Aston Martin has recalled 1,658 Vantages worldwide for issues related to the Sportshift I and Sportshift II automated manual transmissions.
The problem affects automated manual Vantages built between June 2010 and September 2013. According to Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer, the issue only comes about if a vehicle is serviced incorrectly. Following a software update, service centers are supposed to re-teach the clutch engagement point. The majority of its service centers did this, but others did not. If the service isn’t executed correctly, the car may stall while in motion.
“I blame us,” Palmer said. “Basically we should have explicitly said within the service action for the software that we should re-teach the clutch. We didn’t explicitly say that. Therefore we take responsibility for fixing it.”
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The recall was first issued in China, where owners had been complaining of issues since as early as 2014. Aston Martin sent engineers to China to try and replicate the problem and discovered the cars were producing noises and vibrations and sometimes stalling entirely. The issues only occurred in Vantages in which the Sportshift I and Sportshift II software update was applied. A total of 21 instances of engine stall have been reported, all of which came from Chinese customers.
As part of the recall, Aston Martin will inspect the vehicle’s transmission and ensure it has been serviced properly. Palmer said the fluid pipe connectors on the gearboxes would also be replaced.
“The recall will ensure that any issues with this car are fixed,” said Simon Sproule, chief marketing officer at Aston Martin,
[Source: Reuters]
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