General Motors (GM) has been in the news for an unusually large recall. Almost 600,000 vehicles from its Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands in the United States are included. This recall, affecting an estimated 597,630 vehicles, was first reported in NHTSA’s recall notice on April 24. The Biden Administration’s decision reflects this reality after conducting a deep investigation. Specifically, it identified numerous safety defects for these vehicles, which included documentation of crashes, injuries and fire hazards.
This probe found Crash Safety Reports to be connected to the recalled vehicles to 12 crashes and 12 injuries. It mentioned 42 cases of ignitions due to vehicle fires. In fact, GM has publicly accepted that the causes of these crashes and incidents have not been definitively identified in the past. In reporting such incidents, the company indicated that all of these injuries were minor or non-physical in nature. A vast majority of the incidents weren’t even related to a vehicle crash occurring.
Dealer notifications about the recall started last week, but GM doesn’t expect to begin notifying vehicle owners until June 9. In response, the automaker stated that verifying mailing addresses for registered owners is a time-consuming process. They have to make sure that dealers are prepared to field these new inquiries.
“The safety and satisfaction of our customers are the highest priorities for the entire GM team, and we’re working to address this matter as quickly as possible.” – GM
GM is now straining to scale up production of those engines. Though concerns were raised, they’re reassured that they have the ability to provide sufficient engines for the recall campaign. Despite the recall, the company estimates that less than 3% of the recalled vehicles have the defect at issue. It further assumes that only a small fraction of these vehicles will need to eventually be replaced.
As GM makes its way through this tempestuous recall storm, they are heavy-handedly asserting their customer safety and satisfaction commitment. The company is voluntarily acting to lower risks associated with the affected vehicles. Logistically, they are ensuring that owners know all of the relevant information.
