General Motors on Monday expanded a recall after the US auto giant was harshly criticised for its handling of an ignition switch defect that has been linked to a number of fatalities.
The expanded recall is a result of GM chief executive Mary Barra’s request for a comprehensive internal safety review following the ignition switch recall announced in February, the company said in a news release.
The 1.5 million additional cars being recalled are Chevrolets and GMC vans, Cadillac sedans and Buick, GMC, Chevrolet and Saturn sport utility vehicles, the company said.
The recall announced on Monday comes on top of one announced in February, which affects about 1.6 million vehicles worldwide, GM said. That recall is to address the ignition switch defect, which could cause the car while running to shift to a position that disables the power steering, power brakes and air bags.
This could happen unintentionally if the switch is bumped or if something heavy is hanging on the key chain.
GM has said the problem is tied to at least 12 deaths and that number could rise as investigations proceed.
The cars recalled on Monday have separate safety problems.
In a video message to General Motors employees on Monday, Barra said two congressional investigations had been announced and the Department of Justice was looking into the matter.
“These are serious developments that shouldn’t surprise anyone,” Barra said. “Something went wrong with our process in this instance and terrible things happened.” The company will cooperate fully with the probes, she added, outlining a number of things the company is doing to improve its handling of safety recalls.
“I want you to know we are completely focused on the problem at the highest level of the company,” said Barra, who took over as GM’s chief executive in January.
The probes will look into whether the company dragged its feet for a decade before addressing the ignition switch problem.
GM’s recall announcement on Monday affects 1.18 million sports utility vehicles whose airbags and safety belt catch mechanism could fail, 303,000 Chevrolet vans whose dashboard do not have the proper impact material for unrestrained occupants and nearly 64,000 Cadillacs in which a short circuit in the engine compartment could lead to a fire.
The 1.6 million vehicles in the original recall are the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR, Pontiac G5 and Solstice and the Saturn Ion and Sky.
They were built for model years 2003 through 2007. The models added to the recall on Monday include cars made between 2008 and 2014.