General Motors (GM) confirmed that it is recalling 31,685 SUVs from North America in order to fix a manufacturing defect in the windshield wiper motor.
The models that are on the recall list include the GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. All the vehicles were produced from Aug. 18, 2015 to Sept. 24, 2015 and belong to the 2016 model year. Out of the nearly 32,000 cars, 6,400 SUVs were already bought, while the rest are still in showrooms.
The car producer explained that the wiper motor of the front windshield could overheat, melt and catch fire due to a fabrication issue. The dealers will take care of the replacement of defective wiper motor covers, the company added. It went on saying that the vehicles that were sold are a priority and will be the first to be repaired.
"Customer safety is at the heart of how GM designs and produces vehicles, and these announcements are examples of two ways we are putting that into practice," VP of GM Global Vehicle Safety, Jeff Boyer declared.
The first incident involving an overheated wiper motor happened at the SUV car plant in Lansing, Michigan. No open fire events have been reported.
Until the issue is solved, GM advises its clients to abstain from using the windshield wipers. This may be challenging due to the heavy rainfalls that happen in October and November. That is the reason why GM offered to pick up the faulty cars directly from the owners, if weather conditions pose a threat.
The company promises that if replacement parts are unavailable, the clients will receive rental cars for no additional cost until GM fixes its SUVs.
It is not the first time that GM recalled vehicles in an attempt to protect consumers' safety. In September, 121,000 cars that showed potential issues to the rear window defroster control returned to the auto service. Reports indicated that the controller was prone to overheating, creating a significant fire hazard. Most of the recalled cars were small sports sedans from model years 2013 and 2016. Twenty-four thousand cars from Mexico and Canada, as well as 97,000 ATS automobiles from the United States were called in for inspection.
