General Motors (GM) is recalling 1.3 million small cars in North
GM recalls 1.3m cars over power steering fault
America because of a power steering problem that has been linked to 14
crashes.
The firm said four models were affected – the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac
G5, Pontiac Pursuit and Pontiac 4.
It said the fault meant that at low speeds “greater steering effort may
be required”, but that the cars could still be “safely controlled”.
GM blamed the fault on a supplier partially owned by Toyota.
GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told the BBC at the Geneva Motor show: “This
is a case where, yes, we would blame a partially Toyota-owned
supplier.”
Mr Lutz said the supplier had not met “all requirements for reliability
and durability”.
“So we will have to see who takes financial responsibility,” he said.
“But this is a risk you sometimes take when you buy a complete system
from a supplier.”
GM said it had told the US car safety regulator – the US National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – about the recall on
Monday when it finished an investigation that started last year.
The NHTSA itself had been investigating the problem since 27 January
after receiving more than 1,100 complaints.
Tags: GM)