Once again, General Motors has issued a recall for more than 3 million vehicles produced between 2000 and 2014 for ignition switch issues.
On Monday, June 16, the automaker revealed the following models were equipped with an ignition key that could cause the cars to stall unexpectedly if a jarring event occurred on the road:
- 2005-09 Buick Lacrosse
- 2006-14 Chevrolet Impala
- 2000-05 Cadillac Deville
- 2006-11 Buick Lucerne
- 2004-05 Buick Regal LS and GS
- 2006-08 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The announcement comes only two days before GM CEO Mary Barra will testify before a congressional subcommittee on the findings of an internal report, prepared by former federal prosecutor Anton Valukas.
The report highlighted what Valukas referred to as a series of miscommunications between employees and high-ranking officials at GM as the main contributing factor to the continued production of vehicles with a flawed ignition switch, as well as the reason it took nearly 15 years for the company to recall affected models.
GM will be reworking or replacing the defective ignition keys on 3,160,725 vehicles because of this issue. The company describes the problem as a stall that takes place if the vehicle experiences a jarring event, such as bumpy terrain or driving over railroad tracks.
In total, GM has recalled 20 million vehicles globally for issues with power, stalling and more. The company has recognized 13 deaths and dozens of car accident injuries that have been linked to these issues.
Only days ago, over 2 million Chevy Camaros were recalled for issues not related to the most recent recall.
In reworking the ignition key design, GM plans to use a standard key style, rather than the slotted-fob style it now has. The company believes this change should eliminate the problems connected to the recall, as it is more difficult to turn the key into the off position with the standard design.
Mondays announcement makes 44 recalls since the beginning of 2014 for GM. The company claims the total cost of all recalls is $2 billion.