Automaker General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) has issued a recall notice for nearly 780,000 compact cars following 22 reported crashes in which six people died when the cars’ airbags failed to inflate. The cars involved are Chevrolet Cobalt and the Pontiac G5 models manufactured between 2005 and 2007. Both cars are now out of production.

The problem is that the weight of the key ring, perhaps coupled with road conditions, may cause the ignition switch to be jarred from the “run” position, turning off the engine and shutting down the car’s electrical power, which causes the airbags to fail to deploy.

A company spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that GM is aware of five frontal-impact crashes and six front-seat fatalities where the airbags did not deploy. All the crashes occurred on rough roads and at high speeds, “where the probability of serious or fatal injuries was high regardless of airbag deployment.”

Alcohol use and failure to wear seat belts were factors in some of the crashes, and GM acknowledges 17 other crashes in which airbags did not deploy. The company is admitting the switch is faulty, but it is not admitting that it is either solely or partly responsible for the fatalities. That will very likely be decided in court.

GM dealers will replace the ignition switch in the recalled cars, and the company says that owners of the cars should remove “non-essential” items from their key rings until the fix is completed.

Of the 780,000 affected cars, nearly 620,000 were sold in the United States, 153,000 in Canada and 6,000 in Mexico. The ignition switches were manufactured in Mexico, and GM said that their torque performance may not meet the company’s specification.

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