GM Recalls 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S.

After Toyota, it is GM’s turn. One of the big three automakers of the U.S, GM recalled 1.3 million vehicles including 2005-10 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2005-06 Pontiac 4s, 2005-07 Pontiac G5s and 2005-06 Pontiac Pursuits, over potential power steering failures. GM officials said that the problem was related to fourteen accidents and one injury.

Except the Pontiac 4 and the Pontiac Purusit, which were sold in Mexico and Canada, the other cars were sold in the U.S. GM blamed one of its supplier for the fault which is partially owned by Toyota Motor. The received parts did not meet the necessary requirements of GM. Due to the problem, drivers need to give extra effort while trying to steer the above mentioned models in some circumstances. GM claimed that the cars are still safe to drive. Wallet Pop.com reports:

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation on Jan. 27 into about 905,000 Cobalt models after logging more than 1,100 complaints of power steering failures. GM said in a statement those vehicles can be still be "safely controlled" but may require greater steering effort under 15 mph. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails.

GM says it is trying to fix the problem and will notify customers when it has a plan of action.

GM spokesman, Alan Adler, said that it would take time for the automaker to get 1.3 million new power steering motors from their supplier JTEKT Corp. GM would notify car owners when the parts are available. The automaker will fix older models first. GM will also have to repair thousands of cars on dealer lots before they could be sold.

Earlier, Toyota, another top automaker in the U.S. recalled 8.5 million vehicles on various issues including accelerator and brakes. On March 2, 2010, Toyota officials were scheduled to appear before the congressional committee to answer questions about the recalls.