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Europe Joins Huge GM Ignition Switch Recall
General Motors Co.'s Opel unit will recall 2,300 of its 2007 model Opel GT sports cars in Europe and Russia to replace a defective ignition switch that could shut off the engine unexpectedly.
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General Motors Co.'s Opel unit will recall 2,300 of its 2007 model Opel GT sports cars in Europe and Russia to replace a defective ignition switch that could shut off the engine unexpectedly.
The campaign joins a 1.6 million-unit recall in North America, where the same problem has been linked to 13 fatalities.
GM says the switch could be jolted into the "off" position by a bumpy road or the weight of a key ring holding too many other keys. Turning off the engine unexpectedly would make the car's steering and braking more difficult. In some cases, investigators say, the switch turned off power to the car just before a crash, thereby disabling the airbags.
GM acknowledges it discovered the flaw in 2004. U.S. safety officials have begun an investigation into why the company didn't announce recalls to repair the problem until this month. GM could be fined as much as $35 million (€26 million) if judged guilty of failing to respond promptly to a known safety defect.
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