GM Failed to Report Ignition Switch Design Change: NHTSA Wants Answers

Detroit, MIWhen an automotive manufacturer makes a design change and switches a part that might be defective, there are a myriad of reporting protocols required, and with good reason. Regulatory agencies need to have such information on file in the event of a need for a recall. To that point, having that kind of information on hand is necessary to force a potentially reluctant manufacturer to trigger a recall of previous models, in the event a change in design could render previous models unsafe. It’s all part of automotive law.

But that, apparently, didn’t happen in the case of the defective GM Cobalt ignition switch. According to information gleaned through the discovery process of an automotive lawsuit, one of the world’s largest automakers is alleged to have become aware of a serious deficiency with an ignition switch. In response, General Motors either ordered or allowed for a design change and quietly implemented the new ignition switch without telling the general public about a potentially defective automobile.

The issue at hand is an ignition switch that had the potential to be jostled by weight (such as other keys on a key ring) or other forces exerted on the ignition key from the motion of the car that could cause it to slip out of the “run” mode into “accessory” mode. This would keep some components going, such as the radio and such - but would instantly disengage processes key to piloting the car safely, such as power steering and power brakes (pretty much standard in all cars). The engine would shut off.

And this could all happen while a driver was hurtling down a freeway at 60 miles per hour, causing an automobile crash.

According to a report from NBC News (3/18/14), this forms the basis of an automotive lawsuit brought by the parents of Brooke Melton, a pretty 29-year-old pediatric nurse who lost her life after her 2005 Chevy Cobalt suddenly shut down on March 10, 2010 while she was driving. Suddenly unable to control her car, the young woman was helpless to cruel fate as her car began to hydroplane on a rain-soaked highway and slammed into another vehicle.

Her parents are still embroiled in a lawsuit with the dealer that serviced their daughter’s car with regard to the auto defect. The Meltons have already settled with GM for an undisclosed sum. However, what contributes to the Meltons’ anger is that just days before their daughter was tragically killed, her car slipped from the “run” position to “accessory,” again while Brooke was driving. On that occasion she was able to control the car and pull over, and the car was summarily delivered to a dealership the next day for servicing.

She got the car back from the dealer - apparently fixed - the day before she died in the automobile crash. “There was no doubt in my mind that it was caused by the same engine cutting off,” Ken Melton, Brooke’s father, told NBC.

According to various media reports, there appears to be numerous lapses in judgment on the part of the automaker that precipitated the recent recall of 1.6 million vehicles to fix faulty ignition switches. A partial fix for the problem proposed by GM engineers in 2005 indicates GM was aware of the problem nine years prior to the point when the manufacturer formally ordered the recall, just last month in February.

That partial fix, at the time, was the insertion of a tab at the end of the ignition key to make an existing opening smaller. A longer opening, it was thought, allowed for a key ring to slide to and fro with the motion of the car, exerting pressure on the internal detent plunger and spring that were also subsequently changed without fanfare; but more on that in a minute. When GM made available the small, plastic insert to dealers, it also allegedly informed its dealer network to only undertake the fix for owners who came in complaining about their cars shutting off.

There was no recall, suggesting an auto defect, in accordance with existing regulations as mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

It was also found that GM had, sometime between 2006 and 2007, implemented a design change of the ignition switch that saw a longer internal detent plunger and longer spring. According to NBC, an engineer working on behalf of the Meltons’ attorney began buying up the ignition columns of various model years of the Cobalt and noted the change in design of the switch. The engineer determined, in his professional opinion, that such a design change would indeed make the switch less prone to disengagement from the “run” to “accessory” position.

What proved troubling for critics and automotive pundits alike is that there was no announcement of the design change. There was also no update to the part number. Normally, every part featuring a specific design is afforded a unique part number. If a part is re-designed, a new part number is issued as a means to differentiate the parts. This did not happen here.

And - again - there was no recall of vehicles prior to the 2006 and 2007 model years that featured the faulty ignition switch.

GM has since confirmed the foregoing, and the president of the automaker acknowledged in a video statement that mistakes were made and that internal investigations are ongoing to determine how best practices went off the rails.

In the meantime, the parents of Brooke Melton and the families of others who have died allegedly as the result of an ignition switch shutting down in mid-flight aren’t the only ones who are angry. The NHTSA, according to NBC, wants to know why the agency was not notified of the changes, who authorized the changes, and why they were made in the first place.

The executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, Clarence Ditlow, a consumer advocacy and watchdog group, faulted GM for having a “callous disregard for human life.

“GM had an obligation under the Safety Act to notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that there was a defect, we’re correcting it, and they had the additional obligation to recall the earlier models with the unsafe part,” said Ditlow.

In February, GM formally recalled over a million models of the Cobalt, together with other models under the Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn brands denoting the model years 2003 to 2007, to fix faulty ignition switches.

The reason? According to GM, the cars are prone to shutting off when the ignition is jostled.

According to GM’s own figures, the switches have resulted in a dozen deaths. NBC reported that for some unknown reason, Brooke Melton’s death was not included in that figure. The statistics do not include the number of injuries sustained by drivers and/or passengers from accidents that also may have been caused by the faulty switches.

The massive recall, and the events leading up to both the recall and statements of contrition from GM, do little to bolster a car buyer’s confidence in a manufacturer that has been losing market share to foreign brands.

All eyes will be watching as this defective automobile story involving an automotive juggernaut plays out. And while last month’s recall of 1.6 million vehicles has been welcomed, critics nonetheless suggest that such a recall should have happened long before now.

As for the Meltons, it won’t bring their daughter back. They remain embroiled in their automotive lawsuit with the GM dealer that serviced their daughter’s car in the days before she died.

Since the recall was announced last month, two automotive lawsuits have been filed.