glitch after at least six customers said they had trouble opening the back door after exiting the vehicle, including two drivers who had children in the back seat. Ford said the faulty part was taken out of production on June 3. The recall includes 2021-2025 Mustang Mach E vehicles. REUTERS The automaker said it is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to the software glitch. There are some warning signs that drivers can look out for to avoid the lock-out, Ford said. Drivers may notice, for example, that the SYNC screen displays a 'system off to save power' warning or simply turns blank after turning the car off. They may also notice that inside release handles need to be pulled farther than normal to exit the vehicle through the front door.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Faulty Seat Switch Triggers Recall of Ford Explorers, Aviators
Ford's recall record in recent years has been extensive, with safety campaigns covering everything from engines and electronic glitches to improperly secured parts. Earlier this month, the automaker issued a recall for nearly 500,000 older-generation Ford Explorers due to an issue with the exterior trim that could cause it to come loose. While seemingly innocuous, the loose body panel could pose a potential hazard to other road users, which warranted a voluntary recall from the Blue Oval. Now, there's another recall notice, and this time it affects more than 300,000 units of two of Ford's most important SUVs: the 2020–2025 Ford Explorer and its luxury sibling, the Lincoln Aviator, manufactured between October 19, 2018, and November 4, 2024. At the center of this new safety issue is something that seems minor at first – second-row seat switch bezels – but the consequences could be serious. According to the recall document published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week, the voluntary safety recall stems from a defect of the second-row seat easy-entry switch bezel. The document says that the trim around the switch may have been installed incorrectly, creating interference that can cause the button to stick in the down position. If that happens, the seat may unexpectedly fold or slide forward, even while the vehicle is moving. Needless to say, that kind of unprompted movement poses an obvious safety risk, especially to passengers seated in the second row. A seat that folds or shifts without warning during driving could result in injury, and in the event of a crash, the consequences could be compounded. While Ford has acknowledged nearly 100 reports of the issue across affected models, the automaker says there have been no known accidents or injuries tied to the defect so far. Ford will begin notifying dealers and affected customers later this month. Owners of affected Explorer and Aviator vehicles will be advised to visit a dealer for a free inspection of the switch bezel. If it's damaged or improperly installed, it will be replaced. Dealers will also test and confirm proper function of the switch to ensure the issue is fully resolved. The repair process will be carried out at no cost. To check if your Explorer or Aviator is affected, Ford's VIN lookup tool is already live. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
