General Motors (GM) has recently issued a recall for nearly 69,000 of its vehicles due to the risk of the vehicles unexpectedly rolling away. This recall applies to almost 55,000 vehicles in the United States and another 14,000 in Mexico, Canada, and other parts of the globe.
Included in the recall are the 2013 models of the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado, Avalanche, and Express. The recall also includes the GMC Sierra, Savana, Yukon, and the Cadillac Escalade.
According to GM, the vehicles may have been built with “faulty part lock cables or malformed steering column lock gears.” This allows the vehicles to be shifted from park with the ignition in the off position or even with the key removed. GM believes that this problem only affects one out of each of the 1,000 vehicles it has manufactured. In fact, GM says that most of the affected vehicles have not yet been sold.
As of this date, General Motors says that it has no knowledge of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem. Nevertheless, the underlying defect that caused this massive recall is one that could be deadly for those in or around the vehicle should the defect manifest and the vehicle begins to roll. If you have one of the affected models, you need to take the vehicle into the dealership immediately to determine if the defect is present in your particular vehicle. According to GM, affected auto owners can have the steering column replaced at no cost to the owner at dealerships.
If you or someone you know have been injured by a defective vehicle, contact the attorneys at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or 713-222-7211.