General Motors Vehicle Recall Lawsuit

GM Investigation Timeline

On Feb. 10, 2014, the initial announcement stated that more than 619,000 vehicles were being withdrawn to fix a defective ignition switch. Three days later, General Motors added 748,024 vehicles to the total.

As investigations into potential auto accidents caused by the defect continued, a timeline reveals that General Motors did not act quickly enough.

• 2001 – According to General Motors, while testing the Saturn Ion, a similar issue with the ignition switch was found. A design change was made to remedy the problem.
• 2003 – A service technician witnesses a vehicle unexpectedly stalling after the ignition switch was bumped into the “off” position while driving.
• 2004 – General Motors notes that the ignition switch of a 2005 Chevy Cobalt could be knocked out of the “run” position.
• 2005 – GM proposes redesigning the key head, but the proposal is rejected. In July 2005, the first fatal collision linked to the defective switch is reported. By December 2005, GM issues a service bulletin advising dealers about the problem, but fails to call back any vehicles.
• 2007 – Safety regulators tell General Motors about the fatal accident, but they fail to open an investigation. In April 2007, an investigator suggests that the crash may have been linked to the switch problem GM was advised about in 2005. The company finally begins tracking the problem by December 2007 and discovers that four more crashes occurred when the engine was shut down and the airbags failed.
• 2013 – GM observes that a total of 31 accidents and 12 deaths are related to the faulty switch.
• 2014 – More than 1.36 million General Motors makes and models are recalled to remedy the defective ignition problem.

Many investigations into the number of accidents and injuries caused by this defect have been launched, as the affected vehicles were sold throughout North America. According to the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer watchdog group, an astounding 303 deaths could be linked to faulty airbags in Chevy Cobalt and Saturn Ion models alone.

Vehicles with a Faulty Switch

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the reason for the recall was that the vehicle’s ignition switch could move out of the “run” position. When the switch was moved, it resulted in the loss of electrical power, thus shutting the engine down or turning off safety equipment such as the airbags.

The following vehicles were withdrawn from the market:

• Saturn Ion (2003-2007)
• Saturn Sky (2007)
• Pontiac G5 (2007)
• Pontiac Solstice (2006-2007)
• Chevrolet Cobalt (2005-2007)
• Chevrolet HHR (2006-2007)

Additional Recalls Announced

More than 1.2 million crossover SUVs need re-wiring as the airbags could fail to deploy; approximately 64,000 full-size sedans need brakes remedied as they could overheat and cause a vehicle fire; and 330,000 vans need new material installed on the instrument panel as the current material could fail to protect passengers in an automobile accident.

The vehicles affected include:

• Buick Enclave (2008-2013)
• Chevrolet Traverse (2009-2013)
• Chevrolet Express (2009-2014)
• Cadillac XTS (2013-2014)
• GMC Acadia (2008-2013)
• GMC Savana (2009-2014)
• Saturn Outlook (2008-2010)

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