Safety regulators in the U.S. are investigating whether to add more than a million General Motors midsize cars to a recall for brake light problems.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it's checking into complaints about the 2004 to 2011 Chevrolet Malibu and the 2007 to 2009 Saturn Aura. The safety agency says the brake lights may not come on when the pedal is pressed, while at other times the lights can illuminate for no reason.
In 2009, GM recalled about 8,000 Pontiac G6 midsize cars from the 2005 model year for the same problem. The government announced in February that it's investigating whether to add 550,000 G6s sold from 2005 to 2009.
Now the agency is investigating 97 complaints from Malibu and Aura owners about the same problems. The two cars share many of the same parts with the G6, but GM spokesmen were unsure Tuesday whether all three cars have the same brake lights.
The Detroit company sold more than 1.5 million Malibus and Auras from 2004 through 2011, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, but it was unclear how many of them are included in the investigation.
No additional recalls have been issued beyond the 8,000 cars called in for repairs in 2009, although NHTSA says it opened the probe "to determine if the scope of the recall should be expanded or an adjustment in existing remedies is required."
NHTSA says if the brake lights don't illuminate, drivers behind the cars won't be warned, and that could lead to a crash. A GM spokesman said Tuesday the company has no reports of crashes or injuries.
In the 2009 recall, GM traced the problem to corrosion in a wiring connector. Dealers were to fix it by putting a lubricant on the connector to prevent corrosion. The company sent dealers a service bulletin in October of 2010 detailing how to fix similar brake light problems in Malibus and Auras, NHTSA said.
Some of the owners who complained about G6 brake light problems also said the cruise control may not engage or will disengage unintentionally.
Owners who suspect brake light or cruise control problems should take their cars to any Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac or GMC dealer. GM shut down the Pontiac and Saturn brands in 2010 as part of its massive restructuring.
What? People actually buy/drive GM vehicles?
People actually collect street lights? :sneaky:
::finally gets to feel smug about driving a Ford for a change::
Just like that movie Fight Club. Take the average cost of a lawsuit, multiply by the probability, then multiply by the number of cars out there. If that's less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.People actually collect street lights? :sneaky:
I spent a lot of time driving Malibus from that model range for work. They're garbage. Cheap, cheap, cheap. One thing that boggles my mind is that these problems keep cropping up. Surely it would be cheaper in the long run just to use a better part than have to recall thousands of vehicles. But I guess the MBAs can't see past their noses. That's what happens when you have people making cars who know nothing about cars.
People actually collect street lights? :sneaky:
I spent a lot of time driving Malibus from that model range for work. They're garbage. Cheap, cheap, cheap. One thing that boggles my mind is that these problems keep cropping up. Surely it would be cheaper in the long run just to use a better part than have to recall thousands of vehicles. But I guess the MBAs can't see past their noses. That's what happens when you have people making cars who know nothing about cars.
Wow. Waterproof connectors have been around for a while. Not everything has to be proprietary.
What? People actually buy/drive GM vehicles?
Hope it isn't an Escape http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/ford-escape-recall_n_1860699.html
-KeithP
"Ford issued the latest recall after getting a single report from a dealership, and no customers had filed complaints about the problem, she said."
That's actually pretty dang responsible, and way better than almost a decade later.
I spent a lot of time driving Malibus from that model range for work. They're garbage. Cheap, cheap, cheap. One thing that boggles my mind is that these problems keep cropping up. Surely it would be cheaper in the long run just to use a better part than have to recall thousands of vehicles. But I guess the MBAs can't see past their noses. That's what happens when you have people making cars who know nothing about cars.
My old roommate had a new Malibu a few years ago. On an icy road, we slid down a short hill for about 10 feet, at about 5 MPH, and hit the curb on the passenger side - nothing too unusual for Michigan winter driving. Yeah...the axel broke and the wheel fell off. Thousands in repairs. Couldn't believe it. Had to tow it & he didn't get it back for weeks. No Malibu's for me!
Someone help me here. How does 8,000 + 550,000 = 1,000,000?
Misleading crappy newspaper headline is misleading. Anything for page hits though, right?
The Detroit company sold more than 1.5 million Malibus and Auras from 2004 through 2011, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, but it was unclear how many of them are included in the investigation.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/gm...vrolet-malibu-article-1.1286106#ixzz2NRDgLIcT
not surprised. malibu's are very thin and cheap cars. theyre designed nice, i dont mind working on them, but they dont have much more metal then say a kia.
ive hit a few curbs in my ranger. the truck just laughs at it
A full read of the article and paying attention for the actual words may assist you
From within the article itself
This originated from more of mmmntech,'s fud. The guy needs to stop babbling.Want to back that up?
Abnd you are comparing a Body on frame RWD truck to a unibody FWD car. Yea thats a good comparision.