Fresh General Motors recall includes pickup trucks, SUVs

Adding to the mounting toll of its safety crisis, General Motors said on Friday that it was recalling more than half a million more vehicles, including full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles that can suddenly switch into neutral.

General Motors' total number of recalls for the year has now surpassed 20 million vehicles, and is nearing the 22 million recalled last year by all the automakers combined.

Almost all of GM's recalls have come since the automaker began recalling 2.6 million older Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars with a defective ignition switch that it has tied to at least 13 deaths and 54 crashes.

In addition to the rising number of recalls, the cost of the repairs is increasing as well; GM has set aside $2 billion for repairs through the second quarter, which ends on Monday. That figure does not include the recalls announced on Friday.

The vehicles in Friday's actions mostly include the automaker's most popular and profitable - the full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles that have helped fuel the company's sales rebound from the recession in recent years.

The largest of the new recalls includes 392,459 full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in the United States, 53,607 in Canada and almost 21,000 sold elsewhere.

The automaker said the problem was that the four-wheel drive system could switch into neutral without any action by the driver. The engine would continue to run but there would be no power to the wheels. The automaker also said if the emergency brake were not set, a parked vehicle could roll away.

Some complaints about the vehicle spontaneously switching to neutral have already been filed to the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

One driver from Fox River Grove, Illinois, wrote to the regulator in January, "2014 GMC Sierra 1500 rolls backward when parked on an incline and the transmission is in park."

Another driver, of a rented 2014 Chevrolet Silverado, contacted the safety agency this month to report that power to the pickup truck had abruptly cut off while she was going 40 miles an hour on the highway.

"Rental just cut off," her complaint reads. "No lights illuminated on the control panel."

The recalled models are the 2014-15 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups as well as the new 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL sport utility vehicles.

The automaker learned of the problem through warranty claims, a GM spokesman, Jim Cain, said in an interview. He said the automaker was not aware of crashes or injuries related to the problem.

The automaker also told regulators that it would recall about 29,000 Chevrolet Cruze sedans from the 2013 and 2014 model years in the United States. That recall was made because a defective air bag inflater could rupture, propelling pieces of the metal case at the driver.

GM's other recalls on Friday included about 4,794 2013-14 model year Chevrolet SS sedans and Chevrolet Caprice police cars in the United States because the windshield wipers may fail.

GM also recalled about 1,900 2014 Chevrolet Corvettes in the United States to fix a problem with the rear shock absorbers.

SPEED BREAKER
Details of GM's latest recall of more than half a million vehicles

What is being recalled?

The largest of the new recalls announced on Friday includes 392,459 full-size pickup trucks and SUVs in the US, 53,607 in Canada and almost 21,000 sold elsewhere. The recalled models are the 2014-15 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups as well as the new 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL sport utility vehicles

Reasons

* The four-wheel drive system could switch into neutral without any action by the driver
* The engine would continue to run but there would be no power to the wheels
* If the emergency brake were not set, a parked vehicle could roll away

What is the cost of the repairs?

GM has set aside $2 billion for repairs through the second quarter, which ends on Monday. That figure does not include the recalls announced on Friday.

* About 29,000 Chevrolet Cruze sedans from the 2013 and 2014 model years in the US being recalled
Reason: A defective air bag inflater could rupture, propelling pieces of the metal case at the driver

* 4,794 2013-14 model year Chevrolet SS sedans and Chevrolet Caprice police cars in the US recalled
Reason: Windshield wipers may fail

* 1,900 2014 Chevrolet Corvettes in the US recalled
Reason: To fix a problem with the rear shock absorbers

©2014 The New York Times News Service