4 Greatest Modern Car Scandals

Car scandals happen here and there as recalls are always being issued. However, some scandals are quite great and involve millions of vehicles and death. Here are 5 of the greatest car scandals.

1. The GM Ignition Recall

Chevrolet Cobalt

GM is infamous for scandals inside the car market. The GM Ignition Recall is a great example. The Chevrolet Cobalt already had a lot of problems. It failed safety tests and was recalled. The steering rack had problems leading to 1.3 million Cobalts being recalled. Then, came the great recall. There were 2.6 million recalls involving Cobalt and 5 other GM vehicles which consist of the Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac Solstice, Pontiac G5, and Saturn Ion. The 2006 and later models had a new part with a pin that is slightly thicker than the old faulty one. However, it had the same serial number in an attempt to hide the ignition change. GM never recalled the older Cobalts to save money and no one ever knew about the deadly possibilities of the Cobalt. If the ignition switch position is moved to the accessory position, the airbags don't work, power steering is dead, and the anti-lock brakes don't work. These three features are key to driving safely. The past seemed to be buried until someone's Cobalt stalled and crashed into an SUV. The Cobalt driver is dead. The father of the Cobalt driver sent the Cobalt to a trusted mechanic. The mechanic found out that the ignition was far to easy to turn from the on position to the accessory position. He called up the lawyer representing the family of the dead Cobalt driver telling him about the ignition switch and how that there was a change and that GM knew about the issue and the change. That is when the world knew about the shady GM ignition switch. After the world knew about the ignition switch default, millions of GM cars were recalled. GM is under a lot of fire for this scandal. A 10 billion dollar civilian lawsuit is being fired against the company, and the death toll of the 57 cent pin in the ignition is 90 people. If GM had taken care of the issue as it should have, then it would not have added another scandal to its name.

2. Takata Airbags

Takata Airbags
By Bill Pugliano/ Getty Images

The Takata Airbags scandal is still relatively recent. Passengers in vehicles equipped with Takata Airbags may have the airbags explode with excess force shoot chemicals and shrapnel in their faces leading to potentially deadly consequences. However, the airbags will explode only if they have been exposed to moisture. The Takata Airbag recall involves at least 17 million vehicles made between 2000 and 2008 made by 10 different manufactures. These 10 manufactures have been working on fixing the recall. There are many resources online to see if your car is affected, so take those steps to make sure you are safe. The New York Times exposed Honda and Takata for knowing about this deadly flaw. Honda has been charged 10 million dollars and Takata has been fined 14,000 dollars for not cooperating with the investigation.

3. Dieselgate

Volkswagen Golf
By Celica21gtfour

Dieselgate is another example of why I generally want to avoid Volkswagen. Volkswagen cheated the emissions test leading to this great scandal. When the TDI models were being tested by the EPA, there is a piece of software that tricks the emissions equipment to believe that the amount of pollution being produced is below the limit. However, a study conducted at West Virginia University found that the 2.0 liter turbocharged diesel engine found in the Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Golf SportWagen, Volkswagen Beetle, and Audi A3 were producing nearly 40 times the nitrogen oxide limit. The 3.0 liter TDI engine found in the Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Touareg, Audi A6, Audi A7, Audi A8, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne produced 15 times the legal limit. Volkswagen is facing 10 billion dollars worth of fines and what not. Volkswagen offered a buy back for the vehicles with the 2.0 TDI engine. Customers with the 3.0 TDI engine will not be offered a buy back as of right now because Volkswagen wants to fix the emissions problem even though they are miserably failing. Dieselgate shows what type of shady company the Volkswagen Group is. Volkswagen tried to make things up by offering a 500 dollar prepaid Visa car, a 500 dollar Volkswagen dealer car, and no charge roadside assistance for three years. However, despite their bribery attempt, I am sure not many TDI customers will be returning to the Volkswagen group anytime soon.

4. Toyota Unintended Acceleration Problem

Lexus ES350
By Lexus

Toyota is known as a company that makes cars that are reliable. However, like every other car company, they have their scandals. In 2012 after years of denying that their cars have a deadly problem, Toyota finally payed 1.2 billion dollars to the United States Government to avoid prosecution. The problem is that the throttle will be caught by the floor mats meaning that the vehicle will accelerate in a sudden and quick manner. It also means that you cannot stop the car meaning that you are likely screwed if the car starts randomly accelerating. One of the most popular selling cars in America, the Toyota Camry, first came under fire when an audio recorded from a 911 call of a CHP officer was released showing that the Lexus ES he was in, which is similar to the Camry, started accelerating unintentionally. Eventually the Lexus crashed and killed all 4 occupants inside. After years of denying this issue, Toyota finally recalled 3.8 million cars to fix the recall. Those cars included the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Prius, Tundra, Tacoma, Lexus IS250/350, and Lexus ES350. The recall shortened the pedals by 3/4 of an inch and added an engine software modification that would cut the engine if the brakes and throttle were pressed simultaneously. These new features bury the great scandal that erupted.

Thank you so much for reading. Remember to scroll down for more articles about cars.