General Motors Recall Expands: Is Your Car On the List?
General Motors (GM) has expanded the recall of its cars for a possibly defective ignition switch.
In the meantime, other vehicle recalls have been announced.
As far as the global ignition switch recall, about one million more cars have been added, bringing the total number of cars recalled to well over two million. The recall “includes all model years of the Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet HHR, Saturn Ion, Saturn Sky, Pontiac G5 and Pontiac Solstice made from 2003-2011. Older versions of those cars, dating from 2003-2007, were recalled in February.”
According to GM, 13 persons have died in accidents related to the ignition switch.
The newer vehicles, i.e., those made after 2007, may have been repaired with older replacement parts that could be faulty.
In a letter to a customer that indicated that the faulty switch will be fixed at a dealership free of charge when parts become available, GM explained that “There is risk, under certain conditions, that your ignition switch may move out of the ‘run’ position, resulting in partial loss of electrical power and turning off the engine. The risk increases if your key ring is carrying added weight (such as more keys or the key fob) or your vehicle experiences rough road conditions or other jarring or impacted related events. If the ignition switch is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury or fatality. Until the recall repairs have been performed, it is very important that you remove all items for your key ring, leaving only the vehicle key. The key fob (if applicable) should also be removed from your key ring.”
GM CEO Mary Barra is scheduled to testify before Congress week about among other things whether the automaker withheld information about the switch issue from the public and regulators.
The company has launched a website to provide consumers with information and updates on the ignition switch recall.
GM received about $50 billion in taxpayer dollars in a government bailout in 2009.
Separately, GM is recalling about 500,000 trucks and SUVs, including the 2014 Chevy Silverado, for issues related to transmission oil leaks.
The company also is recalling about 170,000 Chevy Cruze compacts from the 2013 and 2014 model years to replace a right front axle shaft that could fracture during routine driving.
Is your vehicle affected by the General Motors recall?
[image credit: KiwiDeaPi]
