GM adds 8.23 million cars to ignition-switch recall

By Bernie Woodall and Paul Lienert

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Monday widened the list of older models it is recalling for potentially deadly ignition switches, adding 8.23 million compact and midsize cars that it has linked to seven crashes and three fatalities.

GM this year has recalled 29 million vehicles, more than half of them - roughly 14.7 million - because of potentially defective ignition switches. GM last year sold 2.8 million vehicles in the United States and 9.7 million globally.

Earlier on Monday, GM provided details of a compensation fund set up to provide at least $1 million to victims of crashes tied to defective switches in older compact cars, including the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion.

GM said victims of crashes in cars recalled on Monday will not be included in the fund administered by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, nor are there any plans to set up a separate fund for those victims.

"That was an exceptional response to a unique set of mistakes that were made over an extended period of time," GM spokesman Jim Cain said.

GM said on Monday it would increase by $500 million a second-quarter charge to cover the cost of the recalls. So far this year, the writedowns are expected to total $2.5 billion.

GM earlier this year recalled nearly 2.6 million Cobalts, Ions and other small cars with defective switches that it linked to 54 crashes and at least 13 deaths.

Earlier this month, it recalled more than 500,000 Chevrolet Camaro sports cars and another 3.4 million midsize and fullsize sedans, including Chevrolet Impalas and Cadillac DeVilles.

On Monday, GM issued two separate recalls, both related to ignition switches which it said could be turned off because of "inadvertent key rotation." In turn, that could shut off the engine and cut power to steering, brakes and air bags.

Affected are 7.61 million older sedans and coupes dating back to model year 1997, including 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impalas and 1997-2005 Chevrolet Malibus. Also recalled were 616,179 Cadillacs from model years 2003-2014, including the CTS coupe and sedan and the SRX crossover.

As it has done previously, GM urged owners to remove all items, including the fob, from key rings, leaving only the ignition key. It said it would provide dealers with an insert to change the key-head design from a slot to a hole to reduce the chance of the key ring and fob turning off the switch.

GM shares closed down 0.9 percent at $36.30 on Monday.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)