GM recalls 4,75,000 units of Chevrolet Cruze in US and Canada

Chevrolet Cruze - FrontView

General Motors of friday last-week, said it was recalling 4,75,000 units of Chevrolet Cruze manufactured between September 2010 and May 2012 in the US and Canada to modify parts that could cause fire in the engine compartment.

A Chevrolet Cruze chassis was welded in an assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in July 2011. The safety recall was one of two announced by GM on the Cruze, the automaker’s second-best-selling car in the USs and a symbol of the company’s comeback from its government-backed bankruptcy in 2009.

The company said it knew of no crashes, injuries or deaths as a result of the fires. Although earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received reports of two instances of fire in the 2011 Cruze model while one was in the 2012 model of Chevrolet Cruze.

In addition to this enormous count, GM has also recalled 61,000 Cruze which are covered in another recall, of which 249 have welds missing from the brackets that hold the tanks. In cases of severe accidents the tanks could come lose and become cause of fires.

Around the same time when Cruze was launched, eight other models were launched of which only two other models have been recalled, the Mini Countryman and Mitsubishi Outlander.

Chevrolet Cruze - RearView

GM said the Cruze fires had primarily been caused by improper oil changes. When oil drips onto the plastic shields, the parts can ignite and spread fire through the engine compartment. Owners will be receiving recall notices by mid-July and will be asked to bring in their vehicles to fix the problem which may take just half an hour to rectify.

There has been no recalls for the Chevy Cruze in Asia. Meanwhile, the 2013 Cruze has been unveiled in Korea, while on the other GM India is gearing up for the launch of the 2012 upgraded Cruze which is slated to be on 27th June in India with a engine upgrade delivering higher performance.

 

Also see – New Chevrolet Cruze facelift will look like!