US Worried About Cars Being Recalled

The citizens of the US have raised questions about safety standards when 8.2 million vehicles were called back for faulty ignition switches by automobile giant GM. They have now issued five recalls for nearly 17 million cars across North America. The recalls are for vehicles across all models from 1997 onwards.

Further questions were raised when Chrysler recalled nearly 700,000 cars on the same day for exactly the same trouble. Chrysler had recalled vehicles in 2010, which included Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Grand Caravan minivans and Dodge Journey crossovers. Chrysler has now included the models from 2007 and 2009 in the recall.

GM and Chrysler are experiencing similar trouble, where the ignition switch jumps to accessory mode while the vehicle is running. This issue made other manufacturers investigate their switches as well.

A senior industry analyst, Karl Brauer, who works with Kelley Blue Book, says this ignition switch issue might not affect the automobile industry because every manufacturer uses their own brand and use different switches. Brauer says there could be a possibility though. He also says the government is taking a look at this issue as well.

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Brauer adds that this is a major issue because if the ignition jumps to the accessory mode, it will kill the engine, the power steering will stop working, the power brakes as well and could result in a fatal accident if the vehicle is moving at high speeds.

GM is already aware of accidents where three died, eight were injured and seven crashed. However, there is no evidence that the faulty ignition switch was the cause. But the airbags did not deploy in three fatal accidents, which could be a sign that the ignition was the culprit. Then again, airbags may not deploy for other reasons as well.

Lance Cooper, an attorney from Georgia, who is suing GM, expects even more recalls. He also said GM has a very dysfunctional corporate culture, where nobody takes responsibility.

This issue drew the attention of the government's road safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency has started two separate investigations on June 18th regarding this problem.
The agency is figuring out how long the airbags stay active when the ignition switch is in accessory mode after run mode. In many cases, the result was a shocking - merely a second.

GM's recalls till Monday were a staggering 40 million. The company said they would pay the victims of car crashes some compensation. The lawyers say that more than 100 people have lost their lives so far with hundreds more injured. GM claim that they don't have a figure for the loss of lives.

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