General Motors Recalls Another 269,001 Vehicles

General Motors today announced five separate safety recalls encompassing 269,001 late-model vehicles. We reported on the recall of Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac G3 vehicles earlier today, so only four recalls are covered in this article.

The problem: The first recall is for an ignition key which can be easily removed when the switch in certain Saturn VUE models is not in the ‘Off’ position. GM is aware of two crashes and one injury potentially related to the problem.

A second recall for certain Cadillac ATS sedans and Buick Encore CUVs was put out for the front outboard lapbelt pretensioner cables, which may “retract upon deployment to pull in seat belt webbing, but may not lock, allowing the cable and the retracted webbing to return to their original length under occupant loading,” GM says. As a result, the occupant may move around more in certain accidents.

Certain eighth-generation Impala sedans are recalled for an inertia latch on the front storage compartment door, which may not engage in the event of a rear collision, causing the front console compartment door to open. Dealers are not allowed to sell the cars until repairs can be made as the issue is a non-compliance with a federal motor vehicle safety standard, GM says.

Also recalled were 1,919 model year 2014 Chevrolet Spark hatchbacks “for left and right lower control arm attaching bolts that may not be tightened to specification.” This is only on certain models manufactured within a certain time period and GM says it “has informed owners to have their vehicles transported to Chevrolet dealerships,” already.

Vehicles affected: The first recall includes 2002-2004 model year Saturn VUEs. The labbelt recall includes 2013 Cadillac ATS four-door sedans and 2013 Buick Encore vehicles, while the Impala recall is for all new 2014-2015 models equipped with the front console storage compartment. A select group of 2014 Sparks are affected manufactured within a certain time.

Number of vehicles being recalled: In total, GM recalled 269,001 vehicles. The first recall covers 202,115 Vues, while the ATS and Buick Encore recall accounts for 48,059 vehicles. 14,940 Impalas are recalled, while 1,919 Sparks were affected by the manufacturing flaw. An additional 1,968 Aveos and G3s were recalled earlier today as well.

The fix: Dealers will inspect Saturn VUE keys for easy of pullout or signs of key binding, and if necessary, replace the ignition cylinder and key set for free. GM says it is “very important before exiting the vehicle for customers to make sure the vehicle is in “Park” or in the case of a manual transmission to put the transmission into reverse gear and set the parking brake,” until repairs can be made.

Dealers will replace replace both front outboard lap belt pretensioners in all 48,059 Cadillac ATS and Buick Encores. A stop sale is in effect for these unsold models at dealerships until repairs can be made.

For 2014 Spark models, GM has informed owners to have their vehicles transported to a nearby Chevrolet dealership, where they will be inspect the attaching bolts to make sure they are tightened to specification. It did not name a fix for the Impala models, however owners will likely be contacted with more information in the near future.

Contacts: Vehicles owners may search with their VIN number to see if it is involved in a recall using this website. The phone numbers for GM’s customer assistance lines can also be found at this link.