2012 Aston Martin V8 VANTAGE: complaints, problems and recalls

ASTON MARTINS ARE NOTORIOUS FOR HAVING CONDENSATION BOTH IN THE HEADLIGHT AND TAIL LIGHTS. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM DUE TO BAD DESIGN AND BUILD YET THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. CONDENSATION CAN CAUSE THE LIGHTS TO GO OUT CAUSING POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS ON THE ROAD.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11363599 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2013-05-29 (May 29, 2013)

Aston Martin is recalling certain model year DB9, Virage, V8 Vantage, V12 Vantage, and Rapide vehicles manufactured from May 14, 2012, through April 10, 2013. Due to a manufacturing error, the throttle pedal arm may break.

Consequence: If the throttle pedal arm breaks, the engine will return to idle and the driver will be unable to maintain or increase engine speed, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will replace the throttle pedal assemblies. The recall began July 19, 2013. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service by calling 1-888-923-9988. Aston Martin's recall number is RA-03-0016.

Reported: 2014-01-16 (January 16, 2014)

Aston Martin Lagonda of North America (Aston Martin) is recalling certain model year 2008-2014 DB9 and V8 Vantage, 2009-2012 DBS, 2010-2012 Rapide, 2014 Rapide S, 2011-2012 V12 Vantage, 2011-2014 V8 Vantage S and 2012 Virage vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the accelerator pedal arm may break.

Consequence: If the accelerator pedal arm breaks, the engine will return to idle and the driver will be unable to maintain or increase engine speed, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will replace the accelerator pedal assemblies. The recall began on February 11, 2014. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service by calling 1-888-923-9988. Aston Martin's recall number is RA-03-0017. IMPORTANT: This recall supersedes recall 13V-228. Any vehicle that has been remedied under the previous recall needs to have the current remedy applied.

Reported: 2014-11-25 (November 25, 2014)

Aston Martin Lagonda of North America (Aston Martin) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 DB9, V12 Vantage, V8 Vantage, DBS, and Virage vehicles manufactured July 3, 2006, to November 5, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the electronic control module for the driver and front passenger seat heaters may fail, preventing the seat heaters from being able to be turned off.

Consequence: If the electronic control module fails, the seat heater could get hot enough that areas of the seat may overheat and smolder, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional module to the circuit that can interrupt the power to the seat heaters in case the electronic control module for the seat heaters fails, free of charge. The recall began in January 2015. Owners may contact Aston Martin Customer Service by calling 1-888-923-9988. Aston Martin's number for this recall is RA-01-0019.

Reported: 2015-12-16 (December 16, 2015)

Aston Martin Lagonda of North America (Aston Martin) is recalling certain model year 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 vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with interior door unlocking mechanisms that may not function when the vehicle has been locked from the outside. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components."

Consequence: If the doors cannot be opened by an occupant from inside the vehicle, they may be trapped inside, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will disable the double locking feature by reprogramming the software, free of charge. The recall began August 10, 2016. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service at 1-888-923-9988. Aston Martin's number for this recall is RA-01-0021.

Reported: 2017-06-21 (June 21, 2017)

Aston Martin The Americas (Aston Martin) is recalling certain 2011-2012 V8 Vantage vehicles. The affected vehicles received updated transmission and engine control software which may conflict with the pre-existing clutch settings and may cause the transmission to shift to neutral, or enable clutch protection mode which give abrupt gear shifts.

Consequence: If the transmission shifts into neutral or does not operate as intended, there is an increased the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will reinstall clutch system software, free of charge. The recall began August 18, 2017. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service at 1-949-379-3100. Aston Martin's number for this recall is RA-07-0022.

Reported: 2017-06-21 (June 21, 2017)

Aston Martin The Americas (Aston Martin) is recalling certain 2012 V8 Vantage vehicles equipped with 6-speed Auto-Shift Manual (ASM) transmissions. A connector for the transmission fluid lines may break resulting in a hydraulic fluid leak.

Consequence: The loss of hydraulic fluid may prevent the vehicle from shifting out of the gear that it is in. Additionally, if the vehicle is being driven when the fluid level significantly drops, the transmission may shift to an emergency neutral as the vehicle comes to a stop. If the driver ignores the dash warning message and exits the vehicle without applying the parking brake, the vehicle may roll away. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will replace the clutch pipe, connector assembly, and related brackets, free of charge. The recall began July 18, 2017. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service at 1-949-379-3100. Aston Martin's number for this recall is RA-07-0023.

Reported: 2017-06-21 (June 21, 2017)

Aston Martin the Americas (Aston Martin) is recalling certain 2011-2014 V8 Vantage vehicles equipped with 7-speed Auto-Shift Manual (ASM) "SportShift II" transmissions. A connector for the clutch fluid line may break, resulting in a hydraulic fluid leak.

Consequence: The loss of hydraulic fluid may prevent the vehicle from shifting out of the gear that it is in. Additionally, if the vehicle is being driven when the fluid level significantly drops, the transmission may shift to an emergency neutral as the vehicle comes to a stop. If the driver ignores the dash warning message and exits the vehicle without applying the parking brake, the vehicle may roll away. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will install a support bracket to hold pipe securely in position, free of charge. The recall began July 18, 2017. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service at 1-949-379-3100. Aston Martin's number for this recall is RA-07-0024.