Mexican Media Brands
Report: GM Knew About Ignition Switch Defect in 2004
General Motors Co. knew ignition switches were defective in its Chevrolet Cobalt/Pontiac G5 small cars 10 years before announcing last week it would recall 778,600 of them to fix the problem, USA Today reports.
#regulations
Share
General Motors Co. knew ignition switches were defective in its Chevrolet Cobalt/Pontiac G5 small cars 10 years before announcing last week it would recall 778,600 of them to fix the problem, USA Today reports.
The newspaper cites the deposition of a GM engineer in connection with a lawsuit over a fatality blamed on the flaw.
The switch in the recalled 2005-2007 models can be jostled into the "off" position by jolt to the suspension or the weight of too many other keys on the ignition key ring. GM reports more than 20 crashes and at least six fatalities where the car's airbags didn't deploy because the switch turned off power to the car before impact.
USA Today says a GM discovered the problem in 2004 and issued a service bulletin a year later advising dealers to add a snap-on ignition key cover if customers complained. The deposed GM engineer described the part as an "improvement" but "not a fix," according to the newspaper.
GM has declined comment because of a continuing dealer lawsuit related to the flaw.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Bill on Self-Driving Cars Stalls in Senate
Congressional efforts to make it easier to develop self-driving cars in the U.S. have stalled in the Senate despite strong bipartisan support.
-
China Targets 7 Million Annual NEV Sales by 2025
The Chinese government is targeting annual sales of electric and plug-in cars at 7 million units by 2025—nine times last year’s volume.
-
Dubai to Test Digital License Plates
Next month Dubai will begin testing digital license plates that can display various messages, make payments and conduct other transactions.