General Motors knew about its faulty ignition switches as early as 2001 and it overlooked additional fatalities from an earlier inquiry in 2011, according to new documents the automaker filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
GM's latest filings say it first discovered the ignition-switch problem, which led to a two-part worldwide recall of 1.62 million cars last month, on a preproduction Saturn Ion in 2001. At that time, engineers found the switch had "low detent plunger force" and made a change to fix the problem. But in 2003, during the first model year of Ion production, GM said it received a report from a dealer which stated it had "observed a stall while driving" and that "[t]he additional weight of the keys had worn out the ignition switch." The findings run contrary to what GM said last week, in which it cited an incident during the 2004 press launch for the Chevrolet Cobalt as its first known report of a key slipping out of the "run" position.
During its first recall on February 7, which included the 2005–2007 Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5, the automaker said it was aware of 23 crashes in the U.S. related to the ignition-switch problem and at least eight deaths. When GM expanded the recall on Feb. 25 to include the 2003–2007 Ion, 2006–2007 HHR and Pontiac Solstice, and the 2007 Saturn Sky, the tally went up to 31 crashes and 13 deaths. But in that recall filing—despite noting the additional deaths in a news release on its media website—GM did not specify that four of those deaths involved Ion models. It said an earlier analysis in 2011 excluded those four deaths but did not specify a reason for doing so.
The company later said that it had double-counted one of the Ion victims and that the total reported deaths is 12, not 13. On Thursday, the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit watchdog group cofounded by Ralph Nader, estimated the death toll at 303. That number, however, is pulled from broader crash statistics involving GM vehicles as new as the 2012 model year and did not correlate the actual reasons why airbags didn't deploy. The final death count, if internal NHTSA documents provided to the Center for Auto Safety do indeed point to an ignition problem, could certainly be higher than 12.
GM also said that when it redesigned the ignition switch "at some point during the 2007 model year," it did not assign a different part number to the new switch, which essentially made the change imperceptible to anyone outside the GM engineers who signed off on the change. The redesigned switch included a new plunger with a stronger spring, thereby reducing the risk of a key moving out of position and shutting down the engine.
According to the International Business Times, a Georgia law firm hired a mechanic last year to investigate the two ignition switch parts after a 29-year-old nurse was killed when her Chevrolet Cobalt shut down and subsequently crashed in 2010. GM settled the case. By GM's own account, the automaker has been involved in multiple lawsuits and claims alleging defects with the ignition switch before the recalls were made public.
- Original Recall, Subsequent Expansion to 1.36 U.S.-Market Vehicles
- GM and NHTSA Inaction Under Federal Investigation
- GM Facing Federal Criminal Investigation for Ignition Switch Recall
Recall notices to owners went out this week, although parts will not be available until April. The company insists all owners remove everything from the key ring, including the fob. GM said it would provide loaner cars on request to be used until the switch replacement is performed, and also offer affected owners $500 towards the purchase or lease of any new GM vehicle until April 30.
GM is facing three separate federal investigations for its untimely handling of the recalls—including a criminal probe by the Justice Department that could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions—in addition to conducting an internal audit.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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