GM CEO Mary Barra is personally overseeing the company's response to the faulty ignition switch recall and the investigation by NHTSA.
General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra is showing that she means what she says after forming – and heading up – a select group of executives to oversee the company’s recall of 1.6 million vehicles due to faulty ignition switches.
Barra, who recently said GM would be judged on how it responded to the recall rather than the actual problem with the vehicles, is personally heading up the group.
The recall affected cars from model years 2003 through 2007, including the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion, Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.
There have been 31 accidents and 10 deaths associated with the problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in the midst of an investigation of the issue. GM is cooperating with the query.
Additionally, GM has launched an internal review of the problem.
“We will hold ourselves accountable and improve our processes so our customers do not experience this again,” Barra wrote in an email to employees, which was later released by GM.
Documents show that GM knew for some time that the ignition switches could be knocked out of place, which would cut power to the vehicle shutting off safety systems, including the airbags.
Barra said the GM will go above and beyond what’s called for in the situation. For now, owners are being contacted about the problem.
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Dealers should get replacement switches starting in early April. GM will contact owners again informing them to make an appointment with a dealer to schedule an appointment for the repair. GM will send reminder notices every three months for the next 18 months.
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Last week, The Detroit News reported GM hired an outside law firm to conduct a full review of the issue, which will scrutinize decisions by GM regarding the problem, including the automaker’s initial decisions not to recall the cars but instead issue a technical service bulletin to dealers.
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GM could face a maximum fine of $35 million if it failed to recall the vehicles within five days of determining they posed an unreasonable risk to safety, the News reported, in addition to the multi-millions of dollars to recall the vehicles.