General Motors (GM) has announced its 67th recall for this year. This time, the callback affects 221,558 new models of the Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala cars found to have defective electronic parking brake arms that could potentially cause too much heat and become a fire hazard.
The recall is for Cadillac XTS cars with model years 2013-2015 and Chevrolet Impalas with model year 2014-2015. A total of 205,309 of these affected vehicles are found in the United States, while the rest are in Canada and other parts of the world. GM spokesperson Alan Adler says GM initially recalled 132,000 vehicles but expanded the recall to include more than 221,000 cars.
GM says the electronic parking brake arm that is used to apply pressure to the brake pads may not retract fully and stay engaged with the rotor, which causes too much heat and may lead to a fire. The automaker says the vehicles for recall do not comply with federal vehicle safety standards because the brake light stays off even when parking brake is partially engaged.
Users should watch out for certain symptoms that indicate they have these problem. GM says the affected vehicles may be slow to accelerate or may automatically decelerate. Users could also experience too much brake heat or premature wear and tear of the car's brake components.
"If the brake drag is significant or if the vehicle is operated for an extended period of time in this condition, there is a potential for the rear brakes to generate significant heat, smoke and sparks," says GM.
No accidents or casualties related to the problem was reported. The company says it will also notify owners of the said vehicles and will repair their cars for free.
The recall was made on Aug. 27. However, GM only notified dealers in September. It was first announced on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website on Saturday.
In April this year, the NHTSA launched an investigation of GM's Impala model 2014 cars after it received reports that the cars were braking autonomously. The car maker says it responded by reviewing going over its warranty history and found a "potential condition" that could be related to brake drag. To further look into the problem, GM says it bought one of its cars from a dealer and discovered defective parking brake software as the root of the issue. It also says that it "continues to investigate the potential safety and compliance implications" of the problem.
GM has recalled more than 26 million vehicles in the U.S. and 29.3 million in the entire world. The company is currently under fire from the federal government, state attorney-generals and the Canadian government after critics widely panned GM for its delayed recall of 2.6 million older vehicles found to have defective ignition and said to be the cause of 19 deaths. In May, the company paid a total of $35 million in fines to the NHTSA.
