Coding Error Sends 2019 Subaru Ascents To the Car Crusher (ieee.org)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from IEEE Spectrum: [A] software remedy can't solve Subaru's issue with 293 of its 2019 Ascent SUVs. All 293 of the SUVs that were built in July will be scrapped because they are missing critical spot welds. According to Subaru's recall notice [PDF] filed with the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the welding robots at the Subaru Indiana Automotive plant in Lafayette, Ind., were improperly coded, which meant the robots omitted the spot welds required on the Ascents' B-pillar. Consumer Reports states that the B-pillar holds the second-row door hinges. As a result, the strength of the affected Ascents' bodies may be reduced, increasing the possibility of passenger injuries in a crash. Subaru indicated in the recall that "there is no physical remedy available; therefore, any vehicles found with missing welds will be destroyed." Luckily, only nine Ascents had been sold, and those customers are going to receive new vehicles. The rest were on dealer lots or in transit.

Comments

Re:Good.

[Known Nutter]

Hope gas shoots up to $5 per gallon to get some of the mastodons off the roads and restore some rationality to the US auto market.

That's a fucked up thing to say. It's happened in recent years and the people fucked the most by $5 gas are not limp-dicked asshole Hummer drivers. It's the wage earners -- you know, the working class -- who take the hit.