General Motors' spate of recalls may have slowed down this part of the year, but the recalls are far from over.
The latest announcement from America's biggest auto maker is for a recall of 316,357 vehicles with defective headlights that can temporarily or permanently turn off, increasing the risk of an accident.
The recall specifically involves problematic low-beam headlights for the Buick LaCrosse sedan from model years 2006 to 2009, the mid-size SUVs Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Buick Rainier from 2006 to 2007, and the Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender from 2006 to 2008.
"If the headlamp driver module is not operating correctly, the low-beam headlamps and daytime running lamps could intermittently or permanently fail to illuminate," states a GM spokesperson. "This condition does not affect the high-beam headlamps, marker lamps, turn signals or fog lamps."
The company says it has already notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the issue, which has yet to post the recall on its own website.
GM has also informed its nationwide dealers in a memo sent to them last week, the company says. So far, the company has not been able to confirm if any accidents have been caused by the problem.
Out of the more than 316,000 vehicles set for the latest recall, majority or some 273,000 are located in the United States, while the rest are registered in Canada and Mexico.
The recall marks GM's 79th recall for this year alone. Globally, more than 30.4 million cars and trucks have been called back by the auto maker, with 26.8 million of those vehicles located in the U.S. The string of recalls is part of GM's sweeping safety review process, which was triggered by the company's first major recall of 2.6 million vehicles involving defective ignition switches that could turn off while the car is still running.
Thirty-six deaths have so far been linked to the faulty ignition problems, according to Ken Feinberg, the attorney who independently manages GM's claims fund. Feinberg also says five compensation claims have been filed for serious injuries and another 39 claims for less serious injuries.
Earlier this year, GM became the subject of controversy and scrutiny by U.S. regulators as it averaged two recalls every month. That number has since subsided, with the latest recall only the fourth during this year's last quarter. The most recent recall was made on Oct. 7 for some 1,000 Cadillac Escalades from model year 2015 for potential problems with the air bag cover.
