GM recalls 2.7M more cars; industry on record pace

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/05/15/3196167/another-gm-recall-this-time-to.html?sp=/99/261/



FILE - In this May 31, 2013 file photo, the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu is unveiled on Belle Isle in Detroit. General Motors is recalling more than 140,000 2014 Chevrolet Malibu midsize cars to fix a problem with the power-assisted brakes. The recall affects models with 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines and stop-start technology that shuts off the engine at red lights.

GM recalls 2.7M more cars; industry on record pace
By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer
May 15, 2014 Updated 42 minutes ago

DETROIT — General Motors' efforts to root out lingering safety problems across its wide range of cars and trucks has produced another big recall — and highlights a sudden shift at GM and throughout the industry toward issuing recalls instead of avoiding them.

The nation's largest automaker announced a total of five recalls covering 2.7 million vehicles Thursday. The biggest involves 2.4 million midsize cars from model years 2004 to 2012 with brake lights that can fail.

GM acknowledged it knew about the brake light problem as early as 2008. That year it issued what's known as a technical service bulletin, but that only required dealers to offer to fix the problem if the owner became aware of it. Such bulletins typically cover problems an automaker considers minor, and avoid the larger cost of a recall. But a driver's safety could be jeopardized by unknowingly operating a car with a defective part.

In announcing the recall, GM said the brake light problem has been tied to 13 accidents and 2 injuries.