Yamaha to Suspend Sales of Some Vehicles for Safety |
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Melanie Trottman The Wall Street Journal |
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March 31, 2009—The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Yamaha Motor Co.'s U.S. sales arm has agreed to suspend sales of its Rhino 450 and 660 off-road recreational vehicles, and to offer free modifications to vehicles already in service that would make the vehicles less prone to rollover accidents. The CPSC, in a statement, said owners of the affected Yamaha Rhino vehicles should immediately stop using them until the repairs are made. The CPSC statement said the agency's staff has investigated more than 50 incidents involving 46 driver and passenger deaths in these two Rhino models. The agency said "more than two-thirds of the cases involved rollovers and many involved unbelted occupants." Many of the accidents "involve turns at relatively low speeds and on level terrain," the agency said. About 120,000 of the affected Rhino models have been distributed nationwide since the fall of 2003, the agency said. The CPSC said Yamaha will install a spacer on the rear wheels and remove a rear antisway bar to help reduce the chance of rollover. The company will also continue to install half doors and additional passenger handholds on vehicles that don't currently have those features. |
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