Aston Martin Recalling 17,590 Cars Because You Didn’t Pay $240K For A Luxury Paper Weight

There might not be many of you out there reading in Consumerist land who can afford/have the desire to buy an Aston Martin — after all, the luxury vehicles cost anywhere between $117,000 to $240,000, depending on the model. But if you’re one of the 5,001 owners in America of certain models, you probably want it to be able to accelerate.

The carmaker is recalling 17,590 cars worldwide, with about 5,000 of those in the U.S., saying the cars’ accelerator pedal could break off, reports Reuters. That adds up to about 75% of the cars the company has built since 2007.

Aston Martin says the defect is the fault of an outside supplier in China producing the pedals using a counterfeit plastic material other than the one the company wanted it to use, and had already recalled a number of cars for the same reason before discovering there were more pedals made with it. That part will now be made in Britain.

And as anyone who knows how to drive a car is aware, a broken gas pedal means your car isn’t going anywhere. Not faster, not maintaining speed, not out of the driveway. It could also be dangerous if you’re in the middle of driving.

“If the accelerator pedal arm breaks, the engine will return to idle and the driver will be unable to maintain or increase engine speed, increasing the risk of a crash,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in its recall report.

A spokeswoman for Aston Martin says there have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue thus far, however.

The recall involves most Aston Martin models aside from the Vanquish, the Cygnet and some other specialty cars, the company said. All cars were produced between 2007 and the end of 2013.

Here’s the NHTSA’s list of the models:

Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service by calling 1-888-923-9988 and reference the recall number RA-03-0017

Aston Martin recalls 17,590 cars due to counterfeit material [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist