Filed under: Coupe, Recalls, Safety, Chevrolet, GM


General Motors issued a recall for more than a half million Chevrolet Camaros on Friday morning because of an ignition-switch safety hazard that mirrors the one at the center of the company's current crisis.

The problem affects Camaro models from the 2010 to 2014 model years. Approximately 464,712 cars are impacted in the United States, and 511,528 overall in North America. GM will alter the Camaro key to a more standard design, and will notify car owners with a recall notice in the mail.

In an announcement, the company said the ignition switches on the Camaros are fundamentally different parts than the older ignition switches found on defective cars that are responsible for killing at least 13 people and causing 54 crashes.

But the consequence is roughly the same: like the faulty Chevy Cobalts and Saturn Ions involved in those earlier accidents, a driver's knee can inadvertently bump the key fob in the Camaros and cause the key to move out of the "run" position. This can lead to a reduction or loss of power.

GM said it knew of three Camaro crashes related to the problem, and those accidents resulted in four injuries. No further information on those crashes was immediately available Friday morning.

GM said the problem was discovered during internal testing that followed the recall of more than 2.5 million cars for faulty ignition switches earlier this year. That problem, along with the company's decade-long delay in recalling affected cars, has become the subject of Congressional hearings and multiple federal investigations.

It said the Camaro issue "may primarily affect drivers sitting close to the steering column."

GM announced three other recalls Friday morning.

They included recalls for 28,789 Saab 9-3 convertibles from the 2004 to 2011 model years that had a defective tensioning system cable in the driver's side seat-belt system; 21,567 Chevrolet Sonics from the 2012 model year for a condition in which a transmission turbine shaft may fracture; and 14,765 Buick LaCrosses from the 2014 model year, which had a wiring problem in the driver's door.

GM said it was unaware of any crashes or injuries related to these problems.Continue reading GM recalls 500K Chevy Camaros for ignition-switch defect
GM recalls 500K Chevy Camaros for ignition-switch defect originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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