General Motors (MTLQQ) will recall 20,000 vehicles of two of its Cadillac models in order to replace the glove compartment boxes in the vehicles that could cause leg injuries in a crash. The recall includes 5,000 vehicles of Cadillac CTS and CTS-V models from 2009, and more than 15,000 vehicles of the same models from 2010.
GM decided to recall the vehicles after a crash test conducted by the government. The test revealed that the front-seat passenger not wearing a seat belt could strike the glove box door, inflicting leg injuries in a crash.
The automaker will begin notifying owners about the recall next month. The dealers are reported to replace the glove compartment box in the vehicles at no charge.
Last month, GM announced to recall about 250,000 crossover vehicles globally in order to inspect and fix their second-row seat belts that could be damaged. The recall involved 2009-2010 models of the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. The recalled vehicles are sold in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and elsewhere.
Since the beginning of the year, GM has recalled about 3 million vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Among these, the largest recall was made in June, involving 1.5 million vehicles, in order to fix a problem with a heated windshield wiper fluid system that has been causing fire in the vehicles.
The June recall affected 2006 to 2009 model years of Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, and Hummer H2; 2008-2009 Buick Enclave and Cadillac CTS; 2007-2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT; 2007-2009 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe; 2007-2009 GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL; 2007-2009 Saturn Outlook; and 2009 Chevrolet Traverse.
In fact, it was GM’s second recall over the same issue in two years. In August 2008, the automaker recalled 900,000 vehicles due to the same problem of a heated washer fluid system on the back of a short circuit on the circuit board that overheated the ground wire in the vehicles.
Automotive safety recalls have become de rigueur after Toyota Motors’ (TM) announcement of the largest-ever global recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles since October last year. The Japanese automaker’s recall was related to problems such as faulty accelerator gas pedals and slipping floor mats as well as defective braking systems.
The string of recalls has led Toyota to face numerous personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in federal courts. The U.S. government has also imposed the highest-ever fine of $16.4 million on Toyota, accusing it of a deliberate delay in recalling the vehicles by hiding its flaws even though manufacturers are legally obligated to notify the U.S. safety regulators within five business days once they come to know of a safety defect.
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