General Motors has decided that a defect relating to vehicle safety exists in certain 2016 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles, and will be asking owners to return to their dealerships for repairs. According to reports filed with the NHTSA, a defective servo motor in a robot welder at the supplier caused some welds to be located incorrectly If the seat frame has off-location welds, the seat may not perform as intended and could increase the risk of injury during an accident. Continue reading

General Motors will be contacting a small number of 2016 Chevrolet Silverado and 2016 GMC Sierra owners about a problem relating to vehicle safety. According to reports filed with the NHTSA, the mounting stud used to secure the airbag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) to the vehicle may be incorrectly positioned and could cause stress to the SDM housing. A fracture to the housing could allow water to enter or subject the SDM to excessive vibrations, hindering the proper deployment of the air bags. Continue reading

General Motors will be asking approximately 1.4 million vehicle owners to return to their dealerships to fix a problem affecting several older model nameplates. U.S. safety regulators issued a recall to fix the defect in 2007 after owners reported engine fires shortly after parking their vehicles. A second recall was issued in 2009 when over one thousand cars caught fire despite already being repaired. Continue reading

General Motors have announced that a small number of 2014 Chevrolet SS and Caprice vehicles receiving replacement seat base assemblies during a repair service, may have an airbag safety problem. According to reports filed with the NHTSA, in some serviced vehicles, the dealers may have not transferred the seat position target bracket from the original seat base. If the seat position sensor does not have a target bracket to read, and the seat is in a forward position, the airbag may deploy at a force greater than intended during an accident. Continue reading

General Motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2014-2015 Chevrolet and GMC trucks and SUVs. According to reports filed with the NHTSA, these vehicles may have an ignition lock actuator manufactured out of specifications. The problem, combined with warm ambient temperatures, could make turning the ignition key difficult and/or the ignition key could get stuck in the start position. If the vehicle is driven with the key stuck in the start position a significant jarring event or cooling of the ambient temperature could result in the ignition snapping back into the accessory position, shutting off the engine, power steering, power brakes, and airbags. Continue reading

General Motors will be asking a small number of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC owners to return to their dealership for a safety problem affecting the front seat mounted side impact airbags. During an accident necessitating the deployment of the side impact air bags, the inflator may not properly inflate and could rupture and throw metal fragments that could injure occupants. Continue reading

General Motors has decided that a manufacturing defect which relates to vehicle safety exists in certain 2016 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles and they will be asking approximately 30,000 owners to return to their dealerships for repairs. According to reports filed with the NHTSA, wiper motor covers manufactured using a broken tool, may allow internal terminals to move and potentially contact each other, creating an electrical short. In some cases, the windshield wiper motor cover may melt, smoke, or catch fire. Continue reading

General Motors and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement last week over the handling of GM’s ignition switch problems which led to the high profile recall of certain Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G-6 and Saturn ion lines in 2014. The agreement ends the government investigation into how GM handled faulty ignition switches being blamed for approximately 250 injuries and 124 deaths. In addition to a $900 million fine, GM has been assigned an independent monitor to review its safety policies.

Officially, the automaker was charged with hiding the defect from regulators and defrauding consumers. There will be no individual charges in the case, and the agreement must still be finalized by the courts.