For the third time in seven years, General Motors is recalling 1.4 million vehicles, most of which had previously been recalled, because of a risk they might catch fire, in some instances damaging garages and homes.
Why this latest recall? Repairs from the first two recalls did not work! According to the automaker, more than 1,300 cars caught fire after they were fixed by dealers. This means that even car owners who had their vehicles repaired will need to bring them back for yet, another fix. If that wasn’t enough, to date GM has not come up with a final fix to the problem.
The problem first surfaced in 2007, when consumer complaints about engine fires in some of the cars prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate. According to the investigation, drops of oil may seep on the hot exhaust manifold through hard braking, possibly leading to engine compartment fires. Reports showed that most of the fires happened five to fifteen minutes after the engines were turned off. The first recall, of more than 200,000 U.S. cars, was in March 2008. A year later GM recalled almost 1.5 million more vehicles. Dealers replaced the spark plug wire channels, but there is no mention in documents filed with the government whether there was any repair of the oil leaks.
In the previous recalls, GM told owners to park the vehicles outside until repairs were made because most of the fires happened shortly after drivers turned off the engines. There has been no announcement whether the recommendation applies to this latest recall which includes: the 1997-2004 Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Regal; the 2000-2004 Chevrolet Impala; the 1998 and 1999 Chevrolet Lumina and Oldsmobile Intrigue; and the 1998-2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. All have 3.8-liter V6 engines.
It was obvious GM did not do enough to make sure the vehicles were safe before putting them on the market. Did they cut corners again under the recall all for the sake of profits? According to a GM spokesperson, the size of this latest recall could have an impact on GM’s fourth-quarter earnings. My question to GM – was it worth it? To corporate America, it is time to stop making record profits by playing with the safety of the America people.
Mark Bello is the CEO and General Counsel of Lawsuit Financial Corporation, a pro-justice lawsuit funding company.