General Motors had recalled 824,000 newer cars models in the U.S., and 970,700 worldwide due to faulty ignition switch that caused car crashes and more than 30 accidents and 12 deaths.
Company will replace the ignition switch in all model years of its Chevrolet Cobalt, HHR, Pontiac G5, Solstice and Saturn Ion and Sky in the U.S. since faulty switches may have been used to repair the vehicles. Until now the recall covered only cars through the 2007 model year. About 95,000 faulty switches were sold to dealers and aftermarket wholesalers. Of those, about 90,000 were used to repair older vehicles that were repaired before they were recalled in February.
Until the recall has been performed, customers are urged to remove all items, including the key fob, from their key rings, leaving only the vehicle key.
GM CEO Mary Barra said “we are taking no chances with safety. Trying to locate several thousand switches in a population of 2.2 million vehicles and distributed to thousands of retailers isn’t practical. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling the rest of the model years.
“We are going to provide our customers with the peace of mind they deserve and expect by getting the new switches into all the vehicles,” Barra said.
On Friday 28th March, General Motors told its dealers to stop selling Chevrolet Cruze small cars equipped with 1.4-liter turbo engines for an undisclosed issue.
GM records indicate the service parts may have been used for ignition repairs in:
- 2008-2010 Chevrolet Cobalts
- 2008-2011 Chevrolet HHRs
- 2008-2010 Pontiac Solstice
- 2008-2010 Pontiac G5 and
- 2008-2010 Saturn Sky
GM car owners who may have had a suspect part installed will receive a letter the week of 21st April. Dealers will replace their ignition switch free of charge as parts become available. Customers who paid to have their ignition switches replaced will be eligible for reimbursement.
Dealers, distributors and other parts customers will be told about the recall beginning March 31.
See the all information on the ignition switch recall: gmignitionupdate.com