GM Expands Massive Recall To Include More Vehicle Model Years
General Motors has expanded its recall on ignition switches to include an additional 824,000 vehicles sold in the United States between 2008 and 2011.
Up until recently, the recall involved various models – Chevy Cobalt and HHR, Saturn Ion and Sky, and the Pontiac G5 and Solstice through 2007. The company is including all vehicles, regardless of the year, because of the faulty switches that were installed as a repair for the new models.
The company said roughly 95,000 faulty switches had been sold to wholesalers and dealers, with 90,000 of these switches used to do repairs.
GM’s newest recall is added to the already 1.4 million vehicles being recalled in the U.S. With the affected vehicles, the faulty ignition switch can shut the car off while running, causing the air bags and power steering to become disabled. About 12 deaths are blamed on the issue. GM said the vehicles are still safe to drive but owners should remove extra weight on their key rings.
Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, said locating thousands of switches from the 2.2 million vehicles and retailers isn’t feasible. Therefore, out of pure caution, the other model years are being recalled.
GM was criticized for its handling of the recall because the company acknowledged some of its employees knew about the faulty ignition switch problem in 2004. Barra is supposed to testify on April 1 before a U.S. congressional subcommittee in regards to an investigation on the company’s handling of the matter.
Owners who may have the flaw installed in their vehicle will get a letter beginning April 21. Customers will bring their vehicle to a GM dealer to have the faulty ignition switched removed and replaced for free. Any monies that were exchanged for a previously replacement will be reimbursed to the customer.
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