The bad news doesn’t seem to end for General Motors. This week the company announced that they would be recalling an additional 3.16 million cars due to a potential flaw with the ignition switch system. For those that might be counting, that’s over 20 million cars recalled this year.
All of the vehicles in this recall are currently out of production, except for the last generation Chevy Impala that sees rental car duty. Here is a list of the affected vehicles.
- Buick Lacrosse MY 2005-2009
- Chevrolet Impala MY 2006-2014
- Cadillac Deville MY 2000–2005
- Cadillac DTS MY 2007–2011
- Buick Lucerne MY 2006–2011
- Buick Regal LS & GS MY 2005
- Chevy Monte Carlo MY 2006–2008
If you own one of the affected vehicles, you’ll be receiving a recall notification in the mail with instructions on how to proceed. In the meantime, General Motors recommends that you remove any unnecessary weight from your key rings. This includes everything except for the ignition key itself.
If the key were to bump out of the “run” position while driving, the car would become difficult to control and the airbags might not deploy in an accident. Nobody knows specifically how many people have died, but we do know some have.
If you’re reading this and you know someone who has an affected vehicle, please make sure they take the recall seriously. While we might know what to do if our cars suddenly turn off driving down the road, most people do not. With General Motors announcing all of these recalls at once, the fear is that people won’t take the recall seriously. Please help your non car savvy friends understand the importance of the recall and have them get their cars fixed.
It might sound like GM is recalling every car they’ve ever made, and it’s partially true. This year alone they’ve recalled more cars than they’ve sold in the last seven years in the United States. Basically, if the car has a key, it’s probably on the recall list.
It’s possible some of these recalls are just to take the heat off of General Motors. Nobody likes being called before Congress to testify or face huge fines for negligence. Regardless of the motive, we commend General Motors for being more proactive about safety. Hopefully this cultural change is permanent within the company.
Be sure to check out our recall coverage, and also head over to SaferCar.gov to see if you have a recalled vehicle.
Watch our review of an Impala not affected by this round of recalls the 2014 Chevy Impala…
Chad Kirchner is a freelance automotive journalist with a sincere passion for the industry and helping people. He’s a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association and the Texas Auto Writers Association. When not writing about the latest automotive news or vehicles, you can catch him at car shows around the country. Be sure to check him out on social media, including Google+ and Twitter.
