General Motors recall for ignition switches that could unexpectedly shut off, has resulted in the company facing multiple investigations into why the automobile manufacturer did not attempt to fix the problem sooner. The recall began in February with the announcement of issues in certain Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 compact cars and was later expanded to include a total of 2.6 million newer vehicles, including Pontiac Pursuit & Solstice, Saturn Ions & Sky, and the Chevrolet HHR. According to reports, GM knew about the problem in 2002.
G.M.’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, has called the slow response to the problem an unusual situation, but analysis of recalls by the New York Times, shows GM’s handling of the ignition problem was not an isolated event. The company repeatedly used technical service bulletins (TSB) to alert dealers and sometimes car owners, as a temporary way of dealing with safety problems. In the past 15 months, G.M. has announced recalls for serious issues involving defects in electrical systems, air bags, and power steering, that were preceded by TSB’s identifying the problems months or years in advance.
Documents released by U.S. safety regulators just last week, show that in 2006, General Motors replaced the ignition switches in their new 2007 Cadillac SRX with a more sturdy switch because test drivers complained that the engine could stall when the ignition switch was bumped by their knees. No Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles have been involved in the faulty switch recall even though the company has been building them since 2004. The original SRX ignition switch part was also used in the 2003-2007 Cadillac CTS sedan, according to an online GM parts catalogs reviewed by Reuters.
Thirteen deaths have been linked to the defective ignition switch and General Motors is facing many potential class action lawsuits as a result of the problem. The automobile manufacturer is asking a U.S. bankruptcy judge to disregard claims from ignition-switch related injuries by using a bankruptcy-protection shield. (At least nine fatalities occurred before GM’s bankruptcy, according to federal records.) The motion was filed in a Texas court despite calls from lawmakers and victims’ families for the company to not allow the legal maneuver. According to Boston University School of Law professor, Walter Miller, “Using bankruptcy protection to fend off lawsuits is not unexpected. The financial liability from lawsuits could have serious affects, but any public relations loss will most likely dissipate in the long term.”
If history is any indication, there are likely to be hundreds of thousands of the cars that never get fixed. Some vehicles are never brought in for repairs because recall notices get overlooked in the junk mail, owners minimize the safety risk having never experiencing the problem, owners do not want to give up their car for the time it takes to make the repair, vehicles that have resold are sometimes difficult to track down, and dealers or brands that have gone out of business make it difficult for owners to take their vehicles in for repairs.
