In yet another round of recalls, General Motors has announced six more vehicles involved in the company's efforts to fix past safety issues.
This latest announcement from GM affects over 312,000 vehicles, bringing the company's total to more than 29 million cars and trucks recalled. As for the models involved, the six added to the list bring's GM's total to 66 just for the year, a record for the company. For the industry, total affected vehicles by recalls have reached over 40 million, which is also an annual record.
The recall was announced Friday, with the most affected being 2002-2004 Saturn Vue SUVs which accounts for 215,243 units. Vues are being recalled because it's possible to remove keys even when the ignition is not turned "off." So far, GM has been made aware of one injury and two crashes that can be potentially tied to ignition problems with the Vue, including an incident in 2010 when a vehicle came out of park even without a key and a four-year-old boy got hurt. Related to this, GM has also recalled 2.6 million small cars where defective ignition switches can suddenly cut power from the engine as well as disable air bags.
Other vehicles involved in the recall include: 72,826 2013 Chevrolet Trax, Buick Encore and Cadillac ATS cars and SUVs for lap belt problems; 15,386 2014-2015 Chevrolet Impalas for front console storage door issues; 3,624 2013-2014 Cadillac ATS sedans for front lighting concerns; 3,110 2014 Chevrolet Spark minicars for loose bolt danger; and 2,091 2009-2010 Chevrolet Aveo subcompacts, 2007 Chevrolet Optra and 2009 Pontiac G3 subcompacts for brake fluid issues.
Chevrolet Spark drivers affected by the recall are advised not to use their vehicles until repairs have been made. Costs for flatbed transportation or towing will be paid for by GM.
GM had also issued a safety recall in 67 countries at the start of 2012 after a supplier informed the company of braking problems which involved replacing braking fluid in some vehicles. It did not issue a recall for the U.S. at the same time because no problems have been reported yet. It was only towards the end of 2012 that GM notified dealers and customers that fixing modules and replacing brake fluid may be necessary. Customers who reported problems after being notified received the needed repairs.
Prompted by investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, GM has admitted to knowing about problems in their vehicles for the past decade but have not initiated recalls until February of this year.
