Embattled automobile manufacturer General Motors has issued another recall order, this time for 67,000 units of its Cadillac ATS sedans.
The recall orders, with most of the affected vehicles located within North America, were made by General Motors due to sensitive switches for the vehicle's power sunroof. The switches have reportedly failed to meet the federal standards.
The Cadillac ATS sedans that are included in the recall order come with power sunroofs that are prone to closing automatically at even the slightest touch of the non-recessed switches that operate them.
The problem with the sensitive switches were discovered by General Motors in January, as the automobile manufacturer was carrying out routine testing of the feature on a 2016 Cadillac ATS sedan.
The defect does not represent a major issue in safety, but dealers will be replacing the faulty switch trim plates for free for owners that respond to the recall order.
General Motors has not received complaints from owners of the affected vehicles regarding the sensitive switches. The car maker has also not received any reports of crashes, injuries or fatalities that are connected to the issue.
The sensitive switches for power sunroofs among Cadillac ATS sedans is the latest in the series of recall orders that General Motors has issued, with the company opening 2015 with a recall order for 83,572 sport utility vehicles and pickups in relation to defective ignition switches.
According to a statement that was sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), General Motors said that the ignition lock actuator in the affected vehicles were too big, which could cause them to possibly bind during conditions of hot weather leading to sudden engine shutdowns. With the engine turned off, airbags will also not be properly deployed if the vehicle would find itself in a collision.
A wider issue that General Motors is currently involved in is the compensation fund that the car company launched in August of last year. The compensation fund will pay for all legitimate claims made for fatalities and injuries in connection with faulty ignition switches in several vehicles of General Motors.
In the hours leading to the Feb. 1 deadline of claims to be submitted to the compensation fund, claims increased to a total 4,180. The cost of the compensation fund, however, is not expected by General Motors officials to breach the company's previous estimate of a maximum of $600 million.
Payments made for claims against the compensation fund range from between $20,000 to $1 million, depending on the case of the claim.
