A new investigation into an old recall of Land Rover’s Range Rover has been initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The affected cars contain a faulty latch that may cause the doors to open while the car is operating. This same problem led to a recall in 2015 and an investigation in 2017 but persistent issues with the car’s door latches have caused the NHTSA to renew its investigation.
NHTSA Resumes Investigation
According to the NHTSA, more than 65,300 cars have been reported to contain doors that may open inadvertently while driving or ones that completely fail to latch. The affected cars include model years 2013-2016 Range Rovers and 2014-2016 Range Rover Sport vehicles. The NHTSA reports that the new investigation was necessary because complaints about the cars door latches continue even though repairs were made. In addition, some owners have complained of faulty door latches that were not fixed because their model vehicle was not included in the original recall.
Recall Announced in 2015 for Faulty Door Latches
In 2015, Land Rover announced a recall of almost 66,000 cars because of defective door latches. Land Rover concluded that a faulty keyless entry system was responsible for the issue. It stated that the lever may fail to resume its “home” position due to a short circuit. The short circuit may result in the door appearing like it is closed even though it is not latched. This defect poses a substantial safety risk since occupants and drivers may fall out of the car while it is in motion. After the 2015 recall, 43 additional reports were submitted to the NHTSA concerning faulty door latches on Range Rover vehicles. Fourteen of those complaints stated that some doors actually opened while the car was operating.
The NHTSA Opens Investigation
The NHTSA initiated an investigation into the 2015 recall by Land Rover. The NHTSA was made aware of the recall when Land Rover informed the agency that the vehicle’s “Unilatch Keyless Vehicle” entry system may cause the door to fail to latch. Following the recall, dealers were instructed to perform an update to the keyless system but owners continued to report problems even after repairs were made. In the current updated investigation, the NHTSA will order an engineering analysis to assess the efficacy of the recall and determine what more needs to be done.
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