Holden recalls 768 Sportwagons over rear-seat striker

HOLDEN has recalled 768 VE Series II Sportwagons due to a potential fault with the rear seat backrest striker that may cause the rear seat backrest to unlatch and fail to stay in upright position under emergency braking or in a collision.

Holden senior product communications manager Jonathan Rose told GoAuto that there have been no customer instances of rear seat striker failure and that the issue was uncovered during the manufacturing process.

Owners of Series II Sportwagons with the final seven characters of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) between L520543 and L533854 will be contacted by letter and advised to book an appointment with their local dealer.

This is the company’s second recall this year, after a problem with the factory-fitted sunroofs on some Astra, Monaro, Commodore, Statesman and Caprice models made between 2002 and 2006 prompted action in February.

Meanwhile, Peugeot has issued three separate recalls in Australia during March, all part of wider global campaigns. The latest is due to a potentially faulty fuel return pipe on 424 Australian-delivered 308, 3008 and RCZ models manufactured between March 2010 and October 2010.

From top: Peugeot 207, 307, 308, 3008, RCZ.

The recall notice said that the return pipe on affected vehicles could make contact with the fuel filter support bracket, causing it to wear through and develop a leak.

The French carmaker also recalled 234 of its locally-sold 207 models built between October and November 2010.

Affected models are at risk of having their rear brake calliper hose come into contact with the rear suspension spring, according to the recall notice. This could eventually cause wear to the hose, leading to a loss of brake fluid and a subsequent warning message to appear on the malfunction display.

Peugeot has also recently recalled 7,051 of its 307, 308, 407 and Expert models sold nationally and manufactured between December 2006 and September 2009 due to a potential problem with the braking assistance.

The recall notice states that the valve on the vacuum pump in the brake assistance circuit could have a manufacturing non-conformity, which could eventually lead to an alteration of the brake assistance.

Peugeot events and promotions manager Kirin Tipping told GoAuto that there have been no reported instances of fuel return pipe, rear brake calliper hose of vacuum pump failure on any local vehicles affected by any of the recalls.

Peugeot Australia will send a registered letter to owners of vehicles affected by all of these recalls, who are advised to make an appointment with their local dealer to fix the problem free of charge.

Finally, Honda has recalled 816 Australian-delivered Civic Hybrid models from 2006 as part of an international recall due to a potentially damaged rectifier diode in the DC-DC converter on vehicles with an Identification Plate Number of 35111 and falling within the VIN range of JHMFD36206S200005 to JHMFD36206S204877.

A faulty diode could lead to an internal short circuit, potentially blowing the main fuse, resulting in the engine stalling and failing to restart.

Honda Australia national public relations manager Mark Higgins informed GoAuto that he is not aware of any customer issues with engine stalling on local models.

Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by mail and are advised to contact their local dealership to have the DC-DC converter replaced with an improved component.

This is the latest in a series of recalls from the Japanese manufacturer in 2011. In January it recalled more than 27,000 local Jazz hatches due to potentially defective wiring in the headlight switch system, while in February it recalled over 11,000 model-year 2009 and 2010 Jazz models due to a possible valvetrain issue.