Just about everybody knows that a car's tailpipe can get mighty hot mighty quickly. But federal safety regulators say the tailpipes on newer Mini Cooper S models are especially hazardous and they want the little cars recalled.
But BMW, which makes the popular little buggies, is resisting. It has issued a service bulletin but thinks a recall is going a bit too far.
But it's a hot topic to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which says that the tailpipe tips on 2007 and some 2008 models of the Mini Cooper S models stick out too far, potentially scorching the legs of consumers as they pop open their hatchback to load luggage or groceries.
NHTSA has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 17, the next step in what could accelerate into a full-fledged recall.
NHTSA said its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) and BMW "have received numerous complaints indicating that consumers' legs have been burned while they access the rear cargo area of the subject vehicles via the rear hatchback shortly after the vehicles have been driven."
"As reflected by the complaints, people accessing the cargo area naturally place their legs at the rear of the vehicle. People are burned as they inadvertently contact either of the two hot exhaust pipe tips while removing items from, or placing items in, the rear cargo area. Some of the burn injuries are significant second degree burns, causing blistered skin or scarring, often in a half-moon shape pattern matching the approximately 2 3/4-inch diameter of the exhaust tips," NHTSA said.
NHTSA said the problem was reported rarely in previous year's models. But a redesign of the 2007 models created tailpipe tips that "extend beyond the rear bumper cover," the agency said.
"After the redesign, reports of burn injuries from Mini Cooper S vehicles increased dramatically. BMW has acknowledged that the exhaust tips have caused burn injuries. BMW redesigned the tips so they do not extend as far back as originally designed for MY 2007 vehicles. This redesign was incorporated into mid-year production on approximately July 1, 2008, of the MY 2008 subject vehicles," NHTSA continued.
The agency said the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act provides for a safety recall when there is a safety-related defect, and the law does not give the manufacturer the option of choosing a different course of action. Unlike a manufacturer's service campaign, a recall notice to the vehicle owner must explain the risk to safety related to the defect and the type of injury that can result from the defect. Initiating a recall also would require BMW to provide quarterly reporting to NHTSA to ensure all vehicles have been remedied.
Sales of the MINI remain brisk. with U.S. sales up 43 percent over last year.
Copyright 2008 consumeraffairs.com
