Ignition switch problems are continuing to plague General Motors. Over the weekend, it was reported the automaker had earlier this month ordered Cadillac dealers to stop selling some versions of the CTS model range because it does not have a fix yet for cars recalled in late June over an issue where engines can be shut off if the driver’s knee bumps the ignition key.
According to Reuters, details of incidents leading up to the 30 June, including three occasions where GM employees bumped the keys and shut off the engines in 2012 CTS cars, were made public on Saturday by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
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The so-called stop sale order to Cadillac dealers on the 2003-2014 CTS and 2004-2006 SRX was issued on 2 July and updated on 8 July, Reuters said, citing GM documents posted by NHTSA. The recall involved about 554,000 Cadillacs in the United States.
The order “is still in effect for the foreseeable future”, GM spokesman Alan Adler told the news agency on Saturday. GM engineers are “looking at one common solution” for all the recalled Cadillacs, “but they don’t have it yet”, Adler said.
Reuters noted that Cadillac changed to a push-button starter switch on the redesigned 2014 CTS, which does not share the problem with older models. Some versions of the older CTS, including the wagon, were carried over for model year 2014 and were included in the recall.
GM in documents provided to NHTSA, reportedly said the main problem with the SRX and the earlier versions of the CTS involved the potential for heavy key rings or a “jarring event” such as a pothole to turn the ignition key out of the run position.
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By GlobalDataIf that happens, the engine can shut off, causing loss of power steering and failure of air bags to deploy in a crash, NHTSA said.
GM’s remedy is a new key with a small hole instead of a slot which the automaker says makes it more difficult to pull or jar the key out of position.
But the report noted GM has a different problem with second generation CTS from model years 2008-2014 which use a different ignition switch than earlier models. Even after GM shifted to keys with the small hole in late 2010, the cars still displayed a susceptibility to being switched off because of a knee bump.
GM in late June recalled 2010-2014 Chevrolet Camaros for a similar problem, where knee bumps could switch the key out of position and turn off the engine. The solution was to replace the switchblade-type key and fob with a single, lighter key.
Reuters noted GM had urged owners of the recalled cars to remove all items from key rings, including the key fob, leaving only the ignition key. It also warned drivers to adjust seats and steering columns “to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key”.
