Recall 08E037000: Equipment

NHTSA recall 08E037000 · announced May 19, 2008 · Autostart · 2,000 units affected

The problem

AUTOSTART IS RECALLING 2,000 AFTERMARKET REMOTE ENGINE STARTERS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2007 AND MARCH 2008 SOLD UNDER THE BRANDS "AUTOSTART", "POLAR START", "EXTREME START", "ORBIT", "NORDIC START", AND "COMMAND START" SOLD FOR USE ON VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, THE AFFECTED UNITS COULD UNINTENTIONALLY START THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE WITHOUT THE DRIVER'S AWARENESS.

The risk

IF AN AFFECTED UNIT IS INSTALLED IN A VEHICLE WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND THE TRANSMISSION IS LEFT IN GEAR WITH THE HANDBRAKE ENGAGED, THE VEHICLE COULD LUNGE FORWARD WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START POSSIBLY RESULTING IN INJURY TO THE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS OR PERSONS OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. ALSO, UNINTENDED STARTING OF THE VEHICLE ENGINE IN A CONFINED SPACE COULD LEAD TO EXHAUST BUILD UP AND POSE A RISK OF CO ASPHYXIATION.

What to do

AUTOSTART WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UNITS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 12, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AUTOSTART 1-866-738-9750.

Official NHTSA recall notice →

Notes

CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public recall data. This page reports official records and is not legal, medical, or repair advice.