Galveston auto defect injury lawyers remark that Mazda and the NHTSA have announced the recall of 2001 through 2006 and 2008 Tributes equipped with V6 3-liter engines and cruise control. The Mazda Tribute defect results from inadequate clearance space between the cruise control (speed control) cable connector and the engine cover.
When the accelerator pedal is fully or nearly fully depressed, this lack of clearance could cause the cruise control cable to get stuck under the engine cover, which means that your throttle would be stuck at high speed and you wouldn’t be able to slow down or stop. This dangerous risk exists whether or not you use your cruise control feature.
Our Galveston auto defect injury lawyers caution that if your throttle gets stuck in the open position because of the Mazda Tribute defect while you are traveling at high speed, you could experience a very serious or fatal crash. You might remember from our earlier recall warnings regarding the Ford Escape, that Ford warned owners of the affected vehicles to stop driving them immediately due to the high risk of injury from the sticking accelerator defect. And Ford built the Tribute for Mazda according to the same design specifications it used for the Escape. (That’s why the Ford Escape and the Mazda Tribute share this same dangerous defect.)
Mazda has said it will repair the defect free of charge by increasing engine cover clearance space as soon as parts are available. Until then, Mazda dealers will disconnect the cruise control cable to prevent it from getting stuck. Mazda Customer Assistance can be reached at 800-222-5500, option 6.
Our Galveston auto defect injury lawyers note that unlike Ford, Mazda has apparently not warned owners to stop driving their vehicles immediately, nor has it said it will pick up the Tribute from where you stop driving it to take it to the dealer for repair. The tragic death of a teenager that was directly linked to the sticking accelerator defect was in a Ford Escape, not a Ford Tribute.
But the Mazda Tribute defect s the same one as that which led to the teen girl’s death. So if you own one of the Tributes affected by the recall, you should have the dealer disconnect the speed control cable immediately and get the free repair of the engine cover made as soon as parts are available. Lives could depend upon quick action on this matter. Learn more about the Ford Escape defect and the crashes tied to it in this article by our Galveston auto defect injury lawyers.