Subaru recalls US vehicles over faulty light

NEW YORK: Subaru is recalling as many as 634,000 vehicles in the US for potential lighting problems that could lead to smoke or fire, according to US safety regulators.
The recall by Subaru, owned by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, potentially affects some Forester vehicles from model years 2009 through 2012, all Legacy and Outback vehicles from model years 2010 through 2012, and some Tribeca vehicles from model years 2006 through 2012, according to documents filed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The 633,842 vehicles potentially affected by the recall may be equipped with accessory puddle lights that when lit brighten the areas under the doors, according to NHTSA documents.
A Subaru spokesman said the recall involves only 53,999 cars equipped with the lights, but the wider number of owners must be alerted because the company does not know which cars have them.
There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue, but there was one report of smoke, the spokesman said.
A short circuit can develop when the light or connector are exposed to an electrolytic moisture source such as road spray that has road salt in it, the NHTSA said. That can cause heat that could melt the plastic, resulting in smoke or fire.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional harness, the NHTSA said. The recall is expected to begin next month.
The Nikkei business daily said earlier Japanese carmaker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, which owns the Subaru brand, will increase its production capacity in the US by about 30 percent by fiscal 201.
The company will invest about 20 billion yen ($ 230 million) in Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc, its only overseas vehicle assembly plant, the Japanese newspaper reported.
A US spokesman for Subaru declined to confirm the newspaper report.
Fuji Heavy plans to raise its production capacity by 30,000 vehicles by 2014, the paper said.
The Lafayette, Indiana facility can currently produce about 170,000 units a year of Subaru models as well as 100,000 Camry cars for Toyota Motor Corp.
Fuji Heavy sold nearly 330,000 vehicles in the United States last year but had to ship half from Japan. The company’s expectation of a jump in North American demand for its Subaru Impreza model prompted the increase in production, the Nikkei said.
The company said in 2011 that it would increase global sales to 1 million vehicles in ten years, the business daily said.
At present, the company’s two major production facilities, the Indiana plant and another in the Gunma Prefecture in Japan can produce about 750,000 vehicles a year, the newspaper said.
North America accounts for a little under half of Fuji Heavy’s total sales, the Nikkei said.
The company briefly considered building a new factory in Mexico but decided that expanding the US facility was the cheaper option, the paper reported.