GM issues 3rd recall on SUVs that can catch fire

Associated Press

General Motors’ troubles with safety recalls has surfaced in another case, this time with the company recalling a group of SUVs for a third time to fix power-window switches that can catch fire.

The problem, revealed in documents posted by federal safety regulators this week, is so serious that GM is telling customers to park the SUVs outdoors until they are repaired because they could catch fire when left unattended.

The vehicles will be left outside for a while. Parts won’t be ready until October at the earliest, according to GM. The automaker also has ordered its dealers to stop selling the SUVs as used cars until they are fixed.

The recall covers about 189,000 vehicles in North America, mainly from the 2006 and 2007 model-years. Models affected include the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Isuzu Ascender and Saab 97-X. The recall was one of six announced by GM on June 30 that covered 7.6 million vehicles.

The SUV problem first appeared early in 2012 when NHTSA began investigating consumer complaints of fires in the driver’s-door switches that control power windows.

At first, GM tried to address the issue with a “service campaign,” in which it sent letters to owners telling them that water can find its way into the switches, causing rust that can result in short circuits, overheating and possibly fires. The campaign, which wasn’t a recall, extended the warranty and offered service only to vehicles that exhibited the problems. It was limited to 20 states and Washington, D.C., where salt is used to clear roads in the winter.

But in August 2012, under government pressure, GM recalled 278,000 of the SUVs in the cold-weather states and offered extended warranties to the rest of the country. NHTSA kept investigating, and 10 months later, GM expanded the recall nationwide.

The fix used by GM last year was to put a protective coating around the window- switch circuit boards, which is less costly than replacing the switches. But starting this April, GM received complaints that the switches malfunctioned in SUVs that had been repaired. So in June, it decided to do the third recall and replace all of the switches.

Letters notifying owners about the SUV recall should be mailed soon. Owners will get a second letter sometime from October to December telling them when parts are available to fix the vehicles.