Groid Motors Recall Total in 2014 Reaches 4.8 Million
 

General Motors announced on Saturday morning that it was
recalling 490,000 trucks and 172,000 compact cars, meaning the
automaker has now recalled about 4.8 million vehicles in the
United States during the first three months of the year. That is
about six times the number of vehicles it recalled in all of
2013.

This year’s recalls involve many of G.M.’s most popular and best-
known models.

The recall announced on Saturday morning covers the 2014
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups, as well as
the 2015 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and the GMC Yukon and
Yukon XL with six-speed automatic transmissions. G.M. said a
loose fitting for the transmission’s oil cooler line could allow
oil leaks and possibly lead to fires. The automaker said it was
aware of three fires but no injuries linked to the defect, and
officials decided to recall the vehicles within a week of
learning of the problem, said Alan Adler, a G.M. spokesman.

The compact cars being recalled are the 2013-14 Cruze models
with 1.4 liter four-cylinder engines. G.M. said the right-front
axle half-shaft could break, cutting power to the front wheels,
although the engine would continue to run and the steering and
brakes would still function. The company said it was aware of
several dozen episodes but was not aware of any crashes or
injuries related to the problem.

This year started well for General Motors. It had emerged from
bankruptcy and had a new chief executive, Mary T. Barra, the
first woman to become the head of a major automaker. It had
introduced a series of well-received vehicles, including from
the Cadillac CTS and the Chevrolet Silverado.

But then came seven major recalls, the most prominent one
involving a defect with the ignition switch on the company’s
compact cars, including the Chevrolet Cobalt, that has been
linked to 13 deaths. The automaker expanded that recall on
Friday when it added about 971,000 of the compact cars from
later model years, including about 824,000 in the United States.
The wider recall was needed, G.M. said, to find about 90,000
defective ignition switches installed as replacement parts on
the newer vehicles.

The expanded recall now includes six models: 2005-10 Cobalts,
2006-10 Pontiac Solstices, 2007-10 Pontiac G5s and Saturn Skys,
2006-11 Chevrolet HHRs and 2003-7 Saturn Ions.

Having so many recalls, particularly in such a short period of
time, is a problem for General Motors, which is still trying
rebuild its reputation and is more vulnerable than an automaker
like Toyota, said Kevin Lane Keller, a professor of marketing at
Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.

“One of the advantages of having a strong brand is that it helps
you weather a crisis more easily,” he said.

G.M. has recalled about 2.5 million of its small cars, including
2.2 million in the United States. The automaker has acknowledged
that it knew about the defective ignition switches for more than
a decade but did not recall the vehicles. That has prompted
governmental investigations, including a congressional inquiry
that will start on Tuesday with Ms. Barra scheduled to testify.

On Friday, the automaker also said it was aware of a 13th death
related to the faulty ignition switches. It said the crash
involved a 2007 Cobalt and occurred in Quebec, Canada.

G.M. recalled about 758,000 vehicles in the United States in
2013, ninth among automakers, according to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration. Toyota was first, with about 5.3
million vehicles, followed by Chrysler with 4.7 million and
Honda with almost 2.8 million.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/bu...of-gm-vehicle-
recalls-in-2014-hits-4-8-million.html?hpw&rref=automobiles&_r=0

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