Cars and Drivers

GM Crushed by New 2.7 Million-Car Recall

2014-Chevrolet-Cruze
General Motors Co.
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) issued five new recall notices Thursday morning, affecting some 2.7 vehicles. The share price dipped about 1% on the announcement.

GM said it would take a charge of up to approximately $200 million in the second quarter, most of which is due to recall-related repairs.

According to GM, the following vehicles are affected by the recalls:

  • 2,440,524 older passenger cars to modify the brake light wiring harness
  • 111,889 older Chevrolet Corvettes for loss of low-beam headlights
  • 140,067 Chevrolet Malibus from the 2014 model year for hydraulic brake booster malfunctions
  • 19,225 Cadillac CTS 2013-2014 models for windshield wiper failures
  • 477 full-size trucks from the 2014 and 2015 model years for a tie-rod defect that can lead to a crash

The company said it was aware of several hundred complaints related to the brake light failure in older models of the Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura. There have been 13 crashes related to the issue and two injuries but no fatalities. GM said it issued a safety bulletin on the problem in 2008 and conducted a safety campaign for a “small population” of 2005 model year cars in January of 2009.

There were also “several hundred” complaints related to the 2005 to 2007 model year Corvettes that have been recalled, but no crashes, injuries or fatalities have been reported.

The 2014 Chevy Malibu recall is related to vehicles with the 2.5-liter engine and the company’s start/stop technology. GM is aware of four crashes but no injuries or deaths.

The Cadillac recall is related to the windshield wiper system, which may be inoperable after the car is jump-started with the wipers active. There have been no reported accidents related to this issue.

The truck recall applies to a relative handful of Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and Chevy Tahoe SUVs. The tie rods may not be properly tightened, which could allow them to separate from the steering rack and cause a crash. There have been no reports from customers, and the issue was discovered and corrected at the factory after only a few vehicles had been released.

GM’s shares traded down about 0.9%, at $34.61 in a 52-week range of $31.13 to $41.85.

READ MORE: GM Recalls Not Affecting Shoppers

Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts

Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.

It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.

We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today.  Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.

 

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.