General Motors To Recall Another 3 Million Cars

General Motors has recalled 3.36 million North American cars with ignition switches that can be jarred out of the "run" position, potentially affecting power steering, power brakes and air bags.

The switch issue is similar to the defect linked to at least 13 deaths in an earlier, 2.6-million vehicle recall of Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars. GM engineers first noted that problem more than a decade ago and the company's slow response to the switch issue triggered investigations within the company and by Congress and federal agencies. GM has issued 44 recalls this year of about 20 million vehicles, which is more than total annual US vehicle sales. Of this year's recalls, more than six million of the vehicles were recalled for ignition switch-related issues. On Friday, GM recalled more than half a million Chevrolet Camaro sports cars for ignition switch issues, saying a bump of the knee could turn off the engine.

$2bn in recall costs

GM said it would replace or rework the ignition keys on the cars in the latest recall, and it raised a recall-related charge for the second quarter to $700m from $400m. That takes total recall-related charges this year to $2bn. GM said it was aware of eight crashes and six injuries related to the latest recall.

The No.1 US automaker said its fix for the cars recalled on Monday would prevent extra weight from pulling the key to one side. "The use of a key with a hole, rather than a slotted key, addresses the concern of unintended key rotation due to a jarring road event, such as striking a pothole or crossing railroad tracks," it said. The latest recall includes Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Impala, Cadillac Deville and several other models, though only the Impala is currently in production.

The cars cover model years ranging between 2000 and 2014. It comes two days before GM Chief Executive Mary Barra is due to return to Congress to testify about the earlier Cobalt recall. 

Source:Aljazeera