GM's faulty windshield wiper prompts 1.5mn vehicle recall

The move by the company is aimed at addressing problems related to the heated washer fluid system that could short circuit and cause fire.

Confirming the recall, GM said in a statement that only a few problems have been reported so far but the company is calling back vehicles to ensure that “customers can count on the safety and quality of their GM vehicle.”

So far only 5 cases of fire caused by heated windshield wipe fluid system have been reported. But there have been no incident of injury or crash.

Models affected
The recall by the automaker will include several cars, SUVs, pickups, and crossovers manufactured from 2006 to 2009.

The 15 GM models affected by the recall are:

- the 2006-2009 model year Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, Hummer H2

- the 2008-2009 model year Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS

- the 2007-2009 model year Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Acadia, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Saturn Outlook

- 2009 model year Chevrolet Traverse.

Most of the vehicles being recalled are in United States, 1,365,070, followed by Canada, 98,794, and Mexico, 26,228.

The latest recalls seems to indicate that the automakers in the nation have come under intense pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address all safety concerns via recalls rather than other informal measures.

Reimbursing customers
Addressing the safety concerns, GM said that it will remove heated washer fluid system module that pose risk to its customers. Instead, the dealers will reroute washer fluid hoses.

For disabling the heated washer fluid system, the company will make voluntary payment of $100 to each car owner affected by the recall.

The GM owners are expected to receive recall letter this month, the company confirmed.

Recalls this year
Tough GM has recalled nearly 3 million vehicles this year, it is very small compared to the vehicles called back by Toyota.

The beleaguered Japanese automaker has so far recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles worldwide due to problems of faulty accelerator pedals, which led the cars to accelerate unexpectedly.

The latest recalls seems to indicate that the automakers in the nation have come under intense pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address all safety concerns via recalls rather than other informal measures.

The move by GM comes a day after Chrysler Group LLC announced recall of 680,000 vehicles in the nation due to problem in the electrical system that could lead to fire in the latch for the sliding door.