GM will begin installing replacement switches this week, but the full recall could take some time to complete.
General Motors plans to begin making repairs today on the first of 2.5 million vehicles recalled due to faulty ignition switches.
The repairs could take weeks, and possibly months, to complete, according to various industry sources, due to the limited availability of the replacement parts. GM says the vehicles are safe to drive in the meantime – if drivers take the appropriate steps.
But a federal judge in Texas is weighing the possibility of grounding all 2.5 million of the vehicles and forcing the Detroit maker to offer owners loaner vehicles while the repairs are completed. A hearing on a request by an attorney suing GM was heard last Friday in a court in Corpus Christi, Texas, but U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos did not issue an immediate ruling.
The recall was first announced in mid-February when GM said the ignition switches on nearly 800,000 vehicles could inadvertently turn off while being driven, stalling the engine and disabling power steering and brakes, and disabling the vehicle airbag system. The maker shortly after doubled the total and boosted the numbers again a month later so that 2.6 million compact models are now covered.
GM CEO Mary Barra appearing before a Senate subcommittee last week said the recalled vehicles remain safe to drive.
During two days of often contentious hearings on Capitol Hill last week, GM CEO Mary Barra insisted the company is moving as quickly as possible to source the parts needed for repairs. She also insisted that, “(If) there was any risk, I would ground these vehicles across the country.”
(For more on the lawsuit that could force GM to ground the recalled vehicles, Click Here.)
The maker has advised owners that the recalled vehicles to separate their ignition keys from heavy key rings that can, under some circumstances, cause the switches to shift from On to Off or Accessory mode.
The maker is advising owners to contact their dealers to set up appointments. The number of replacement parts is expected to be modest, at first, but the availability of new switches will increase “as time goes on,” it said.
Vehicles covered by the recall include the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR, Pontiac G5 and Solstice, Saturn Ion and Sky. The original two updates of the recall covered vehicles produced during the 2003 to 2007 model-years but that has now been extended to later models, as well.
(The contentious relationship between GM and a key supplier may have been a major factor in the delayed recall. Click Here for that exclusive report.)
GM quietly ordered the use of an updated switch, starting in 2008, but some of the old ignition switches continued to be used, forcing the latest expansion to the recall.
That has also raised serious concerns about why the maker did not order a recall years earlier. There is evidence GM engineers knew about the potential switch problem more than a decade ago but failed to act, at least one company official writing in an internal memo that the cost of such a broad service action couldn’t be justified.
During last week’s hearings, GM and its CEO were repeatedly criticized by members of both the House and Senate, several contending the maker was engaged in a massive cover-up – an allegation Barra denied, though she stressed that an internal investigation is underway to find out who was responsible and why.
Those are questions also being asked by the U.S. Justice Department which has launched a preliminary probe that could ultimately lead to civil or criminal charges being levelled against the maker.
While GM says it does not intend to ground all 2.5 million vehicles covered by the recall – unless ordered by the courts – it has told owners it would provide free loaners to those who prefer to park their cars until repairs can be completed. As of last week, thousands of owners had taken the maker up on that offer.
The actual replacement process is expected to take about a half hour once a vehicle is in a dealer’s service bay.
(GM’s Silverado pickup slips to third place behind Ram 1500 for first time. Click Here for the story.)