General Motors appears to be acting true to its word. Earlier this summer, it pledged to be more proactive in addressing defects in its vehicles. This comes after the embattled automaker paid a $35 million civil penalty for reportedly failing to properly address a lingering issue involving an ignition switch issue that could render a car powerless.
Essentially, the weight of a keychain could cause the key to inadvertently go from “run” to “stop” which could shut off the engine, disable power steering and cause airbags to fail if the car crashes. This defect has led to more than 20 crashes and six deaths. Overall, the recall affected more than 2 million vehicles.
Against that backdrop, GM has now announced a recall involving the Cadillac XTS for the 2013 through 2015 model years, as well as the Chevrolet Impala for the 2014 and 2015 model years. The problem facing these vehicles is a defect involving the electric parking brake. According to a USA Today report, the brake could potentially still be engaged even after the driver disengages it. When this occurs, the brake could grind against the rotor and create enough friction to cause a fire, which would be a significant hazard to the driver and other occupants.
The recall is expected to affect 221,558 Cadillacs and Chevys sold in the United States and Canada.
More importantly, GM’s actions could help it avoid the legal issues that could come about if the company failed to address them. GM reports that no accidents or injuries have occurred as a result of the defect as of yet. Hopefully this will continue.