A group of U.S. senators looking for answers in regards to General Motors’ faulty ignition switches in 2.59 million vehicles have begun to direct their attention to the supplier of the part, Delphi Automotive, according to a report from Reuters.
The senators on Tuesday wrote to Delphi CEO Rodney O’Neal requesting information about whether or not the parts supplier attempted to push back against GM after the automaker declined to have the switches fixed when they weren’t up to their usual specifications.
“It is our understanding that a fix was proposed by Delphi regarding the ignition switch in 2005 but GM did not adopt the change,” the senators wrote. “As we continue evaluating the GM recall it is critically important that we understand the decisions made by Delphi and the company’s interaction with GM.”
The letter was signed by Democrat Jay Rockefeller along with Republicans John Thune and Dean Heller as well as Democrat Claire McCaskill. It also asked if it was Delphi or GM that originated the discussion to fix the part, Â and asked for reasons as to why a design change was rejected in 2005 if Delphi suggested they remake the part. Senators also want to know if Delphi communicated with the NHTSA about the ignition switch.
So far, Congressional investigators have directed their attention to GM and the National Highway Traffic Administration. GM has been at the center of the scrutiny for not taking action and recalling the cars earlier, while the NHTSA has also been lambasted by Congress for not intervening at an earlier date.
The senators asked for Delphi’s answers by April 28. It is currently unclear if executives from the company will be called to testify in future hearings about the recall.
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