Mazda is recalling more than 50,000 sedans after finding that the car offers an alluring spot for spiders to spin their webs — and possibly cause fuel to leak. The recall of Mazda 6 models from 2009 and 2010 was prompted by the discovery of a spider web in a vent connected to the fuel system.
The company says that without ventilation, excess pressure in the gas tank could create a leak, which then raises the risk of a fire.
According to the AP:
Mazda told the government it had received two reports about problems with the tank. In one of the cases, a spider web was found in the vent.
The recall involves vehicles built from April 2008 and February 2010.
In 2008, Mazda issued a recall related to the fuel tank in earlier versions of the same car, from model years 2007 and 2008. The recall notice from that year reads:
The metal fuel tanks on the affected vehicles may have had the PVC protective coating on the outside of the fuel tank damaged during the assembly process, which may result in reduced corrosion resistance.
And that, in turn, could lead to "perforation of the fuel tank," the company said, raising the risk of a leak — and the possibility of a fire.
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