Aston Martin recalls cars for door locks that work too well
Federal regulators frown upon locked doors that cannot be opened from the inside.
Recalls usually happen when a component is known to be bad, like an improper weld or a bolt that's missing a thread locker. But recalls also take place when a part works so well that it technically runs afoul of federal regulations. That's the case with Aston Martin, as it's recalling thousands of cars for door locks that work a little too well.
The supercar manufacturer is recalling 6,076 vehicles because they don't conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard #206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components." The cars in question have a double-lock mode, whereby locking the doors from the outside will also prevent them being opened from the inside. The feds don't like that, because then somebody could become trapped in the vehicle.
The recall affects the following Aston Martin models: 2010-2015 DB9, 2010-2012 DBS, 2010-2016 V8 Vantage, 2012 Virage, 2010-2016 Rapide, 2014-2016 Vanquish, 2011-2016 V12 Vantage, and 2012-2013 V12 Zagato.
Thankfully, the double-lock feature is software based. Thus, Aston Martin will simply reprogram its vehicles to allow the car to be opened from the inside while locked. Then the cars will conform to the FMVSS, and everything will be nice and kosher.
