General Motors will offer $500 rebates to owners of the 1.37 million cars that it has recalled over a faulty ignition switch, according to the Detroit Free Press. The rebate will be good through April 30th and can be used towards the purchase of any 2013, 2014 or 2015 Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, or GMC vehicle.
“In keeping with our commitment to help customers involved in this recall, a special $500 cash allowance is available to purchase or lease a new GM vehicle,” said GM spokesman Alan Adler. “We have been very clear in our message to dealers that this allowance is not a sales tool and it is only to be used to help customers in need of assistance. Neither GM nor its dealers will market or solicit owners using this allowance.”
Dealers were notified of the rebate in a March 5th memo from GM, which also provided guidance on how to answer questions and concerns about the recall. The letter has since been posted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
GM is not suggesting owners of the affected cars buy a new vehicle to remedy the problem, the Free Press reports. Instead, the rebates are being offered as validation to GM’s commitment to customer service.
“This special cash allowance must be passed on to the eligible customer at the time of the transaction and is in addition to other national and regional offers,” the letter reads. “And is intended to assist those customers who are unhappy and may want to trade out of their vehicle or buy a new GM product.”
The letter also informed owners that parts for the ignition repairs will be available in April, and included instructions on how to request reimbursement for ignition switch repairs they have paid for in the past. If the ignition switch has been replaced in the past, it still needs to be replaced again as part of this recall.
In addition, GM is offering courtesy vehicles to those owners afraid to drive their vehicles, and will cover the towing costs for affected vehicles as well as the fees for rental vehicles.
| MODEL YEAR | BRAND | MODEL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-2007 | CHEVROLET | COBALT | |
| 2003-2007 | CHEVROLET | HHR | |
| 2003-2007 | SATURN | ION | |
| 2006-2007 | SATURN | SKY | |
| 2007 | PONTIAC | G5 | |
| 2006-2007 | PONTIAC | SOLSTICE |
Comments
How about a $5,000 rebate for owners and a free car of choice for the 13 or so families who were affected!
Not casting aspersions but it would be nice to know more about these deaths. Generally loss of power does not result in accidents as these cars are still very steerable at speed in most circumstances.
Also they are making a big deal about this but there have been other cars that have been responsible for many more deaths like the Crown Vic fires and others that did not get so much attention. While not discounting any death if this were a Toyota or Honda would the media have gone so big on 13 deaths out of 1.37 million cars built?
I am sure more than 13 people were killed drunk driving or texting in a Cobalt and no one says anything about these.
GM has known for a long time about this and the TSB’s have been out there so it is not like they were hiding the issue. It has been a common topic on the Cobalt and HHR web sites. Often the problem has been removing the keys from the ignition.
The other thing is to this that much of this all will fall on old GM as if you remember the older cars and liabilities were all left on Old GM and will generally not be charged to new GM as it is recognized as a new company.
I am just waiting for the old Class Action lawyer to show up and try to get a case presented where they will receive $100 million dollars in compensation for representation and the car owners get a free car wash .
I know GM has been fixing these as they are brought into the dealers in many cases the owners on the web sites were not charged. The total number of car effected are small as generally most that were had large key chains as most MFG often discourage in using. Many owners manual also may make mention of this. I have seen ignitions since the 50’s go bad with this.
Any death is too much but it is the risk we take no matter what type of transportation we take.
Now don’t think I have no concern for the families etc. I feel for them. It sucks in life when you pull the short straw. I have been there done that in my own family.
G.M. really has their head up their a$$. The $500 offer is a joke since you can easily get a much larger discount when buying a new car. They should make it: Get the best deal you can and we will refund $2,000 to $5,000 to you after buying a GM car. They must think all GM owners are fools. Well,=======maybe they are.
It is on top of all other deals and rebates.
Agree. They should have offered the free loaner cars and free towing and stopped there. The vast majority of the vehicles affected are now owned by people who don’t buy new cars anyway? If a person bought a used Cobalt or HHR or Ion a few years back for say $7-9K, what makes anyone think they are in a position now to buy a new GM car or truck simply because they get an extra $500? What about the trade-in value? The re-call fiasco has diminished the appeal of these vehicles, even after they are fixed, by way more than $500.
I’ve purchased, against my wife’s protestations, several GM vehicles only to be disappointed time and again. What frosts me most is that when I argued with Saturn about our 3 ignition replacment issues, they alleged that this was normal wear and tear and that the weren’t going to do anything about it. The first happened when the car turned 37,012 miles. Just out of warranty and just outta luck…thanks for nothing. I just retired and bought an F-150. My wife’s Camry goes ever onward with ZERO problems at 165,000 miles.
I find this rediculous, $500 is pennys when buying a car in todays economy. This a PR disaster, this is a week offer at best. While Scott has some great points, when you consider the challenges of modern driving and many of the conditions out their, a Cobalt stalling out without warning would be incredibly dangerous. Considering most of the time I am being talegated if my car was to suddenly shut off I would be toast before I could even begin to figure out what was happening. Lets say I just purchased a used Cobalt from auction for $4,000 with around 100,000 miles, a dealer is going to mark that up 2 to 3 grand. So the average joe is going to buy a used 05 to 07 Cobalt for around 7 to 8 grand. Now what is it owrth, maybe $2,000 to $3,000 at auction. GM has to protect its consumers wether buying used or new, this is the concept they failed to understand in pre-bankruptsy but I believe they do get this now. While the old GM is at fault here, lets not forget that most people dont know or care if their was an old or new GM. New GM has finally come out of the closet with this and has a responsibility as well as new GM to resolve the issue as well as any lawsuits that come from further investigation. I believe their will be some serious accountability reprecusions from this. Lets hope new GM stays focused on the course and continues to develop class leading products.
GM is not going to pay a ton of money out to anyone who owns one of these cars. Most are nearing or are over 100K miles and many are not worth $4,000. Then add to this that few are even owned by the original owners like Enterprise.
GM at this point should offer anyone with one of these cars wanting the switch replaced to bring it in and get it replaced for free. This would not be cheap but would be the proper move and I expect it will happen at some point here.
As for the $500 It is nice they offered it but most people driving a car of this vintage are not driving it because they are in the market for a new GM car.
There is nothing wrong with the vast majority of these cars and while 13 deaths are too much it is not many considering the number made. Case in point many other models have had failures and many more deaths like the so call stuck throttle at Toyota that has claims a number of 36 proclaimed by some.
At this Point Mary just needs to get them to offer any present owner a new switch free of charge and move on. No more games, offers or lawsuits.
Mary just fix the damn things and move on to more important things.
May God Bless those killed and injured and their families, and damn those who put profits over accountability and lives.
That being said, while this lifetime (half century) GM devotee and dealership employee is thoroughly disgusted with the hiding and handling of this tragic recall, IF PROPERLY HANDLED, from here on out, it will be costly in dollars, sales, and publicity, but need not be a death knell (again) for my beloved company.
Ford recovered its place among the top manufacturers in the world after the Firestone/ Rollover debacle, that too, was over 10 years of feet dragging while folks died:
In May 2000, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about the high incidence of tire failure on Ford Explorers, Mercury Mountaineers, and Mazda Navajos fitted with Firestone tires… “there was a documented coverup by Ford and Firestone of the 500 defect”.
Clarence Ditlow; Executive Director for the Centre for Auto Safety in his statement before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in Washington D.C., September 20, 2000[2] stated
“Emerging Information shows that both Ford and Firestone had early knowledge of tread separation in Firestone Tires fitted to Ford Explorer vehicles but at no point informed the NHTSA of their findings”. [3]
The Ford Explorer was first offered for sale in March 1990.
Many rollovers cause serious injury and even death; it has been estimated that over 250 deaths and more than 3,000 serious injuries resulted from these failures, with not all occurring on Ford Motor Company vehicles.[4] It is estimated that 119 of the 250 deaths resulted from a crash with a Ford Motor Company vehicle.[4] (wikipedia)
Bill you are correct. This while not a good thing is far from the worst. Also if anyone who has the ability to look up service bulletins will find that the ignition has been a topic for years. I do not see this as hidden as some issues other companies have tried to hide. GM has hidden things much better in the past.
They should just hit this head on and anyone wanting the part replaced gets it done for free. GM could even fall back on Delphi to help cover the cost since they made the part.
They just need to hit it now and hard and in a year it will be forgotten. Few recall the Ford Firestone deal a year later.
$500 dollars is a great gesture. What are you expecting, them to give everyone affected a free Cadillac CTS-V or Stingray? With dealer offers, GM offers, and now this rebate, that’s not enough? I have a Cobalt, it’s a great car, I would have never known anything was wrong with the ignition without this recall. That brings me to another point, the media is able to go in and dig deeper and show that companies have known something all along, especially when a recall happens, but where was the media when reports were first discovered?
The old GM is to blame for this and had bad management and business decisions, but if news went viral, they would’ve most likely acted a lot sooner.
As a 2007 Cobalt owner, I am disappointed with this safety issue and recall. I was able to get into a loaner car, as my family had safety concerns. We can never afford new cars, so every 7-9 years we buy something 1 or 2 years old after saving up and using our car as some sort of trade, usually economy sedan, basic transportation. In late 2008 we bought our 2007 Cobalt and maintain it well – wash, wax, scheduled oil changes, keep seats covered and clean, make sure it has good tires, repair brakes when needed, change filters, avoid parking lot dents, etc. I might agree that a good gesture would be to tell Cobalt owners that the Chevrolet garage will give them a fair average price (I know that would be a challenge to determine, but worth some thought) for their now used Cobalt plus $4,000 on top of that to buy ANY used car at the dealership to compensate for loss of value and loss of being able to sell at a fair price on the private market. It costs GM about $1,000 a month to provide a loaner, and some may need to be loaned out for up to 4 months, depending on part availability and wait time for dealers. This gesture would keep the GM Cobalt owners from selling the cars to wary buyers. The Cobalt owner might buy another GM product from that dealer, and would keep a civil relationship with the local Chevrolet dealer. Again, we would prefer to get out of our Cobalt, but now cannot afford to, even for an equivalently nice used car without taking an unexpected loss and hit to the wallet. If I had thought my Cobalt could sell for $5,500, now I’m not sure I could get $2,000. The situation is not good, but maybe a good gesture could help some.
Litterally moments ago I just read that GM may have to recall my 2007 Cobalt for a second time for the power steering unit they recalled a few years ago and I had replaced. This on top of the ignition. Help. This is just too much.
Hey here is a question, does any one know the answer? I have a Cobalt that is affectted by the recall. I am thinking about buying my wife a new Chevy, can I get the $500 rebate even if I keep the Cobalt, or do i need to trade the Cobalt in to quailfy?
Hey Harvey,
I’m not 100 percent sure on this matter, however I don’t believe you need to trade the Cobalt vehicle, but will need some sort of proof of ownership of an affected recall model to get the $500 rebate. Best thing to do is ask a local dealer.
$500.00 isn’t anything. That wouldn’t help at all. I have 13 months left on my loan and I have invested in my car. Not everyone has good credit or money to buy a NEW car. I have yet to receive a call from my local dealership regarding the new part. My 2007 Chevy Cobalt is my only means of transportation. I don’t trust driving my car. Its crazy how I have to continue putting my life at risk until Chevrolet gets their self in order. Something better needs to be done.
Just drive with the key only. Perfectly safe.
Look at how the key turns. Without any weight hanging from the bottom there is no force pulling the bottom of the key forward.
Grab whatever you have hanging from the key and pull forward. The key will turn due to CCW forces. BUT do this when parked. Now take all the stuff off. How is it going to rotate? Equal rotational forces CCW and CW.
If you have multiple GM dealers in your area, you should give them a call. You may want to contact GM customer care, if you think a dealer is questionable, but from my understanding is you should be able to go to any GM dealer, and not just your original dealer, and not necessarily just a Chevrolet one. I usually go to a BUICK/GMC dealer, because they’re closer.
That’s my situation though, so I’m just stating that, for something for you to look into.
Parts just started becoming available. They’re not going to have parts instantly because new ignition switches have to be made for the total number of cars recalled. They had to scrap the other ignition switches to make sure the customers get a new revised switch.
I had a 2009 HHR that I drove for about 90,000 miles. The ignition cylinder fell apart and GM made me pay for the repair. About a year later the dealership said there was finally a bulletin on the ignition and they replaced my repaired tumbler, etc. Prior to the bulletin they insisted the failure was mechanical and not electronic. My car would not start, repeatedly, and then start 30 minutes later. I called OnStar and asked if I had set some security thing making my car not start. Everybody made me feel like I was crazy for assuming this was an controls issue.
On an expressway trip, going about 65 everything on the dash went dark and the radio shut off. I simply turned the key back to the on position and continued traveling.
Not sure why the 2009s are not also recalled.
2009 HHR is under recall for the ignition switch because they may have had the old switch put in under service. And in your case it looks like they did.
http://www.gmignitionupdate.com/
I wrecked my 2007 chevy impala back in April BEFORE GM put my car on the recall list and nobody seemed to care that the car stalled out while I was driving with my kids in the car. I told the police, the repair shop, the insurance company that it stalled with my foot on the accelerator causing me to hit another car and NOT A SINGLE AIRBAG DEPLOYED. It was not the 1st time it stalled and I thought maybe my transmission needed work but I took it a few times to repair shops and was told my trans was completely fine and they couldn’t figure out why my car would stall sometimes and not other times. I kept up the maintinence and had just replaced the water pump pulley system ect and no other problems were found. My car was totaled and I have been without a vehicle for almost 2 months because not everyone can just go buy a new car. The wreck was deemed my fault because I hit the other vehicle and I had to go to court and pay fines and court fees. Will GM reimburse me for my totaled car? NO they are only replacing the switches on the cars. It is a little too late for that for me. Seeing as the car was put in a wrecker a week after the wreck and no one bothered to check what went wrong I can’t even go to GM and say this is the reason I wrecked what will you do about it….
Paid out of pocket to replace the ignition switch myself, which in a letter GM said they would consider reimbursing – just had to fill out the paperwork and either drop the paperwork off to the GM dealer or put it in the mail. Since I had to have them order the new parts, I brought the paperwork to the dealer and they were totally baffled. The service manager told me he would talk to his supervisor to see what had to be done with it. I told him if it was easier and they weren’t sure what to do with it, I would just mail it in myself. Thought they would’ve been aware of the procedure! Since it has been over a month, I called them this morning to find out what the status was with the part and the paperwork and the service manager told me he called me on May 23rd to let me know that it would be quicker for me to send the paperwork in myself. Funny thing…..I never received a message on my phone. Really? Now, I’m going back to the dealer today to retrieve the paperwork and send it in myself! Hope there’s not a deadline because that will be another fight on my hands!
I own a 2010 Chevy Cobalt I bought this car February 10-2014 and drove it like three months. The on May 19, I lost control of my car. The car did not turn off it was running it lost its power steering coming off the high way. And GM says my car safe to drive and it might take more to turn your car and need to be going 25 or more miles to be able turn your car. I had to turn my car off and restart it. And not even five mins go by and the Dane car lost its power steering when make a turn at going 5 miles a hour. I was lucky I did not get hit by the car coming at me. This car cost me 9,000 plus tax and I am making payments on a car that sitting in a parking lot waiting to be fixed. On 3 to 4 recalls and they do not know when it’s going be fixed it has under 60,000 miles on it. I am very ticked off about this. If I know that it was recalled on the day I bought this car I never got it. Thanks gm for a big piece of crap. I feel you need pay my car off and give me a new car for the stress I am having. It make me not even want my cobalt back I have put 1500 cash down a trade in and made 4 payments on this car of 221.23 plus. I paid more and I need to to get this car paid off. Plus still have pay full coverage on this car that I can not even drive. This car I will never again feel safe to drive in or have my 2 1/2 year old nephew in. Or anyone in. This car been recalled on the power steering back in 2010 few days after this car was made. So this is the 3d time they putting a new power steering in this car. And it’s not a normal power steering it’s electric power steering. I feel they own me a new car after this. I am pissed that they are not standing up and taking car of owners of these cars . Today will make it 31 days that my car sitting in a gm parking lot that they are waiting on parts. Called today they said it going taking few more weeks to have car fixed. Thanks a lot gm for selling me a lemon a big fat lemon
You have provide us with an informative stuff and hope that you would continue.
Our 2008 Chevy Cobalt ignition switch failed when we were about 2 hours away from home 6 weeks ago. Our only option was to have it towed to the local GM dealer in town. Three times now this same dealer has offered various deals to trade in our Cobalt which is great, but every time we make the 2 hour one way trip their story completely changes when we arrive, only to have us make yet again another failed trip. All these promises followed by tons of disappointment, loss travel expenses and huge inconveniences all due to their incompetence. In addition to the many phone calls we as always make and effort before leaving the lot to inquire about our car asking questions like: Has the part arrived, when will it be done and so forth, every time we get the run around and not a valid answer. We just want our car repaired and returned to us and we have no desire to spend any money with this dealer at this point. In addition we are on our 3rd loaner car (this time a rental) and they have indicated that they won’t pay for it much longer, even though we are very certain they are required to due to the recall. HOW can there be so many crooks in this world? This whole thing is a nightmare!! We just want our car repaired and returned to us fair and square without all this BS. What can be done??
PS… I would like to pass on my condolences to the families who lost loved ones due to this GM mess! We will keep the them in our prayers and everyone else who is getting the run around from GM.
Started calling about recall to my2010 Cobalt to local chevy dealer back in March 2014. FINALLY in first week August, they called and I took it in, they fixed ignition, 2 new keys but said the other part for the power steering will be in soon. 2 weeks later, took it in this morning by scheduled appt, they had it all day long and called to tell me the mechanic tore my car all apart and broke the piece!!. Now, have to wait AND WAIT til tomorrow. That’s just a big maybe they can have it done by closing time. They got me a loaner car from Enterprise and those Enterprise idiots wanted me to put down a $50 deposit, and pay for gas/mileage which I refused. I told them to bill this chevy dealer. I’m not putting out a dime for this loaner car and they can stick it where the sun don’t shine. I had to cancel my vacation, cancel hotel reservations because of this recall. I never take a vacation and the 1 and only time I had 1 planned, had to cancel. No way would I take a chance driving 75 mph and my ignition and power steering go out on me. Thanks a lot GM for ruining my summer, you schmucks…. My heart goes out to the people who lost their lives over these problems that GM damn well knew a long time ago but were cowards by not telling us til 2014….
WELCOME TO SCOTT HILLS ONLINE LOAN SERVICE
Are you in need of a loan? We offer all types of loan such as: Personal Loans, debt consolidation loans,
venture or capital loans, Business loans, education loans and Loans for any reasons or urgent need,
with an interest rate of 2% Have you been to turned down by your bank? do you have bad credit?
Do you have unpaid bills? Are you in Debt? Do you want to start a business? worry no more as we are
here to offer you the opportunity to get a loan. Our loan ranges from $1000 and above.If interested please
kindly contact us on this e-mail scotthillsfund@hotmail.com
Well what I am doing, because my 2007 chevy malibu has over 20 defects associated with it that may increase the risk of injury or a collision yet being told it is normal wear and tear is trade my vehicle into a GM dealership, purchase a different companies car, and never buy another GM product for the rest of my life. Also, my children and entire extended family will no longer purchase GM vehicles for their businesses and families as well. If we all do that then they will realize that they should have shelled out the $2000 or so to fix these issues when they had the opportunity. If money is what they are concerned about over safety then take the loss of an entire family and their future generations never purchasing your products again. Good bye GM thank you for nothing.