GM to recall 7.6 mn more vehicles in the US; Chrysler to recall 700,000
01 Jul 2014
General Motors plans to recall an additional 7.6 million vehicles in the US over an ignition flaw similar to the one responsible for several accidents and at least 13 deaths, The Christian Science Monitor reported. (See: GM blames 'incompetence, neglect' in recall scandal)
The additional recalls come on the same day the company announced compensation plans for the victims of accidents caused by the ignition-switch defect.
The latest recall is wider than the ones that were announced earlier, including vehicles manufactured between 1997 and 2014. While the earlier recalls mainly involved smaller compact models, yesterday's action included full-size sedans, and SUVs.
GM had been aware of seven crashes, eight injuries, and three fatalities that occurred with the latest batch of recalled vehicles, however, ''the fatal crashes occurred in older model full-size sedans being recalled for inadvertent ignition key rotation,'' GM said in a company recall notice. ''There is no conclusive evidence that the defect condition caused those crashes.''
''We have worked aggressively to identify and address the major outstanding issues that could impact the safety of our customers,'' GM chief executive Mary Barra said in the announcement. ''If any other issues come to our attention, we will act appropriately and without hesitation.''
In another development yesterday, Chrysler announced a recall of nearly 700,000 vehicles due to an ignition switch problem similar to the one that forced General Motors to recall 2.6 million vehicles worldwide CNN reported.
Dodge Journey SUVs, Dodge Grand Caravans and Chrysler Town and Country minivans made from 2007 to 2009 are some of the models included in the recalls.
According to the company, jarring road conditions, such as hitting a pothole, might cause the vehicle's key to slip out of the "run" position.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating the issue after it received complaints about the probem, which led to the recall.
According to Chrysler it did not know about any injuries related to the recall issue.
