Recall
GM recalls 1.5 million cars over fire hazard
General Motors Co. said Tuesday it is recalling nearly 100,000 vehicles in Canada, part of a much larger recall of more than 1.5 million cars worldwide, because a washer fluid heater system could overheat and cause a fire, its second recall over the issue in two years.
The recall affects 18 passenger vehicle models from the 2006 to 2009 model years.
The automaker thought it had fixed the problem during a 2008 recall by adding a fuse to the vehicles' control circuit harness system to address an electrical short.
GM, however, said it had been made aware of five fires related to that fix. There are no known injuries or crashes reported, the auto company said.
Now dealers will remove the heater portion of the washer fluid system and reroute washer fluid hoses. The Detroit automaker said it will pay owners and those leasing vehicles $100 each for the loss of the feature.
"While our analysis shows the number of incidents is very small compared with the number of vehicles on the road, we want our customers to have complete peace of mind," said Jeff Boyer, GM's executive director of safety.
The auto company said customers will begin to receive recall letters later this month, but they can contact their dealer to make an appointment to have the system removed.
The recall includes: Buick Enclave (2008-2009), Buick Lucerne (2006-2009), Cadillac CTS (2008-2009), Cadillac DTS (2006-2009), Cadillac Escalade (2007-2009),Cadillac Escalade ESV (2007-2009), Cadillac Escalade EXT (2007-2009), Chevrolet Avalanche (2007-2009), Chevrolet Silverado 3500 (2007-2009), Chevrolet Suburban (2007-2009), Chevrolet Tahoe (2007-2009), Chevrolet Traverse (2009), GMC Acadia (2007-2009), GMC Sierra (2007-2009), GMC Yukon (2007-2009), GMC Yukon XL (2007-2009), Hummer H2 (2006-2009) and Saturn Outlook (2007-2009).
About 1.37 million vehicles are in the United States and 98,794 affected vehicles are in Canada. Another 65,000 are in Mexico and other international markets.
(Published by Financial Post – June 8, 2010)