The 2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer is one of more than 273,000 GM SUVs and sedans recalled for headlights that may not work.
And the beat goes on when it comes to General Motors and recalls as the automaker issued its 79th action this year for more than 273,000 midsize SUVs and Buick sedans for headlight problems.
The company is recalling the vehicles because the low-beam headlights can shut off without warning. The problem is with the headlamp driver modules. If they aren’t working properly, the low-beam headlamps and daytime running lamps could intermittently or permanently fail to illuminate, GM said. The problem does not affect the high-beam headlights, marker lights, turn signals or fog lights.
The vehicles in the recall are 2006-2009 LaCrosse sedans, 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and 2006 TrailBlazer EXT; 2006 and 2007 GMC Envoy and 2006 Envoy XL; 2006 and 2007 Buick Rainier; 2006 to 2008 Saab 9-7X and 2006 to 2008 Isuzu Ascender midsize SUVs.
It is not known if the defect has resulted in accidents. Owners will be notified and the repairs will be made free of charge. A notification schedule has not been determined.
This action comes after news that the automaker is making progress on the recall that kicked off GM’s year: the ignition switch recall. The defective switches for a variety of small cars produced by the automaker resulted in the recall of 2.59 million vehicles.
GM said the number of vehicles impacted has dropped to 2.36 million worldwide and 2.19 million in the U.S. due to scrappage and others that are no longer registered and it assumes are no longer on the road.
(GM down to 825,000 recalled vehicles left to fix. For more information, Click Here.)
The maker said it has less than 825,000 vehicles left to repair in the U.S., or about 42%, and is working to entice the owners to bring the vehicles into dealerships with $25 gift cards as well as loaner vehicles and longer service hours at dealerships.
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It also placed the automaker in the center of controversy about how the auto companies view safety problems compared with profits. Ultimately, GM paid $35 million in fines to the federal government – the max allowed under the law and the highest fine ever levied – and its executives sat through several hearings before Congress about the issue.
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After an oft-derided internal investigation, the automaker fired 15 employees, but no senior level executives. The company established a victims’ compensation fund of at least $400 million and as part of the process of paying benefits from that fund, the number of deaths attributed to the problem has risen from 13 to 36 people.