DETROIT (AP) — General Motors announced two more recalls
late Friday, bringing to 4.8 million the number of cars, trucks and SUVs
the automaker has called back for repairs in the past month.
The
string of recalls, topped by an ignition switch problem in compact cars
now linked to 13 crash deaths, has embarrassed the company and
sidetracked its new CEO, who started work just over two months ago. GM
has admitted knowing about the switch problem a decade ago, yet it
didn’t recall any cars until February. The recall delay has brought two
congressional investigations and probes by the Justice Department and
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Late Friday
night, GM announced it would recall 490,000 late-model pickup trucks and
SUVs because transmission oil cooling lines weren’t secured properly in
their fittings. Transmission oil can leak from a fitting and hit hot
surfaces, causing fires, the company said in a statement. GM said it
knows of three fires and no injuries.
The recall affects Chevrolet
Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks from the 2014 model year,
as well as 2015 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe SUVs and the GMC Yukon and
Yukon XL SUVs. All have six-speed automatic transmissions.
The
Silverado is GM’s top-selling vehicle and an important profit center for
the company. The GMC Sierra also is among GM’s top sellers.
Dealers will inspect the transmission oil cooling line fittings and make sure they’re securely seated, at
no cost to owners.
Also
Friday night, GM announced the recall of 172,000 Chevrolet Cruze
compact cars because the right front axle shaft can fracture and
separate while being driven.
The recall affects cars from the 2013 and 2014 model years equipped with 1.4-liter turbocharged
four-cylinder gasoline engines.
If a shaft fractures, the wheels would lose power without warning and the cars would coast to a stop.
GM says it has warranty reports of several dozen shaft fractures. It is not aware of any crashes or
injuries.
Dealers will replace the shafts free of charge.
The recall allows dealers to resume selling affected Cruzes. GM issued a stop sale order on the cars
Thursday night.
The recall also covers about 2,500 replacement shafts used to fix manual transmission Cruzes that were
recalled last September.
In
all, GM has recalled 4.8 million vehicles since last month, two million
more than the company sold last year in the U.S. In addition to the
recalls announced Friday night, they include:
— 2.6 million small
cars because their ignition switches can move from the "run" to the
"accessory" or "off" position, which causes the car to stall and
disables the air bags and power steering. The recall includes the
Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac G5, Pontiac Solstice, Saturn
Ion and Saturn Sky from the 2003-2011 model years.
— 1.18 million
SUVs because their side air bags, front center air bags and seat belt
pretensioners might not deploy if drivers ignore an air bag warning
light on their dashboard. The recall includes the Buick Enclave and GMC
Acadia (2008-2013); Chevrolet Traverse (2009-2013); and Saturn Outlook
(2008-2010)
— 303,000 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans
(2009-2014) because the material on the instrument panel might not
adequately protect unbelted passengers’ heads in a crash.
— 63,900
Cadillac XTS sedans (2013-2014) because a plug in the brake assembly
can get dislodged and short, increasing the risk of an engine
compartment fire.
GM also said Friday that it has found another
death attributed to the ignition switch recalls, bringing the company’s
count to 13. The additional fatality happened in 2013 and involved a
2007 Chevrolet Cobalt in Quebec, Canada. The company didn’t give further
details of the crash.
GM says dealers will start getting
replacement ignition switches on April 7, but it will take until October
to repair all of the vehicles. CEO Mary Barra says they are safe as
long as drivers remove everything from their key rings. Weight on the
rings can wear down the inside of the switches, causing them to slip out
of the run position.
Trial lawyers, however say the cars should be parked because the ignitions can slip out of the run
position on bumpy roads.
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