GM Fined $35 Million As Defective Vehicle Recall Grows

Just last week, GM recalled an additional 2.7 million vehicles to fix a variety of defects, including brake lights, headlamps, power brakes, and windshield wipers. Now this week, they have recalled an additional 2.4 million vehicles, bringing their 2014 recall total to 13 million vehicles-and these recalls are still growing. The newest recalls included:

  • 2009-2010 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlooks for concerns over front safety lap belts.
  • 2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu and 2005-2008 Pontiac G6 for a shift cable that could result in mismatched gears.
  • 2015 Cadillac Escalades and Escalade ESVs for concerns that a heated plastic weld was bad and could result in partial deployment of passenger side air bag.
  • Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierras for concerns that a loose generator fuse block clip could cause a fire.

Some of these latest recalls are so concerning that GM has advised owners not to operate their vehicles until they have been repaired. Particularly, they are concerned with big sport utility vehicles that could suddenly lose steering capabilities due to loose components that were not properly tightened during manufacturing.

This additional recall comes just days after GM agreed to pay a $35 million federal fine for safety issues concerning a faulty ignition switch. This was the largest civil penalty ever issued to a auto manufacturer. To date numerous injuries and accidents have occurred because of the faulty ignition switch, and sadly, at least 13 people have lost their lives. Even worse, GM admitted that employees and upper management knew of the vehicle defects for at least a decade before finally issuing the long-overdue recalls.

How bad is the GM recall? GM has already recalled more cars and trucks in the U.S. this year alone (and its only May) than it has sold in the U.S in the last 5 years! In addition, the GM recall is shaping up to be the largest and most costly auto recall in U.S. history. The Justice Department is also considering whether to bring criminal charges against GM, similarly to how they investigated Toyota earlier this year.

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