The biggest scandals in automotive history

In this day and age, we assume that any vehicle on the market has undergone rigorous safety testing. In the earlier days of automotive history, there were indeed some incredible production failures that led to the recall of the disastrous creations. But it’s the recent examples from some of the biggest and most trusted manufacturers that are truly shocking.

The negligence, denial, and self interest displayed by these companies would drive any sane person to cycle. Click through the following gallery to learn more.

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Ford Pinto

The innocuous looking Ford Pinto is known as the most dangerous car ever produced. It’s speculated that Ford rushed it into production to compete with rival manufacturers.

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Ford Pinto

The car’s fuel system was so poorly made that a minor rear end collision could rupture the gas tank, turning the vehicle into a fireball. Unfortunately, this caused many tragedies. It’s estimated that between 500 and 900 people died in car fires related to the defect.

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Ford Pinto

The worst part of the Ford Pinto scandal is that the fuel issue was discovered in pre-production. Despite the knowledge that the car was extremely dangerous and fire prone, Ford continued with production and it was sold for eight years. Finally in 1978, knowledge of the reckless manufacturing and resulting deaths was so widespread that Ford reluctantly recalled 1.5 million Pintos.

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Chevrolet engine mount

In 1971, General Motors announced that they would be recalling 6.7 million Chevrolets due to a safety issue with the engine mount. At the time, it was the largest recall in history.

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Chevrolet engine mount

It was reported that the engine mount was prone to breaking. This could cause a range of problems, but the most dangerous outcome was that the shifting pieces would cut the power brake lines and jam the throttle. The car would be left speeding with no brakes.

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Ford transmission

The source of Ford’s next debacle was a faulty parking gear. When the car was set to park, the faulty mechanism might allow the car to slip into reverse, causing many cars to unexpectedly jump backwards. This defective transmission was built into their cars for almost 15 years.

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Ford transmission

More than 130 deaths are thought to have been caused by the sudden reversal. By the time the scandal was exposed in 1980, it was estimated that around 20 million cars were in circulation with this defect.

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Ford transmission

Incredibly, Ford made a deal with the government to avoid recalling the 20 million cars. They agreed to mail a warning sticker to the 20 million car owners with specific instructions explaining how to avoid the reverse issue. This was viewed as a very poor decision that was not in the best interest of American drivers.

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Ford ignition switch

In front of a judge once again, Ford was ordered to recall 8 million cars in 1996.

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Ford ignition switch

A faulty ignition switch had been built into millions of their cars between the years of 1988 and 1993. It’s reported that the ignition could spontaneously catch fire, even when the engine was turned off.

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Ford ignition switch

Luckily, the defect did not cause any deaths this time. However, some owners did receive minor injuries and some properties were damaged when the cars caught fire in the garage.

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Toyota unintended acceleration

One of the most recent and terrifying scandals was brought to light in 2010. In the years before, rumors started to spread that some Toyota cars were suddenly accelerating uncontrollably.

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Toyota unintended acceleration

A harrowing 911 call was made from a man stuck in one of the faulty cars. He and his family were speeding uncontrollably down the highway at 125 miles (201 km) an hour. He detailed the events up until the moment the car finally crashed, leaving no survivors.

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Toyota unintended acceleration

Initially, Toyota tried to blame the incidents on the drivers, then they claimed that the floor mats were jamming under the accelerator pedal. Finally, it was proven that there was a genuine mechanical fault in the car, which Toyota had attempted to cover up. They chose to pay US$1.2 billion to avoid prosecution for their mistakes.

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Ford/Firestone tires

In the early 2000s, Ford was, once again, involved in one of the deadliest recalls in history. The tires on their Ford Explorer SUV were blowing out with worrying frequency.

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Ford/Firestone tires

The threads were separating from the tires, which caused the trucks to roll over, often at high speed. This is alleged to have caused more than 200 deaths.

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Ford/Firestone tires

Ford ended their long-term partnership with tire manufacturer Firestone in 2002, after they dragged each other through the mud. Both companies claimed that the product of the other was the cause of the accidents.

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Takata airbags

Tens of millions of vehicles across many brands used Takata airbags. The biggest recall in history began when it was discovered that the airbags were potentially lethal. However, it was confirmed that the executives at Takata were aware of the issue for years without taking any action. The company is now bankrupt, and they are under indictment in the United States.

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Takata airbags

The airbag’s casing degrades over time, which causes it to shatter when deployed. This sends sharp shards of metal spraying out at the person sitting inches away. This is how 26-year-old Jewel Brangman died from a minor crash. At least 20 people have been killed as a result of these airbags, and hundreds more have been left permanently disfigured.

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Takata airbags

The faulty airbags have a 50-50 chance of exploding in a minor collision like a fender bender. It’s estimated that there are still tens of thousands of cars with these airbags on the roads.

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GM ignition cover-up

In 2014, the new CEO of GM determined that almost 3 million of their cars would need to be recalled due to a potentially deadly fault. The issue had been suspected for years, but the previous management did not take ownership.

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GM ignition cover-up

Faulty ignition switches cause the cars to turn off at speed, deactivating safety features like anti-lock brakes, power steering, and airbags. By 2019, 124 deaths had been linked to the defect.

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GM ignition cover-up

Documents show that GM were aware of the issue as early as 2001. In 2006, they secretly began replacing the defective part with a safer model. They gave the new model the same serial number so the change wouldn’t be detected, and did not inform car owners or regulators of the issue. This left millions of people driving with the older, dangerous ignition switch.

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Volkswagen dieselgate

In 2015, it came to light that Volkswagen was attempting to swindle the world by designing cars that cheated emissions tests.

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Volkswagen dieselgate

There are strict guidelines all car manufacturers must follow to control the level of pollutants produced by their cars. Volkswagen fitted more than 10 million cars with software that could detect when an emissions test was being performed and adjust the levels to meet regulations.

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Volkswagen dieselgate

Analysis shows that the tampered vehicles were likely producing up to 40 times more than the legal amount of pollutants.

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Fiat Chrysler hack

In 2015, Fiat Chrysler ordered a recall of 1.4 million cars for a security software update, after independent researchers proved that hackers could potentially take control of a car without needing physical access.

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Fiat Chrysler hack

Security researchers took control of a Jeep Cherokee, showing that the car’s Internet-connected entertainment system and digital radio could be hacked remotely.

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Fiat Chrysler hack

Fiat Chrysler claim that the security breach could only be achieved with prolonged access to the car as well as extensive technical knowledge, but the researchers say otherwise.

To find out more about some of the biggest security breaches in history, follow this link.

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