General Motors told its dealers in North America to halt sales of about 33,000 new and used Chevrolet Cruze sedans.
The sale of the cars, with model years 2013 and 2014, is being stopped due to potential problems with the air bags of the vehicles, which were made by Takata, a Japanese supplier.
Takata's release of potentially faulty air bags has forced the recall of about 10.5 million cards around the world, with most of these cars from Honda and Toyota. The problem with these air bags is that the inflator may contain a form of propellant, which could cause an explosion in specific situations.
The issue with Takata air bags for GM is different from this problem though.
"Certain vehicles may be equipped with a suspect driver's air bag inflator module that may have been assembled with an incorrect part," said GM in a statement.
For model year 2012, the Cruze sedans began using a Takata "smart" air bag for the driver side, which GM touted, was capable of reducing the injury risk among drivers during car crashes.
"We are working diligently with the supplier of the defective part to identify specific vehicles affected and expect to resume deliveries by the end of this week, once those vehicles are identified," said GM spokesman Greg Martin.
The Cruze sedans will remain on display for dealers, despite the sales halt. Jim Cain, another spokesman for GM, said that the company is deciding what to do regarding affected Cruze sedans that have already been purchased.
Toyohiro Hishikawa, a Takata spokesman in Tokyo, said that the company was not yet aware of GM's decision to stop the sales of their Cruze sedans. He added that Takata has been a supplier for GM for a long time.
The air bag issue comes at an inopportune time, as this is when the showrooms of car dealers are at their busiest as potential buyers look to purchase cars before the summer seasons rolls in.
The Chevrolet Cruze is the best-selling car of GM, with the company producing about 500,000 units for the car with model years 2013 to 2014 since October 2012.
The number of Cruze units sold in the United States last month was 32,393, which represents a 41 percent year-over-year increase compared to May of last year. GM has sold 119,330 Cruze sedans for this year until May, which represents an 18.4 percent year-over-year increase compared to the first five months of 2013.
The sales halt of the Chevrolet Cruze follows a long series of safety issues for GM, which has recalled several millions of cars this year.
