In 2017, Transport Canada issued more than 1,400 recalls. Added up, they covered more than a million automotive products and vehicles. Some of them were serious safety issues. But some of them were a little more... strange. So we've sorted through all of those recalls and found the six strangest Transport Canada recalls of 2017.
This recall covered 94 models of motorcycle from nine different brands including Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. The years cover 2003 to 2017. But despite that broad coverage, only 321 actual bikes were affected. It's because the faulty part is an aftermarket brake kit. The kit, which is designed to turn bikes into winter rides, suffers from ice buildup on the front pads. That could cause a slippery icy crash.
A recall for an airbag, an A-pillar, or a dashboard is pretty common. What's a little more strange is this recall on 5,073 Audi A4, A5 Sportback, and Allroad models. The fancy aluminum trim on the door speaker can come loose. If it does, the sharp edge could poke the driver or front passenger in an accident. That cut could cause an injury. Audi will replace the trim with something less pointy and more sticky.
One of the biggest recalls of the year affected 665,124 child seats from multiple major brands. But there wasn't a problem with the seats. It was a problem with the instructions and the labels. Bad translations meant that some instructions were missing or unclear. But Transport Canada ruled that the seats are still ok as is. So while more than half a million seats were listed as recalled, the owners of the seats don't actually need to worry. The manufacturers don't have to do anything to seats already sold, just update the booklet on new ones.
A recall for one or two vehicles is fairly common. Manufacturers keep records detailed enough to track defects to just one individual car. But Jeep might have the record for smallest recall: literally zero 2013-2016 Compass models. That's because the recall is for an incorrect marking on the rear glass. They've added sasquatches, Jeeps, and Loch Ness Monsters to Jeep glass recently, but in the info on the window, Jeep's supplier put AS2 instead of AS3. That code refers to the darkness of the glass. But since it's not really a problem, they were able to recall zero of the affected models.
It's not the only strange one for the Compass recently. There were 684 2017 Compass models recalled because the owner's manual reversed the polarity of the cables in the jump-start instructions. That could be shocking and expensive.
Ford recalled 304 2018 model year F-150 through F-550 trucks because of some chrome trim. The Ford Accessory chrome handle trim added weight to the outside handle. Enough extra weight that it could make the handle open the door in a collision. The fix is to remove the trim and refund customers for the accessory.
The last recall of the year was actually from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. On May the fourth, also known as Star Wars day, Transport Canada recalled the All-Terrain Armoured Transport walkers built by the Galactic Empire. Frozen hydraulics could cause weapon malfunction or cause the walkers to fall over. This one was for a laugh, but it's good to see that the people helping keep our cars safe have a sense of humour.
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