GM Recalls 3.4 Million Vehicles for Similar Ignition-Switch Defect

General Motors Co.’s ignition-switch crisis deepened Monday, as the company ordered a recall for another 3.4 million vehicles plagued by a similar defect as the one that has spawned a slew of government investigations, fines and lawsuits.

The automaker is recalling vehicles ranging from the 2000 to 2014 model years – most of which are out of production – after discovering that the ignition switches could flip off inadvertently due to a “jarring event” such as a pothole.

The company said it now expects to record a $700 million second-quarter charge related to the cost of recalls, up from a previously expected $400 million.

Taken together, GM has now recalled about 6 million vehicles globally for potential ignition-switch defects.

GM spokesman Alan Adler confirmed in an email that ignition-switch engineer Ray DeGiorgio – who was recently fired after investigators concluded that he played a key role in hiding a deadly defect in the other vehicles – was the “release engineer” for the ignition switches on the newly recalled cars.

The new recall places additional scrutiny on the quality of GM’s older vehicles and extends GM’s single-year record for recalls.

It also comes as GM CEO Mary Barra is expected to testify Wednesday before a U.S. House committee over an internal ignition-switch investigation conducted by former U.S. prosecutor Anton Valukas, who will also testify.

The vehicles affected by the new recall are the 2005-09 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-13 Chevrolet Impala, 2014 Impala for rental-car companies (but not for retail consumers), 2000-05 Cadillac Deville, 2004-11 Cadillac DTS, 2006-11 Buick Lucerne, the 2004-05 Buick Regal LS and GS, and the 2006-08 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

GM said it will add an insert to keys or replace keys entirely to fix the defect, which can cause the ignition switches to bump into the “accessory” or “off” position, thus cutting off power steering, power braking and potentially air bags. The company will start offering the fix within a few weeks.

“The best way to assure safety in these vehicles until the key is reworked or replaced is to drive with the ignition key alone,” Adler said.

Separately, the company recalled 165,770 vehicles for unrelated reasons, including some 2013-14 Cadillac ATS and 2014 Cadillac CTS sedans for a shift cable that could break; 2015 heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks for a potential power steering hose clamp issue; some 2011 Cadillac CTS sedans for a potential gasket leak; some 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays whose air bags might be blocked from deployment; and some 2014-15 Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks whose floor mats could slip.

This article appeared in print in the June 17th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.