The 2013 Aston Martin DB9 is one of the models recalled over faulty Chinese-made accelerator pedal arms.
If you drive an Aston Martin, you may want to park it – fast! E3 Spark Plugs has learned that the English luxury sports car manufacturer has issued a recall of nearly 18,000 cars over an issue that could cause the cars’ accelerator pedal to break off.
Until now, the accelerator pedal arm had been manufactured by an outside supplier in China. Turns out that parts maker was using a counterfeit plastic material – one that falls far short of the particular material that Aston Martin officials specified – in part of the pedal. If the pedal arm breaks, your car will be unable to accelerate or maintain speed, making for a potentially dangerous situation on the roadways.
The recall affects all Aston Martin models except the Vanquish, the Cygnet and a few limited edition specialty cars. Recalled cars are DB9, DBS, V8 Vantage, V12 Vantage, Rapide, Rapide, Rapide S and Virage models produced between 2007 and 2013 and records show that just over 5,000 of them are here in the United States. Luckily, there have as yet been no reports of accidents related to the faulty parts, but the potential has quickly raised concerns over global outsourcing and quality control limitations.
Going forward, Aston Martin officials have moved manufacturing of the pedal arms back to the United Kingdom, where oversight will be easier. Meanwhile, if you’re driving a recalled Aston Martin, take it to your nearest dealer for repair.
