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
-
Feds Probe Another Tesla Crash Involving Autopilot Feature
Federal investigators are looking into another crash involving a Tesla Model S electric sedan that was operating in semi-autonomous mode.
-
Rage Against the Machine
There have been more than 20 reported attacks against Waymo’s self-driving fleet in Chandler, Ariz., since the company began testing the technology on public roads there two years ago.
-
CARB Predicts 10x Hike in Fuel Cell Vehicles by 2024
California expects the number of fuel cell-powered vehicles registered in the state will surge to 23,600 units in 2021 from 4,800 through May of this year and reach 47,200 by 2024.