General
Motors informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA )
that it is adding ignition lock cylinders to its safety recall of 2.2 million
older model cars in the United States. The cylinders can allow removal of the
ignition key while the engine is running, leading to a possible rollaway, crash
and occupant or pedestrian injuries, according to the General Motors Press
statement in the US.
GM
also announced that the company expects to take a charge of approximately $1.3
billion in the first quarter, primarily for the cost of recall-related repairs
announced in the 2014 calendar year to date and related courtesy
transportation. This amount includes the $750 million charge previously
announced on March 31.
On
a preliminary basis, despite the $1.3 billion recall charge, GM currently
expects to report solid core operating performance in the first quarter
financial results.
As
always, owners of manual transmission vehicles should be sure the ignition is
in the “Off” position and set to reverse gear with the parking brake set before
removing the key. Owners of vehicles with automatic transmission should be sure
the vehicle is in “Park” before removing the key.
GM
is aware of several hundred complaints of keys coming out of ignitions.
Searches of GM and government databases found one rollaway in a parking lot
that resulted in a crash and one injury claim. The same searches turned up no
fatalities.
GM
has decided to replace the ignition lock cylinders and cut and, if necessary,
reprogram new keys.
The
cars covered are model years:
2003-2007
Saturn Ion
2005-2010
Chevrolet Cobalt
2006-2010
Pontiac Solstice
2007-2010
Pontiac G5
2007-2010
Saturn Sky
2006-2011
Chevrolet HHR
All
of these cars were recalled in recent weeks for ignition switches that may fail
to meet GM’s torque specification. The ignition switch may unintentionally move
from the “run” position to the “accessory” or “off” position with a
corresponding reduction or loss of power. This risk may be increased if the key
ring is carrying added weight or if the vehicle goes off the road or
experiences some other jarring event. The timing of the key movement out of the
“run” position, relative to the activation of the sensing algorithm of the
crash event, may result in the airbags not deploying, increasing the potential
for occupant injury in certain kinds of crashes.
Until
recall repairs are made, it is very important that customers remove all items
from their key rings, leaving only the vehicle key. If there is a key fob, it
also should be removed from the key ring.
Source: General Motors, Global
Picture: copyright General Motors, Global