Things have not been going well for General Motors lately, and they only seem to be getting worse. Recently, GM recalled another 3.36 million vehicles worldwide for yet another problem with the vehicles’ ignition that could lead to car accidents and personal injury. This latest recall affects General Motors vehicles from model years 2000 through 2014. The ignition switches in these vehicles can move out of the run position, turning off the power steering and power braking systems while the vehicle is moving causing serious car accidents. If the car key has additional weight on it, like a heavy keychain, the ignition may be jostled when the vehicle hits a pot hole or crosses over train tracks which could cause serious personal injury or even wrongful death. This problem has been linked to eight (8) car crashes and six (6) cases of personal injury. GM’s solution this time is to add an insert to the to the car keys to change the shape. GM is also recalling 166,000 other cars for a range of other problems.
This is in contrast to GM’s fix to the earlier recalled vehicles, which require a replacement of the ignition switch. The earlier recall affected 2.6 million older small cars for a similar problem
where the ignition switch slips out of “run,” causing the engine to stall unexpectedly while in travel. This defect has been linked to at least 54 car accidents and 13 wrongful deaths.
The total number of GM recalls so far this year is up to 44, and covers more than 17.73 million vehicles in the U.S. and more than 20 million worldwide. Including the costs associated with the latest recall, GM will have spent $2 billion on recalls in the first half of 2014.
An internal investigation conducted by GM earlier this year revealed “organizational dysfunction” and years of neglect within GM that led to a decade-long failure to fix a deadly safety defect. Despite these findings, the investigation found no evidence of a deliberate cover-up of the lethal ignition switch defects. Following the release of the investigation report, 15 GM employees were fired. The investigation report was written by Anton R. Valukas, a former U.S. attorney, and was paid for by GM.
These are the vehicles subject to the most recent recall:
- Buick Lacrosse, model years 2005-2009
- Chevrolet Impala, model years 2006-2014
- Cadillac Deville, model years 2000-2005
- Cadillac DTS, models years 2004-2011
- Buick Lucerne, model years 2006-2011
- Buick Regal LS, model years 2004-2005
- Buick Regal RS, model years 2004-2005
- Monte Carlo, model years 2006-2008
- Chevy Impala, model years 2006-2014
If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury, learn about your legal rights from an experienced New Orleans personal injury attorney by filling out our free, no obligation case review form located on this website.
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