GM Recall Fest: 27 Million and Counting

It seems like every day we hear of a new recall from GM. From ignition switches to welds to something not torqued right from the factory; if it was made by GM, it’s probably going to get recalled. However, is it all knee jerk reactions from GM, “Old GM” haunting new, or the end of General Motors? We’ll take a look into recalls and how they are created, what possibly has gone on, and what is going on right now.

First, let’s start with what a recall is and why they are done. A recall is a bulletin from the factory that is, in the US, voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary recalls are usually not at risk of becoming a danger and is usually for convenience, but that’s not always true. If a manufacturer is diligent a voluntary recall can be for an issue that puts driver and passenger safety at risk but hasn’t been mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, when the NHTSA gets involved it becomes an involuntary safety recall. They get involved when there are enough complaints and data from screening to warrant an investigation after an analysis is done. At least that is the overly simplified process.

So, how did GM get away from having to deal with an involuntary safety recall when it came to the ignition switch defects? Unfortunately, there are several reasons and from the looks of things revealed so far, there were mistakes made by GM and by the NHTSA. Many of the deaths that happened did not take the air bags failing to deploy because the ignition switch is knocked off. This, in itself, is sort of strange if you are involved with vehicle repair. The first step with dealing in any repair with an air bag involved for most cars is to disconnect the battery for at least 15 minutes before the repair is done. That would mean that doing this in the case of a GM vehicle is not because the system is still armed, but because of the risk of electrical discharge only.

That aside, there was another factor involved as well. “Old GM,” or the company prior to bankruptcy and bailout, did cover up the problem. As more and more former employees that were directly related to this issue come out and speak up, we find corruption at the source as well. Employees that spoke up about the issue were told it wasn’t a problem, they would be terminated, or even both. Supposedly “New GM” is far more open and not willing to take that risk again. We actually see evidence of this with these new recalls coming out from GM on not only the ignition switch issue, but others as well. At the time of this writing a total of 27 million vehicles have been recalled by GM for various issues related to safety.

However, despite all of this, we cannot look at recalls as an indication on the build quality of a car. While there are a lot of recalls on GM vehicles right now, recalls happen every day to every car manufacturer. It happens and you can never test and prepare for every situation. Look at the Generation 5 Camaro; it has the ignition switch recall right now but it only happens under a specific set of circumstances that is very rare (hard strike with your knee).

Even vehicles with the ignition recall don’t seem to fail of you use only the key with no weight on it from your fob and other accessories on the key. Even in this case, it doesn’t excuse the weight of the recall as 16 people have died and possibly many more injured because of it and the corruption at GM.