Report: GM Was Slow to Launch Airbag Recall

The recall General Motors Co. announced last month to fix an airbag flaw in 1.2 million crossovers came more than six years after the company first identified the problem, Automotive News reports.

The delay appears to offer a new example of GM's reluctance to recall vehicles to remedy what it later decided was a safety-related defect.

The March recall will repair faulty airbag wiring harness connectors in 2008-2013 model Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia, 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse crossovers.

The campaign was announced after four investigations and six dealer service bulletins failed to fully cure the problem, AN says, citing documents supplied to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. GM provided the documents as part of the agency's unrelated investigation into the company's 13-year delay in recalling 2.6 million defective ignitions switches.

In August 2010, an internal GM assessment of warranty claims indicated the airbag wiring problem had already prompted at least two repairs each for some 6,800 vehicles. GM opted to issue more service bulletins a lower profile and less expensive option to a recall but warranty claims continued to grow.

GM approved the most recent bulletin on March 13. But the company scrapped the plan a day later and opted instead for a formal recall of 912,000 vehicles. It then expanded the recall on March 16 to 1.2 million vehicles.

AN credits GM's about-face to a safety process review ordered by CEO Mary Barra in the wake of the belated ignition switch recall.