General Motors previously announced a recall affecting 778,00 vehicles due to a faulty ignition switch and has now increased that recall to include an additional 588,00 vehicles.
The initial recall affected only the 2007 Pontiac G5 and the 2005 through 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, but it’s been expanded to include 2003 through 2007 Saturn Ions, 2006 through 2007 Chevrolet HHRs, and 2006 through 2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Skys. This brings the total number of vehicles recalled up to 1.37 million in North America.
The problem stems from a faulty ignition switch that if bumped could suddenly turn to the off position. It could be as simple as a heavy keychain loaded with extra keys whacking the steering wheel or the jolt from a tire going off the road.
If this happens, the vehicle could suddenly turn off, which is in itself could cause a crash. A bigger concern is that it could turn off in the midst of a crash, which would mean there would be no air bag deployment at the moment of impact.
Initially General Motors had said they knew of 22 accidents that resulted in the deaths of six people. The now know of 13 deaths and 31 crashes that may be a result of the faulty ignition switch.
Vehicles affected by the recall can be repaired at no expense to owners. It involves dealers simply replacing the faulty ignition switch. As a precautionary measure, General Motors had previously recommended that owners of recalled vehicles remove any unnecessary items from their key rings until their vehicles are repaired.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
