GM recalls 61k more vehicles in three campaigns

Sun, 05 Oct 2014

Following a stop-delivery order for its new midsize trucks and a rash of recent recalls, General Motors is issuing three more campaigns covering 60,575 vehicles in North America with 57,182 of them in the US. As of October 1, the automaker has issued a total of 74 recalls (see the ridiculously long chart to the right) this year covering 26,495,070 units in the US.

The largest campaign covers 46,873 examples in the US of the 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 and 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle imported from Australia. It's possible for the driver's knee to hit the key and make it move from the "Run" to "ACC" position while driving. GM says its Holden division is developing a fixed-blade key that's supposed to fix the problem by only allowing it to rotate toward the "On" position. There has been one crash caused by this fault but no injuries or fatalities.

The second recall is for 10,005 units of the 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V and 2006-2007 Cadillac STS-V because "the fuel pump module electrical terminal may overheat." This can cause a flange to melt and allow the pump to leak fuel. GM specifies that the remedy for the CTS-V is replacing the fuel module and fuel tank jumper harness, but it doesn't specify how the STS-V is being repaired.

Finally, the company is recalling 304 examples of the 2014 Chevrolet Sonic in the US. The cars might have a loose connection in the steering column that could cause the airbag to deploy in only a single stage in some crashes. GM says the airbag light would illuminate if this problem were present. To fix it, dealers are checking and replacing loose terminals.

GM says that it first announced these campaigns to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on September 4. Scroll down to read the company's official announcement for them, and the NHTSA reports for each one

The NHTSA on Saturday posted three GM recalls totaling 57,182 vehicles in the United States. The North American total for the recalls is 60,575. All three recalls were submitted by GM to the NHTSA on September 4.

46,873 model year 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 and 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice PPV (police patrol vehicles) left-hand-drive sedans imported to the U.S. from Australia may experience unintended key rotation from the "Run" to "ACC" position if the driver's knee interacts with the ignition key. GM Holden discovered the condition during a review of unintended key rotation reports in recalled models in North America. Holden is developing a replacement fixed-blade key that rotates the blade 90 degrees that would cause the key to rotate toward the "On" position, rather than the "ACC" position if bumped. GM is aware of one crash, no injuries and no fatalities in these vehicles.

10,005 model year 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V and 2006-2007 Cadillac STS-V sedans in the U.S. On certain vehicles, the fuel pump module electrical terminal may overheat, causing melting of the flange material. On the CTS-V, dealers will replace the fuel module and fuel tank jumper harness. GM knows of no crashes, injuries or fatalities related to the condition.

304 model year 2014 Chevrolet Sonics in the U.S that may have a loose electrical connection in the steering column that may affect driver air bag performance. If the condition is present and the air bag lamp is illuminated, it may result in the driver frontal air bag deploying only as a single-stage air bag in crashes of a certain severity. GM is not aware of any crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this issue.

A fourth GM recall posted Saturday, covering 290,207 Cadillac SRX and Saab 9-4X models, was reported by GM on Friday. It was submitted to the NHTSA on Sept. 17.

RECALL Subject : Knee Contact may Turn Ignition Switch Off
Report Receipt Date: SEP 09, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V540000
Component(s):
Potential Number of Units Affected: 46,873
All Products Associated with this Recall
Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s)
CHEVROLET CAPRICE 2011-2013
PONTIAC G8 2008-2009

Details
Manufacturer: General Motors LLC

SUMMARY:General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to December 6, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the driver may accidentally hit the ignition key with their knee, unintentionally knocking the key out of the run position, turning off the engine.

CONSEQUENCE:If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position could cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

REMEDY:GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the key blade from the original flip key/RKE transmitter assemblies, and cut and fit a revised key blade and housing assembly, in which the blade has been indexed by 90 degrees, to the original RKE transmitter assembly. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737 . GM's number for this recall is 14445. Note: Until the recall has been performed, it is very important that drivers adjust their seat and steering column to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key.

NOTES:Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

RECALL Subject : Fuel Pump Electrical Terminal Overheating
Report Receipt Date: SEP 09, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V542000
Component(s):
Potential Number of Units Affected: 10,005
All Products Associated with this Recall
Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s)
CADILLAC CTS 2004-2007
CADILLAC STS 2006-2007

Details
Manufacturer: General Motors LLC

SUMMARY:General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V vehicles manufactured October 6, 2003, to March 15, 2007, and 2006-2007 Cadillac STS-V vehicles manufactured June 23, 2005, to March 15, 2007. In the affected vehicles, the electrical terminals of the fuel pump module may overheat resulting in the melting of the flange material.

CONSEQUENCE:If the flange melts, a hole may be created allowing the fuel pump to leak fuel, causing the vehicle to stall increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. Additionally, leaking fuel in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

REMEDY:GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel module and fuel tank jumper harness, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14405.

NOTES:Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

RECALL Subject : Driver's Frontal Air Bag may not Deploy Properly
Report Receipt Date: SEP 09, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V543000
Component(s):
Potential Number of Units Affected: 304
All Products Associated with this Recall:
Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s)
CHEVROLET SONIC 2014

Details
Manufacturer: General Motors LLC

SUMMARY:General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles manufactured July 28, 2014, to August 1, 2014. Due to a loss of electrical connection in the steering column, in the event of a severe crash, the driver's frontal air bag deployment may be limited to the first-stage deployment only instead of the intended first-stage and second-stage deployments.

CONSEQUENCE:If only the first-stage of the driver's frontal air bag deploys without the additional second-stage, the driver has an increased risk of injury during a crash.

REMEDY:GM will notify owners, and dealers will test the terminals in the IP harness clock spring coil connector and replace any loose terminals, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14537.

NOTES:Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

By Chris Bruce