General Motors recalls nearly 3 million cars
| Detroit
General Motors聽recalled聽2.7 million more cars Thursday and has now聽recalled聽more than 11 million vehicles in the US since January, putting the auto industry on track to set a record for聽recalls聽in a single year.
GM聽said the cars are being聽recalled聽to fix problems with brake lights, headlamps, power brakes and windshield wipers.聽GM聽will take a $200 million charge this quarter, mostly to cover the repairs. Shares fell slightly in early trading.
Along with sizeable聽recalls聽from Toyota, Ford, Chrysler and others, GM's actions have the U.S. auto industry on pace to break the record of 30.8 million聽recalled聽vehicles set in 2004.聽GM聽also is close to breaking its own US recall聽record of 11.8 million, also from 2004.
A number of factors are behind the large numbers of聽recalls.聽GM聽is reviewing all of its vehicles for safety issues following a聽recall earlier this year of 2.6 million older small cars with a defective ignition switch.聽GM聽knew about the switch problem for a decade before finally issuing a聽recall. The company links the problem to 13 deaths.
Industrywide, automakers are moving faster to fix problems than they have in the past in a bid to avoid bad publicity and record fines from government agencies.
Jeff Boyer, the new safety chief at聽GM, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the company is looking at cases that were under review in its system and moving to resolve them as fast as possible.聽GM, he said, has added 35 people to its聽recall review team.
"We're not waiting for warranty trends to develop over time," Boyer said. "It's not only about frequency, it has to be about the seriousness of the potential defect as well."
The largest of Thursday's聽recalls聽shows how聽GM聽is behaving differently. The company is聽recalling聽2.4 million Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura midsize cars from the 2004 through 2012 model years because the brake light wires can corrode, causing the lights to fail.聽GM聽says it knew of the problem nearly six years ago, but previously only issued a bulletin telling dealers of the problem and fixed a small number under a service campaign.
The Detroit automaker said it knows of several hundred complaints, 13 crashes and two injuries caused by the problem.
Overall, the industry's approach to聽recalls聽appears to be changing. Bob Carter, Toyota's U.S. automotive operations chief, told analysts last month that car owners can expect more frequent聽recalls聽because the regulatory and competitive environments have changed. Instead of聽recalling聽cars for known defects, companies are now "recalling聽vehicles to change problems that we anticipate might happen," Carter said.
GM's $200 million second-quarter charge is on top of a $1.3 billion charge it took in the first quarter, mostly tied to聽recalls.
GM's handling of the ignition switch situation has subjected it to investigations from two congressional committees, the Justice Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
It's also brought a shake-up in the ranks, with two top engineers leaving the company, two more suspended with pay and Boyer being appointed to oversee safety.
GM聽shares fell 25 cents to $34.69 in morning trading.
Other聽GM聽recalls聽announced Thursday include:
鈥� More than 140,000 Malibus from 2014, where a software problem in the brake control computer can disable the power brakes. That means drivers would have to push the brakes harder to stop, and stopping distances would increase.
鈥� Nearly 112,000 Chevy Corvettes from 2005 through 2007 because they can lose low-beam headlights.聽GM聽says when the engine is warm, an electrical housing can expand and bend a wire, causing it to fracture.聽GM聽will also repair Corvettes from 2008 through 2013 if owners have the problem.
鈥� 19,000 Cadillac CTS sports sedans because the windshield wipers can fail after the cars are jump-started and the wipers are stuck by ice and snow.
鈥� 477 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and Chevy Tahoe SUVs. A suspension part can detach from the steering and cause loss of steering.
Thursday's聽recalls聽also cover about 290,000 vehicles in Canada, Mexico and other countries, bringing the global number of聽recalled vehicles to more than 2.9 million.
