FROM AUTO BLOG

By Steven J. EwingRSS feedGoogle+

Back in June 2013, Aston Martin recalled just under 700 vehicles over faulty throttle arms that could break without warning. Bad news, for sure – and things just got a whole lot worse. According to Reuters, the British luxury brand now needs to recall 17,590 vehicles due to counterfeit plastic materials being used by a Chinese sub-supplier – that's roughly 75 percent of the company's output over the same period.

Basically, here's how it boils down: with the exception of the Vanquish, Aston Martin will recall all left-hand-drive vehicles built since November 2007, and all right-hand-drive cars built since May 2012. Just as we told you in the recall notice from 2013, the accelerator arms in these cars may fracture, increasing the risk of a crash.

Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co Limited, a Chinese company that molds the accelerator pedal arms in these affected models, was using counterfeit plastics, according to Reuters. These bad plastics were supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co Ltd, of Dongguan.

An Aston Martin spokesperson tells Reuters that there have been no reports of accidents or injuries in conjunction with this problem.

 

Vehicle manufacturers source parts from many, many suppliers... And while it's disconcerting that this supplier made the throttle arm with bad plastic, it's reassuring that the cause of the failure was discovered. Hopefully, the cost of this massive recall will fall on the supplier and not Aston Martin. I'm curious to know what other manufacturers use this company for parts...

Another thing, who ever heard of counterfeit plastic! That a new one on me.

 

What if car is built before November 2007, no recall?

 

Just called my local dealer, my car isn't affected. Woohoo! Now to wait for the next recall.

 

They just picked up my 11 roadster today for the recall. BTY There is also a TPMS software update that affects my car. You might check to see if it affects any of yours.

 

I knew I should have gotten a Vanquish.