General Motors Could Face Another $35M Fine For Recall Delay
General Motors could face another hefty fine due to an old e-mail from a GM employee warning the automaker about a possible “serious safety issue”.
On Wednesday, an e-mail dated Aug. 30,2005 was released during the House subcommittee meeting about GM’s delayed recall of nearly three million small vehicles with the affected ignition switch problem. The email detailed a similar issue seen with a larger GM vehicle.
According to employee Laura Andres, she was on Interstate 75 near Detroit and driving home when she hit a bump and the vehicle’s engine stalled. She said the vehicle behind her had to quickly swerve out of the way to avoid hitting her. The GM mechanic told Andres that the cause for the stall was a possible faulty ignition switch.
In an e-mail to 11 of her GM colleagues, Andres said it’s a serious problem and a big recall may be necessary.
However, it wasn’t until nearly 10 years later – last Monday – that GM recalled the Chevy Impalas, Buick LaCrosses and other vehicle models for the same problem plaguing the company already. During those nine years of no recalls, safety regulators received hundreds of complaints about the vehicles.
According to GM, the extra weight on a keychain is the reason the ignition switch moves from the run position when the vehicle is jarred – for example, when the vehicle goes over a pothole. The engine will stall and the drive will lose both power brakes and steering.
Federal law stipulates automakers need to let the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration know within five business days upon learning of a defect. If the agency determines the automaker took an excessive amount of time reporting the defect, it could be fined $35 million.
Last month, GM paid $35 million for its 11-year delay in letting the agency know about the defective ignition switches in many of its small vehicles like the Chevy Cobalt.
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