Mazda issues recall--because of SPIDERS!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Slate article: Mazda Issues Most Terrifying Car Recall of All—Some Models Vulnerable to Spider Attack

According to the NHTSA bulletin, "In the affected vehicles, spiders may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent hose, blocking it and causing the fuel tank to have an excessive amount of negative pressure. Negative pressure could cause the fuel tank to crack resulting in a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire."

Good to know (I guess) that Mazda is being so pro-active in the auto-attacking-arachnid department :eek:

2

blondebear - I couldn’t believe this either. And this is not the first time they’ve done a recall because of this problem. WTF? :dubious: Spray the car with a can of Raid and ship it. (Maybe they use this as a cover to fix more serious problems.) - Ya think?

3

The first recall was on the 2009-2010 Mazda6 and the latest recall covers certain 2010-2012 Mazda6 models. These vehicles were manufactured in Flat Rock, Michigan in a factory shared with Ford. The Ford Mustang was built in the same facility, but apparently hasn’t experienced the same spider issues???

4

I don’t think they’re factory-installed spiders (unless generations upon generations of spiders have lived in the EVAP system of the '09s by now!), just that there’s a design issue that causes problems if spiders from the outside get into a particular nook.

5

I have a new Mazda not included in the recall. I’m kind of bummed, I would’ve liked to check out those spiders.

It could be worse I suppose…imagine if the recall had been for crazy ants!

6

Gotta love this sentence from the linked article:

7

I remember Ford Focuses having a similar problem. My wife had an issue with the flow of gas constantly shutting off when refueling her car. Turned out it was spiders in the system.

ETA: Perhaps I shouldn’t say “Focuses,” but rather “our Focus,” although I seem to remember finding the solution mentioned on a Focus forum.

8

I liked the caption for the photo: “A Mazda engine sans yellow sac spiders.”