Personal Injury Law

GM to recall 1.3M compacts for steering problem

By Hurley, McKenna & Murtz

General Motors Co. announced this week that it ?is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.? The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico? (Detroit AP, 5/2).

Although the automaker stated that vehicles are still safe to drive and do not lose their steering, they warn it may be harder to steer when driving at speeds under 15 mph. GM spokesman Alan Adler said ?the failures are rare and the cars can still be driven until motors can be replaced by dealers. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails, but they could be surprised when the steering becomes more difficult.?

GM promptly told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall on Monday. The automaker plans to fix older models first because the condition usually does not develop until after 20,000 to 30,000 miles of driving.

As a chicago attorney with experience with recalled vehicle injuries, I am pleased that GM acted promptly to take care of what appears to be a minor problem with just 14 accidents and 1 injury reported. As always the NHTSA website is a reliable source for updated information.

Full post as published by Illinois Car and Truck Accident Lawyer Blog on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).