Detroit, MI — May 7, 2015 — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a recall statement potentially affecting 3,690 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured between April and August in 2012 with the 2013 model year. General Motors instituted the recall last month, and an estimated “100 percent” of these vehicles are believed to have the targeted defect, which concerns the illuminated indicator on the shift console.

As the safety recall report on this case describes, this fault could prevent shift positions from being lit up when the cars are in use. Although the report says this happens “in rare circumstances,” it also notes that this is still in violation of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 102. The condition is believed to be caused by a flash memory corruption in the PRNDM display.

The actions dates back to tests on these vehicles conducted in 2012, and includes a petition action from General Motors in that year: the company argued that its noncompliance related to an “inconsequential” element of the cars, and later revised its original report.

This document also features a description of exactly why the panel display error could be considered dangerous to drivers. Only vehicles with base-level instrument-panel clusters are at risk.
“If the console shift indicator does not illuminate the shift position selected, a driver could inadvertently select a transmission position other than the position the driver intended, increasing the risk of a crash,” the statement says. Dealers will address the problem by replacing “the bezel assembly, which contains the PRNDM control module.”

With the right recall information, manufacturer actions will have the desired effect, and potentially dangerous autos will be fixed in time to prevent further damage or injury. The defect in question could still be damaged if limited to one area of the vehicle.

Detroit, MI — April 11, 2015 — A defective feature doesn’t have to be essential to lead to a recall. Even the seemingly ornamental or luxury aspects of a major car brand could contribute to a major response action. The Detroit Free Press has reported on a General Motors recall that pertains specifically to a series of Chevrolet Malibu sedans made between 2013 and 2015. The source of the recall is an issue with the vehicles’ sunroof controls, which leads to them closing accidentally after minor amounts of contact.

While the average consumer might not consider a sunroof problem to be a major security concern, and there have reportedly been no complaints related to this bug, Slash Gear’s Brittany Hillen writes that the overly sensitive switches could violate national vehicle guidelines.

“This is a problem because auto makers are required to meet certain federal standards with switches and buttons — if they’re too sensitive, it could pose a safety hazard depending on which part of the vehicle the switch controls,” Hillen writes.

Around 92,000 vehicles have been targeted by the recall in the United States and Canada, and dealers will fix the problem by recalibrating the sunroof controls in affected vehicles. Owners who need this done will be able to bring their cars to the appropriate locations and have them taken care of there.

All features that don’t pass government approval, from the large to the small, need a clear path to repair that is easy on the consumer, the dealer and all parties that could be related. When such a recall comes from a major manufacturer, as well, there has to be a far-reaching message that influences industry behavior in a positive way. Furthermore, failure to respond to a recall could land certain parties in legal trouble.

Detroit, MI — April 9, 2015 — The Wall Street Journal reports that General Motors has recalled thousands of hybrid cars after the discovery of a possible emissions problem in these vehicles. Chevrolet Volts produced between 2011 and 2013 could have a systems fault that leaves some users accidentally running the car for too long. In garages and other enclosed spaces, continuous time active could lead to a buildup of emissions and the threat of monoxide carbon monoxide poisoning.

Although a software update from the manufacturer is intended to fix the problem, there are reportedly two known cases of people being injured because they did not understand the car was still running after they had exited it, even though the cars do already emit a warning.

If the battery drains itself, the Volt is designed to automatically switch to standard fuel power, creating the emissions danger. Because the car is turned on and off via a button, users that aren’t aware of this could relatively easily make a hazardous mistake.

The company’s solution to this issue is a software change that institutes an “automatic shutdown” protocol. This prevents Volts from being left idling too long by shutting them down after being left stationary for an hour and a half, as CNN states. Owners of the affected cars can also have the software change administered to their vehicles.

Defects in cars could be so impactful that they require a thorough response, including not just a recall but some action on behalf of the affected customers. A strong recall alert program will advise all the necessary parties about how to react, and disperse the message in an appropriate timeframe. In addition to spreading the word, vehicle owners will need to know what they can do to mitigate risk.