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GM: Parts ready to fix SUVs
Photo
This undated file photo from General Motors Co. shows the 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer SS sport utility vehicle. General Motors, in documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators, said it will start notifying owners of 189,000 GM 2006 and 2007 model year SUVs this week that they can take their vehicles to dealers, who will replace faulty power-window switches.
Associated Press
DETROIT
For the owners of 189,000 General Motors SUVs, the days of parking them outside the garage for fear that they could catch fire will soon come to an end.
The company, in documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators, said it will start notifying customers this week that they can take their SUVs to dealers, who will replace faulty power-window switches.
The recall of SUVs, mostly from the 2006 and 2007 model years, was announced June 30, but it took more than four months to get replacement parts ready. It covers the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Isuzu Ascender and Saab 97-X, mainly in North America. It was the third recall for the same problem, but the first two didn’t work.
Water can get inside the window switch on the driver’s side, causing rust and possibly an electrical short circuit. That can cause them to overheat and catch fire, and it also can cause them to stop working or raise or lower themselves.
The problem was so serious that GM told customers to park the SUVs outside until they can be fixed, and the company ordered dealers to stop selling the SUVs as used vehicles until repairs are made. The switches could even malfunction with the vehicle parked and the key removed.
Letters that will be mailed out starting today urge customers to contact dealers as soon as possible to make a service appointment.
The work will be done for free.