This time of year, many residents of Western Pennsylvania find themselves dealing with the effects of winter weather. While there are many in the Pittsburgh area who dread this time of year, others cannot wait to get out in it. Many of those individuals participate in winter sports including skiing, sledding, ice skating and snowmobiling.

Owners of snowmobiles may want to double check their vehicle before taking it out for a ride. This is because at total of 10,200 snowmobiles manufactured by BRP have been recalled. The recall is due to the possibility that a fire could occur. In total, 23 models are included in the recall.

The winter recreation vehicles were sold by Ski-Doo dealers throughout the country beginning in March of last year. The sales were stopped last month. Those who purchased the vehicles paid between $8,000 and $12,000.

The chance of fire is due to the fuel pump that was installed on the vehicles. BPR indicates that in certain circumstances, a fitting on the pump could break resulting in leaking fuel. The leak could in turn lead to a fire. Thus far, a total of three such fires have been reported.

As is the case in any type of motor vehicle, to work properly, many different parts must work together. As this defective product recall illustrates, when even just one small part does not work the way it is intended, a serious problem can occur.

At this point, there have not been any reports of injuries. The snowmobile dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge.

Source: 9WSYR, "Snowmobiles recalled," Feb. 11, 2013