General Motors Faulty Ignition Recall

General Motors in 2014 recalled 2.6 million vehicles involving GM ignition switches that could potentially turn off on their own, shutting down the engine and disabling airbags while the vehicle was in motion. The faulty ignition switches were used in various models, mainly the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, which GM started manufacturing in 2002 and 2003. The defective ignition switches have been linked to injuries and deaths, and lawsuits regarding the ignition switches have been filed.

In 2014, GM, which filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and emerged as a new company, began recalling several car makes and models with faulty ignition switches and continued to increase the scale of the recall, according to ConsumerSafety.org. "Ultimately, more than 30 million cars have been recalled to date," that organization reported.

In 2014, GM acknowledged that the automaker had failed to respond to problems with the ignition switch in the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion and that GM engineers were aware of the switch's problems for years before General Motors began any recalls of affected models.

"Eventually, GM paid $900 million to settle a federal criminal investigation and set aside $594.5 million for a fund to compensate victims of switch-related crashes," according to the New York Times.
  The GM ignition switch defect has been linked to "at least 124 deaths and 275 injuries," according to The Washington Post.

In GM CEO Mary Barra's 2016 deposition testimony on a case brought by a Houston family for a fatal car crash allegedly caused by a defective ignition switch, Barra testified that GM engineers in 2004 and 2005 misdiagnosed the flawed ignition switch "as a customer satisfaction issue and not a safety issue," according to The Washington Post.

According to the article: "A series of mistakes were made over a period of time that caused the ignition-switch defect,’’ Barra testified. “This had tragic consequences.’’
 
The first recall on February 13, 2014 involved 619,122 of its 2005 to 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5 compacts. The 1.62 million vehicles recalled worldwide comprises 1.37 million in the US, 235,855 in Canada, 15,073 in Mexico and 2,591 exported to overseas markets. The following vehicles are recalled:

• 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt
• 2007 Pontiac G5
• 2003-2007 Saturn Ion
• 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR
• 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice
• 2007 Saturn Sky

On March 17, 2014 General Motors announced three more recalls involving another 1.5 million vehicles, none of which involve GM injuries.

• 1. Crossover SUV models 2008-13 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, the 2009-13 Chevrolet Traverse and the 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook need the wiring for their seat-mounted side airbags fixed. These vehicles have a warning light that reads "Service Air Bag." If a customer ignores the light it could result in the non-deployment of the air bags and other safety features in case of a side impact collision.
  
  2. 64,000 Cadillac XTS full-size sedans from 2013 and 2014 have a problem with overheating brakes that has been responsible for two fires.
  
  3. 303,000 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans are being recalled to rework the material on the instrument panel to improve the safety of unbelted passengers who hit it during an accident.

In April 2017, the US Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from General Motors in which the automaker asked the court to review a 2016 federal court ruling that, despite GM's 2009 bankruptcy and emergence as a new company, the automaker was liable for injuries and deaths that occurred prior to the bankruptcy.

According to the New York Times:"Over the last few years General Motors has paid out more than $2 billion in fines, penalties and settlements related to faulty ignition switches that plagued many of its vehicles for close to a decade, a flaw that led to vast recalls and at least 124 deaths.

"But the automaker is not yet close to putting the matter behind it and may now face years of additional litigation as a result of the latest legal turn in the case."

The US Supreme Court refusal to consider the appeal means that "several hundred remaining unsolved wrongful death and personal injury claims against GM could be sent to state courts for resolution or even trials," according to the New York Times.

General Motors could be exposed to "billions of dollars in additional claims" related to its defective ignition switches as a result of the recent ruling, according to The Detroit News.

Also according to The Detroit News:"A number of injury, wrongful death and economic loss lawsuits have been filed against GM because of the defective switches. The automaker admitted it knew of the defect for years but did not recall the cars for more than a decade. It also paid fines to the National Highway Safety Administration."

"At the end of January, GM said it knew of 100 class action economic harm cases pending against the company in the US and 21 in Canada related to the ignition switch," according to The Detroit News. "It also knew of 284 cases pending in federal and state courts in the US and 14 in Canada alleging injury or death due to the defect."
 

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Last updated on Feb-7-20