Recalls in December 2006

December 19, 2006
Crown Boiler Co. is recalling about 400 boilers, because they can generate excessive levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in the flue gases, posing a risk of CO poisoning.

The recalled models are the Bermuda BSI and Cayman CWI Series Gas Boilers. Crown Boiler has received one report of high levels of carbon monoxide from these boilers. No injuries have been reported.

The recall involves Bermuda BSI and Cayman CWI Series gas-fired boilers designed for indoor installation. Model and serial numbers included in this recall are listed below and are located on the rating plate. The boilers have a two-tone, red and gray jacket enclosure with the controls and piping on the right side of the unit. The rating plate is a silver label located in the upper left hand corner of the right side panel.

Consumers who have not already been contacted by their contractor should immediately contact their installer or Crown Boiler Co. to arrange for a free repair. Consumers are reminded to install a CO alarm outside all sleeping areas, or make sure their current CO alarms have working batteries.

For more information, contact Crown Boiler Co toll-free at (877) 597-3321 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.crownboiler.com

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Prius owners concerned about poor mileage in their hybrids have been belittled, ridiculed and misled as they searched for some reason why their little cars continually came up short in fuel mileage.

Prius consumers have listened while dealers and technicians offered sometimes outlandish explanations of why their own fuel mileage calculations were wrong and why Toyota claims for the Prius were correct.

Other Prius owners even accused the complainers of disloyalty to the hybrid movement.

Toyota claimed the little hybrid would get 60 miles per gallon in city traffic, not just the 45 many consumers were experiencing.

One Prius owner told ConsumerAffairs.com that her Toyota technician went so far as to explain how the onboard computer in the Prius took into account of head winds along with other sophisticated calculations.

Now it turns out that most of the hybrid owners questioning Toyota's mileage claims for the Prius were right on target while Toyota was wrong, at least according to the Environmental Protection Agency's new mileage estimates.

The facts seem to be that the Prius gets 45 miles to a gallon on average in the city. That is the new word according to the EPA.

The government fuel economy estimate also confirms ConsumerAffairs.com's road test of the Prius in July. That test drive concluded that the Prius got 45.2 miles per gallon in vigorous city driving.

Just this last October, the very same EPA that now says the Prius gets roughly 45 miles to a gallon praised the little car for topping the government mileage list with 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway despite protests from many Prius owners saying that just wasn't so.

The Prius did not come close to 60 miles per gallon in the ConsumerAffairs.com test either.

So now the troubling question for Toyota is this: Will the Prius with its new and more reliable mileage rating still be a hit with consumers? Will the little car that is now rated at 45 miles per gallon in the city be as popular as the same car that was believed to get 60 miles per gallon around town?

A Toyota spokeswoman said her company expects customers to understand that the technology in the Prius hasn't changed, and company marketing for the popular hybrid will not be revised.

The desire for fuel economy is the reason most consumers plunk down big bucks for a Prius or one of the other gas-electric hybrids that are consuming a fast-growing slice of the American auto market.

Now that the EPA has washed most of the fiction from its fuel mileage numbers, will the hybrid market suffer?