Windshield Wiper Defects Are A Winter Safety Hazard
The California lemon law covers defects that impair the use, value or safety of a vehicle. This is called the “substantial impairment” rule. Only truly trivial matters fall outside the scope of the lemon law.
To our surprise, some manufacturers try to tell car owners that defective windshield wipers are not worth worrying about and that a failure to fix them is not covered under the lemon law. Nothing could be further from the truth. Are they confusing “little” with “trivial?” If you live anywhere but the Atacama Desert, windshield wipers are among the most important safety devices on any passenger vehicle.
Just as November weather is upon us, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall of Chrysler Jeep 2008 model SUVs for defective windshield wiper motors. NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 10V550 If you get this notice, respond right away.
The windshield wiper was first patented by a female inventor named Mary Anderson. During a winter visit to New York City in 1902, she noticed that the trolley car operator drove with the front window open because of difficulty keeping the windshield clear of blinding sleet. Bundling her own overcoat more tightly, she thought of a mechanism to control the blade from inside of the trolley and keep the draught out. She had a model made of her design and patented it shortly thereafter. In those days a patent was good for just 17 years, and the auto industry took it up as soon as it expired.
Most automobiles use two synchronized radial type arms, while some SUVs and station wagons use one pantograph arm. The intermittent windshield wiper was invented by Bob Kearns. His battle with Ford Motor Company was chronicled in the award-winning movie, “Flash of Genius.”
Although there is a range of acceptable design, properly functioning windshield wipers are standard safety features on passenger vehicles. Don’t let any car dealer tell you otherwise.
Kemnitzer Barron & Krieg is hearing complaints that Honda Civic tires wear out prematurely. According to reports, the rear suspension was improperly designed in the 2006 and 2007 model year Honda Civics, so that when the vehicle is weighted down the tires end up curving inward, rather than remaining level as they should. This inward curve may cause the tires to wear out far more quickly then they should, as pressure is applied to the tires at an improper angle. In 2008 Honda issued a bulletin to its authorized Honda dealerships regarding this problem. The bulletin allowed dealers to replace the badly designed suspension part at Honda’s cost, and grant buyers a credit toward a new set of tires, the amount of which depended on the amount of use the tires received. However, thousands of Civic owners had already replaced these tires at their own cost and paid for alignments that they did not need, but mechanics had recommended. The unneeded service was recommended because the mechanics did not know the real cause of the premature tire wear. If you are a Civic owner who had to replace your tires early at your own cost please give us a call. This Honda Civic tire problem proves the importance of the phrase “where the rubber meets the road,” both literally and figuratively. Literally in the sense that the improper location where the rubber of the tires contacts the road has resulted in serious problems, and figuratively, because in this moment of truth thousands of 2006 and 2007 Civic owners will likely realize they have spent thousands of dollars because of a manufacturer defect.
