Though it has now expanded an SUV recall to about 480,000 vehicles to check for a possibly faulty door circuit board, General Motors said fires as a result have been rare.
“While a fire can occur when the vehicle is unattended, it is very rare. In the expanded population whose owners already had received special coverage letters, GM is aware of six fires and one minor injury,” the automaker said in a statement emailed to just-auto.
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“The incidence rate for the expanded recall population is six times lower than for the vehicles recalled last [August] in the so-call “corrosion states” and Washington, DC.
“Total fires for the two recalls is 58. Total injuries – all minor – is 11 for the two recalls.”
The automaker said it was expanding a recall of mid-size SUVS to include an additional 193,652 vehicles in states where customers already were eligible to have their vehicles repaired under a special coverage programme.
Customers who received a special coverage letter in January and had not yet had their vehicles repaired would receive a safety recall notice. The original safety recall covered 20 states and DC. Now, all states are covered.
Road salt, rain water and other liquids can get inside the driver’s door module and could result in a short in the printed circuit board. That could lead to possible failure of the power door lock and window switches.
“In extremely rare cases”, the short may cause overheating, which could melt components of the door module and produce odour, smoke and a fire.
Subject to the expanded recall are some 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL; 2006-07 Trailblazer, Envoy, Buick Rainier, Saab 9-7x [which were built by GM – ed], and Isuzu Ascender vehicles.
Dealers will make free repairs.
GM recalled 249,000 SUVs last August for the same problem.
Of the total of 480,000 SUVs now recalled, about 443,000 are in the United States, GM said.
Government safety investigators said “a fire could occur even while the vehicle is not in use”, Reuters reported.
“As a precaution, owners are advised to park outside until the remedy has been made,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the news agency.
