General Motors' woes aren't easing up anytime soon, with a recall streak that doesn't seem to come to an end in the near future. The latest in a long string of safety issues for the embattled car maker is three more recalls Friday for another 474,000 cars, including one that involves GM's best-selling vehicle.
The biggest recall affects nearly 467,000 vehicles, including GM's four-wheel versions of its Chevrolet Silverado 2014-2015 models and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, GM's most popular vehicle. GM says the recall, which also includes 2015 models of Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and various Suburban sports utility vehicles, is due to a software problem that could automatically shift the gear into neutral without the driver doing anything.
"In these vehicles, the transfer case may electronically switch to neutral without input from the driver," a General Motors spokesperson told Reuters. "If this occurs while a vehicle is in motion, no power will go to the wheels. If the vehicle is stopped or parked, it may roll away if the parking brake is not set."
GM says it will recalibrate the software of affected vehicles, which are said to be found mostly in the U.S. and Canada.
The second recall involves around 4,800 Chevrolet SS and Chevrolet Caprice models used as police cars. The vehicles were found to have defective gear teeth for the windshield wiper, which could cause the wiper to fail. General Motors is also recalling nearly 2,000 2014 Chevrolet Corvettes with FE1 or FE3 suspensions to replace the car's rear shock absorbers. The company says it knows no deaths or crashes resulting from the defective wipers or shock absorbers.
The latest recalls come hot on the heels of a report posted Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that says GM is also recalling 29,000 Chevrolet Cruze compacts in the U.S. and another 4,000 cars in Canada for defective air bag inflators that could potentially break and send metal pieces flying at the driver. The Thursday announcement followed after a Georgia woman filed a lawsuit against GM when a shard of metal from a broken air bag inflator hit her in the eye and rendered her blind.
General Motors has made a total of 48 recalls of more than 20 million cars this year, topping off its own record of 10.74 million cars recalled in 2004. The company's troubles began earlier in February when it announced the recall of 2.6 million vehicles that were found to have defective ignition switches that could turn off and disable the engine and safety system. GM said 13 deaths have been associated with the faulty ignition, but lawmakers believe the number is closer to 100.
