Mazda Mortor Corp. found itself at the center of a recall campaign earlier in March, but this recall had nothing to do with the car or its parts or performance. The culprit behind the recall appears to have eight legs: It is a Cheiracanthium inclusum, a venomous spider, taking a shining to hoses inside parts distributors to the company, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.

Mazda Motor Corp. announced the recent recall of roughly 5,000 Mazda6 cars. According to The Times, Mazda\\\'s got a spider problem. That is a spider problem is likely the result of an “infestation by the venomous bug at an auto parts supplier or the Flat Rock, Mich., assembly plant where the automaker assembles its Mazda6 cars.”

Apparently, the spiders have taken to nesting in tiny rubber hoses linked to fuel tank systems in the Mazda6 cars that manufacturers said could cause “pressurization and ventilation problems in certain cars,” the article reports. “Mazda was worried that the infestation by the yellow sac spider, or Cheiracanthium inclusum, could cause fuel leaks and even fires.”

“These spiders are not getting into the cars while they are parked at homes,” said John Trumble, a University of California-Riverside entomologist. Trumble told The Times that the yellow sac spider is a “nocturnal hunter” who hides during the day and goes out in search of prey at night, which makes it difficult to pinpoint
“This is probably going on at some warehouse. The inside of tube is the perfect place to spend the day waiting for night to go hunting,” Trumble said.

The spiders probably crawl into tubes shortly before they\\\'re shipped to the plant or placed in the car. There are no reports of auto workers, mechanics or drivers being bitten by the spiders in the cars, so far, The Times reports. However, the bug is indigenous to all but the most Northern states.

Mazda announced the recall after dealers around the country found 20 cases of the arachnid infestation. It includes 65,000 Mazda6 cars from the 2009 and 2010 model years in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It seems to occur only in the four-cylinder version of Mazda6.

Dealers who find evidence of the spiders will clean out or replace the hoses and, if necessary, swap out the gas tank.
“We really don\\\'t know how they\\\'re getting in,” said Jeremy Barnes, a spokesman for Mazda North American Operations.

Pest infestations of vehicles is not all that uncommon, according to the article. Messy, food-strewn vehicles are known to attract cockroaches and there are reports of bees and wasps making nests in autos. Rats sometimes nest in the engine compartments of parked cars and chew away at the wiring.

A spokesman at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the agency is not aware of any previous recalls caused by pest infestation.

Meanwhile, auto dealers across the country are closely monitoring Toyota and what happens there in the wake of the Tsunami and earthquake that forced the closure of several manufacturing plants for its autos. Toyota’s U.S. sales fell 0.4 percent in 2010 after the round of recalls that hit the popular automaker in 2010, making it the only major automaker to post a full-year decline, according to Bloomberg news.

It’s likely Toyota will not have the best year in 2011 either, with or without further recalls. The Tsunami, say several dealers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) has done a lot of damage to the delivery time of parts and cars, but the full impact may not be felt on the lots for months.

In combating the 2010 recalls, Toyota took action to boost sales, offering no-interest financing for 60 months on Camry sedans and $500 in down-payment assistance to all customers, Bob Carter, Toyota’s U.S. group vice president of sales, said last month. Toyota is also offering an extra $500 to current Camry buyers who buy a new model, he said. On most models, including Corolla compacts, Prius hybrids, RAV4 crossovers and Tundra pickup trucks, Toyota is offering discounted leases and loan interest rates of between 0 percent and 2.9 percent in February, according to its website.

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