Aston Martin recalls over 17,000 cars after discovery of defective parts

MIDLANDS-based luxury car maker Aston Martin has announced it is recalling more than 17,000 cars because of a potentially defective part.

The Gaydon firm said the recall affected most of the cars it has manufactured since late 2007.

The recall follows the follows the discovery that a Chinese supplier was apparently using counterfeit plastic material in part of the accelerator pedal.

The recall will have major repercussions for the company’s reputation for excellence as it look to re-establish itself following an injection of fresh investment and a new partnership with Mercedes’ high performance division, AMG. 

News agency Reuters said the recall included all of the firm’s left-hand drive models built since November 2007 and all right-hand drive models built since May 2012.

This equates to about 75% of all vehicles built in that period. The only model not affected is its Vanquish sports car.

Reuters said Aston Martin had found that Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co Ltd, a Chinese subcontractor that moulds the affected accelerator pedal arms, had been using counterfeit DuPont plastic material. The problem was highlighted in documents filed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The material was supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co Ltd of Dongguan, according to the documents.

The cars are being recalled from model years 2008 through 2014 because the accelerator pedal arm may break, increasing the risk of a crash. The engine would return to idle and the driver would be unable to maintain or increase speed, according to the documents.

Reuters quoted Aston Martin spokeswoman Sarah Calam as saying there had been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue and 22 failed parts had been reported. She said the financial impact to the car maker was small, but did not say how much it would cost the firm.

It is a problem which the Midlands motor industry has faced before.

Coventry-based Manganese Bronze was forced to recall a number of its black cabs in 2012 because of defective steering columns in a fault that was traced back to Chinese suppliers.

The 2012 recall, which affected more than 400 of its vehicles, effectively tipped the business into administration.

When the fault was discovered the Coventry firm put an immediate freeze on further sales of its TX4 vehicles – a move which starved it of new revenue.

The taxi-making business was eventually saved – somewhat ironically – by Manganese Bronze’s former Chinese JV partner, Geely. The business has since been relaunched as the London Taxi Company and production of the black cabs has resumed.