The string of recalls that has been plaguing the auto industry is likely not going to end anytime soon, with increased customer complaints and better testing facilities prompting auto-makers to call back their vehicles for various reasons.
The latest in the seemingly unending series of recall announcements comes from Japanese carmaker Suzuki, which is recalling more than 19,000 mid-size Kizashi sport sedans model years 2010 to 2013 due to a pesky invasion of spiders in the vehicle's evaporative emissions system. The affected cars were manufactured from October 2009 to July 2012.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a recall advisory, warning owners of the sport sedan that the spiders weaving their webs in the car's fuel vapor host can lead to reduced air flow and excessive negative pressure. This, in turn, can cause cracks in the tank that lead to fuel leaks. Fuel leaks are considered a fire hazard. With more fuel leaks, there are higher chances of a vehicle fire.
"In the affected vehicles, spiders may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent hose, blocking it and causing the fuel tank to have an excessive amount of negative pressure," says the NHTSA.
Suzuki is also prompting owners of the affected vehicle to look for symptoms that could be present in their Kizashis, such as liquid fuel leaks near or around the fuel tank area and the smell of fuel whether or not a fuel leak is present. Owners are also encouraged to contact their Suzuki dealers to have the evaporative canister vent line replaced with a vent line with a filter free of charge. For vent lines blocked by a spider web, Suzuki will replace the fuel tank for free.
No fire incidents related to the recall were reported, although Suzuki says it has already received seven reports from customers who had their cars' vent line blocked by spider webs.
The Kizashi was one of Suzuki's best-selling cars in the United States before the company stopped selling in the American market almost two years ago.
This isn't the first time the pesky spiders, specifically the slightly venomous yellow sac spiders, prompted a recall in a vehicle industry already in hot water for a spate of recalls involving millions of cars this year alone. Mazda, another Japanese car maker, recalled its Mazda6 family cars in 2011 and again in 2014 after customers complained of webs building up in the ventilation hose. At that time, Mazda said it suspected that the hydrocarbons it uses for the vehicle attracted the spiders.
