There have been a few significant recalls announced in the past few weeks affecting Dodge, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, plus a Toyota safety enhancement and a recall on tire valve stems. If your vehicle is listed here, you will be contacted by the manufacturer with the information on what you need to do or we provide a number to contact yourself. However, the valve stem recall requires action on the owner’s part.

2009 Dodge Journey

Chrysler is recalling almost 6,700 Dodge Journey SUVs equipped with a 3.5-liter engine due to a problem with the engine wiring harness that could contact the left transaxle mount and cause an engine fire.

Dealers will inspect the engine wiring harness for damage and repair to secure the harness away from the left transaxle mount.

Chrysler has yet to announce when owners will be notified. In the meantime, owners can call Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.

2005-2006 Land Rover LR3 and Range Rover Sport

Land Rover is recalling over 37,000 LR3 and Range Rover Sport vehicles. The relative motion between the steering wheel hub and/or steering column cowl with the clockspring, which contains air bag circuitry, could cause a fracture in the driver-side air bag wiring connection. The SRS warning light will illuminate to alert the driver that a repair is necessary, but if a driver ignores the light and gets into a crash, the air bag may not deploy properly.

Dealers will make the necessary repairs to fix the alignment. The recall is expected to begin around July 21st. Owners may contact Land Rover at 1-800-637-6837.

2006-2008 Mercedes-Benz GL & ML class

Mercedes-Benz is recalling over 52,000 GL and ML class vehicles equipped with the Flex-N-Gate trailer hitch. Some of the seams connecting the hitch to the attachment bar used to connect it to the body frame do not meet specifications and may result in the hitch separating from the attachment bar.

Dealers will repair the trailer hitch and owners are urged not to use the hitch until it is repaired. Owners may contact Mercedes-Benz at 1-800-367-6372.

2008 Volkswagen Passat & 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen is recalling over 4,000 Volkswagen Passat and 2,500 Tiguan vehicles equipped with 2.0T FSI ULEV II engines. The problem occurs when the engine is in idle and the air conditioning is turned on, the software may not control engine idle. As a result, the engine could surge unexpectedly.

Dealers will inspect and update the engine control module that contains the software, free of charge.

The recall began at the end of May. Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298.

2004-2006 Toyota Sienna

Toyota is conducting a safety improvement campaign on over 196,000 Toyota Sienna minivans equipped with power rear liftgate struts. The gas struts used to help lift the rear power liftgate could wear out earlier than expected and could eventually cause the liftgate to fall a few inches or completely close.

Dealers will replace the gas struts with new ones that have a longer life. Owners can contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371.

Tech International tire valve stems

Tech International is recalling 6 million snap-in valve stems manufactured between July and November 2006. The rubber portion of the stem could crack and cause a loss of tire pressure, potentially leading to a crash.

Tech International will replace the valve systems and the tire if necessary. Owners may contact Tech International at 1-740-967-9015.

For more information about this recall, read the Safety blog’s report: "Warning issued on faulty tire valve stems following rollover death."

—Liza Barth