After the untimely death of 13 people, GM has finally fessed up about a manufacturing defect that lead to airbags not deploying in accidents.
GM has issued an unequivocal public apology for having dithered nearly a decade after it knew about a ignition switch defect in more than 1.6 million cars.
The Detroit News reports GM issued a directive to dealers in 2005 warning them about the problem. But then they denied there was need for a recall when they were repeatedly approached by federal regulators.
Here’s what happened: The ignition switches were not tightened properly. Driving with a heavy key ring apparently had the effect of disengaging the airbags, resulting in the deaths of 13 people.
The takeaway here is do not have a heavy key ring. If you have a GM car, separate your key from the key ring.
The vehicles affected by the recall include the following:
- 2003-07 Saturn Ion
- 2005-07 Chevrolet Cobalt
- 2005-07 Pontiac G5
- 2006-07 Chevrolet HHR
- 2006-07 Pontiac Solstice
- 2006-07 Saturn Sky
