As General Motors processes over 1.3 million vehicles recalls for faulty ignition switches that have led to at least 13 deaths, more evidence mounts that GM knew of the problem years ago.
Detroit News: Some of the early customer complaints recount harrowing problems. One Maryland man said he nearly collided with a tractor-trailer in his 2005 Cobalt. Another woman — a mother five months pregnant and driving with a 5-year-old — bought a 2005 Cobalt and shortly thereafter reported stalling out in a snowstorm, “making her steering column lock up and vehicle spun out of control.”
Court records show GM bought back at least 13 2005-06 Chevy Cobalts from customers who complained about engine stalling or power loss from as early as spring 2005. That comes from a June 2013 deposition of GM senior manager/consultant Victor Hakim, who works in a department that assesses vehicles.
Industry experts claim auto buy-backs are an unusually step for an automaker.
The news comes as Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced that his committee will investigate GM and the National Highway Safety Administration responded to safety concerns about faulty ignition switches primarily found in Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion, and Chevy HHR vehicles.
