GM expands ignition switch recall by 824,000 vehicles sold in US

GM ignition switch recall expands

DETROIT – General Motor is expanding its ignition switch recall by 824,000 vehicles sold in the U.S., bringing the number of cars recalled for this problem to more than 2.5 million.

GM now will replace the ignition switch for all years of its Chevrolet Cobalt, HHR, Pontiac G5, Solstice and Saturn Ion and Sky in the U.S. The automaker says faulty switches may have been used to repair the vehicles.

About 95,000 faulty switches were sold to dealers and aftermarket wholesalers. Of those, about 90,000 were used to repair older vehicles that were repaired before they were recalled in February, according to GM.

GM says its records indicate the service parts may have been used for ignition repairs in:

2008-2010 Chevrolet Cobalts
2008-2011 Chevrolet HHRs
2008-2010 Pontiac Solstice
2008-2010 Pontiac G5 and
2008-2010 Saturn Sky

GM included the following in its latest news release on the recall expansion:

GM is unaware of any reports of fatalities with this group of vehicles where a frontal impact occurred, the front air bags did not deploy and the ignition is in the "accessory" or "off" position.
As with the earlier recalls, if the torque performance is not to GM specification, the ignition switch may unintentionally move from the "run" position to the "accessory" or "off" positions, leading to a loss of power. The risk may be increased if the key ring is carrying added weight or if the vehicle goes off road or experiences some jarring event. The timing of the key movement out of the "run" position relative to when the sensing algorithm of a crash may result in the air bags not deploying, increasing the potential for occupant injury in certain kinds of crashes.

Timeline: Major events in GM's recall of 1.6 million cars

Congress, the Justice Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating GM's recall of 1.6 million vehicles, which originally was announced last month, for an ignition switch defect which can cause the car to stall and deactivate the air bags.

The defect is linked to 12 deaths.

Complete coverage: GM ignition switch recall investigation


About the Authors: