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GM’s Latest Problem: 7 Crashes Linked to Faulty Wiring

What with bankruptcy, falling profits, a wildly unpopular advertising campaign, and the “exploding battery” investigation, it seems like General Motors can’t catch a break. And it looks like they’re going to add another “woe” to their list.

Federal safety regulators are investigating problems with the automatic shift levers on several GM cars. The probe was prompted by seven crashes thought to be connected to the faulty shift levers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on its website Monday that the probe began with complaints about the Saturn Aura midsize car from the 2007 and 2008 model years. This would mean that the problem would affect nearly 89,000 vehicles.

The agency also said it is checking to see if the problems extend to other GM vehicles. The Chevrolet Malibu from the 2004 to 2008 model years and the Pontiac G6 from the 2005 to 2008 model years have similar shifting systems, the agency said in documents filed on its website.

NHTSA said the protective jacket around cables connecting the floor shift lever to the transmission can deteriorate, exposing the cables to the elements. Cables can corrode and weaken, and the shift lever position may not match the car’s gear. That means a driver could put the car in park but the transmission could be in drive or reverse. In some cases, the car may not shift at all.

However, it should be pointed out that the wires on these models are only 5-7 years old. Could they really fall apart that quickly?

NHTSA has received three reports of crashes because of the wiring problem, while GM received four, with one person hurt. In that crash, the driver put the gearshift in park, got out of the car, and was hit when the car unexpectedly rolled backward, reports the Associated Press.

In another case, a driver put the car in park, but the transmission stayed in reverse. “When the driver exited with the engine running, the vehicle continued (accelerated) in reverse and struck a building,” NHTSA said.

GM told NHTSA that the problem affects mainly models with four-speed transmissions, but not six-speed transmissions.

NHTSA said it has upgraded the investigation to an analysis that will check how many times the cables have failed, the consequences “and the scope of vehicles that may be affected, including the models, model years and transmission types.”

This seems like a continuation of a headache for GM. Recall that in March of 2009, the manufacturer had to recall about 277,000 Buick Enclaves, Chevrolet Cobalts, HHRs, Malibus, Traverses, GMC Acadias, Pontiac G5s, G6s, Saturn Aura, and Outlooks for a similar shift lever problem.

Those, too, were painful lessons to learn from.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Comments (59)

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  • olsparkee
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 9:44am

    Get real people. This affects a handfull of cars out of hundreds of thousands. Every car sold has faults, don’t over react.

    Report Post » olsparkee  
    • turkey13
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 10:01am

      GM couldn’t help it that they had to cut funds in engineering to promote the 1.6 $$ billion dollar Indy racing program. Yes – that is correct the Honda racing motors will be dumped in favor of Chevrolet motors in 2012. GM had to cut every Dept budget to come up with the money for all forms of racing to celebrat 100 years of Chevrolet. Some cars may even have to leave the factory witout rear brakes. Some Chevy Volts may have the gasoline motor wirhout the electric motor and wireing. With the batterys catching fire this may be a blessing.

      Report Post »  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 11:10am

      Thank GOD they don’t build flying cars!

      I’ll never buy another GM product. Granted, I only have another 20 – 30 or so years left on this marble, but I’m self taught. I can learn a lesson. Not like those public school morons.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • KwikKarl
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 12:50pm

      You mean like parading car company owners in front of Congress and beating them down, demanding they fall on their own sword, all this as to only drive down their sales so that a government owned scam can try and stay above water?

      Report Post » KwikKarl  
    • JMorcan
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 1:25pm

      Are these parts made in China?

      Report Post » JMorcan  
    • NI6HTHAWK
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 10:03pm

      Not a GM guy but this is more than likely a supplier issue not an issue with GM or its employees. GM more than likely doesn’t manufacture the shifter cables they are likely sourced from the lowest bidder that can meet specs. This is a shifter cable issue, not a wiring problem. The shifter cable is usually a braided steel cable wrapped in a plastic sleeve. The plastic sleeve is what deteriorates and exposes the cable to the elements causing corrosion due to the heavy use of road salt in the northern states.

      The question is if any of the 2008 or later affected vehicles are part of the “Old GM” will they still be covered under the 3/36 warranty by the “New GM” for this problem?

      Report Post »  
  • Bare Rock
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 9:41am

    Also faulty tranmissions in the 2003 GMC truck line. Cheap parts according to the transmission shop

    Report Post »  
  • BannedByHuffpo
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 9:33am

    Anyone wonder why I drive ad F-150 and a Mustang?

    Report Post » BannedByHuffpo  
  • EqualJustice
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:53am

    How about the LITHIUM batteries in those so called HYBRIDS? haha they CATCH FIRE after supposedly minumum use? HOW IS THAT energy efficient?

    Report Post » EqualJustice  
    • Hoosierron
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 1:52pm

      “Hybrid” vehicles sold in the US, like the Fusion hybrid and Prius, use nickel metal hydride batteries, not lithium ion batteries. The Sonata uses lithium polymer. I am not aware of a single fire involving the Sonata hybrid.

      Report Post »  
  • discus02
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:32am

    I think the Toyota investigation was a scam. GM what is new same old crap!

    Report Post »  
  • the point
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:18am

    Can anyone name just one government program that has worked the way it is suppose to work , or cost the taxpayers what it was originally projected to cost?? GM, Government Motors included.

    Report Post »  
    • mikem1969
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:29am

      My point is this, unions always lower the quality of anything they have a hand in producing.

      Report Post »  
    • smithclar3nc3
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:56am

      mike1969,
      You’re right union protection allows substandard employee to continue to put out substandard work.
      In a right to work business if you put out substandard or less than quality work you get warned,wrote up,and then fired. Unions and the government sponsered enterprise NLRB are TWO of the biggest reason companies are leaving America. Opening plants in europe,india,china,mexico just to get away from the Unions and government backed agency stopping them from moving plants to right to work states.

      Report Post »  
  • lukerw
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:04am

    Sue Obama!

    Report Post » lukerw  
  • toomuchgovt
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:44am

    Obama‘s comment on Lazy America’s must have been targeted towards the Unions. After all these are the only workers he has really put any “stock” into, and look at the product they turn out. The unions have destroyed the American classics. What a shame.

    Report Post » toomuchgovt  
  • jerryod1627
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:41am

    Made in America, by union drunks and dope heads, what do you expect?

    Report Post »  
  • Mjolner
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:41am

    I guess that’s what happens when so many UAW workers go and get high and or drunk at lunch. I’ve also been hearing rumors that GM is in financial trouble again. After the royal screwing that bobo and GM gave the US taxpayers, I say let the UAW keep them afloat this time.

    Report Post »  
    • drybackinpi
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:14am

      Just so you know, the UAW is exactly who got bailed out last time. The money all went back to the union pension fund. Nearly all the so called stimulis money has gone to various communist run unions that have gone broke due to graft and unsustainable health care and pension funds. What collective did you think “collective bargaining” was about?

      Report Post » drybackinpi  
  • searching for the Truth
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:17am

    Have you ever pulled out of a shopping mall and before entering the main road, after looking both ways, and only seeing one vehicle heading your way “ one block away ” – you think you are safely pulling out on the street you hear someone aggressively blowing their horn behind you ?

    Report Post »  
  • PingPongPing
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:13am

    I CANT believe oBAMA Bailed them out using our TAXPAYER DOLLARS!!!
    They should have gone bankrupt, but NOOOOOOO…. Union buddies are giving to his campaign, so HE’s gOTTA bail them out somehow…

    typical example of Friends with Benefits….ewww. It makes me sick just thinking about it….

    Report Post » PingPongPing  
    • Delta D-5-3
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:18am

      Wasn’t the great YUGO also a government vehicle??? Congratulations GM. You lost me as a customer about 3 years ago. After you closed a local GM dealership that was PROFITABLE, you lost me as a loyal customer. Idiots……….

      Report Post » Delta D-5-3  
  • arfarb55
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:08am

    GM…government motors…expect anything different?

    Report Post » arfarb55  
  • GeorgeWashingtonslept here
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:54am

    It‘s Toyota’s fault.! (((( ))))) or maybe it‘s really Bush’s???

    Report Post »  
  • 80mesh
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:40am

    look for the union label …… under the ashes

    Report Post » 80mesh  
  • AJAYW
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:39am

    Government Motors- is controlled by the unions and union workers are the most unproductive, lazy, poorest worksmenship and could care less about the product that they work on. Go around their plants check out the bars durning lunch time they are full of these fools who drink and go back to work. Also check out union members on job injury rates VS non union employees. I wouldn’t let a contractor that is a union company on my property,

    Report Post »  
  • ImaCountess
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:28am

    I will never buy a car built by union workers…ever! Union members are thugs and so are their owners (leaders).

    Report Post »  
    • MR_ANDERSON
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:58am

      Really, what will you drive? Maybe the car is not union, but…

      Who sold you the car, a union?
      Who made the parts that go into the car like the engine?
      Who produced the metal that makes up the frame of the car?
      Who drilled/refined the gas that you pump into the car?
      Who built the roads that you drive on?

      I don’t like unions, but you can’t live your life refusing everything union. Additionally, not all unions are bad, but know which ones are good and provide business to the companies that use those unions.

      Report Post »  
  • rangerp
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:22am

    GM=Government Motors. They took money from the devil, now they owe their soul to him.

    At one time, GM was the crown jewel of capitalism. The head of GM was more powerful than many heads of state. To have Obama replace the CEO was a symbolic move by democrats/libs/socialists/progressives to show that they and their minions (the unions) had destroyed capitalism.

    Report Post » rangerp  
  • Apple Bite
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 5:48am

    GM with electrical problems? You don’t say….
    Ask any Cadillac owner in the last 2 decades how electrical problems end up emptying their pockets over time. Bad trunk latches. Window gears shorting out in the down position. Engines revving high thanks to stuck throttle sensors….

    Report Post » Apple Bite  
  • GaryInTheMiddle
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 4:49am

    Ford forever!

    Report Post » GaryInTheMiddle  
    • RabidPatriot
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 5:09am

      I doubt the media will do the conspired character assassination that they did to Toyota a few years ago. Govt. motors will get the gentle Obama treatment. Dishonesty through omission.

      Report Post » RabidPatriot  
  • TheBurningTruth
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 4:39am

    Let’s see… Our useless showboating Congress dragged the CEO of Toyota to DC and rudely grilled him over all the Toyota problems in 2010. President Marxist had NASA take valuable time from their Muslim outreach program to check the computer code on Toyota cars. In the end, NOTHING was found, and the unintended acceleration problems were traced to operator error.

    So, it Congress going to drag in the CEO of Govt Motors and grill him? Or would it be gosh to suggest that President Marxist and the Demoncrats were using Toyota’s problems to smear them?

    Truth is that I won’t buy American anymore since I learned that Ford and GM spend the first $1500 to $2500 to pay for retirement and medical benefits for RETIRED workers. How can they possibly be competitive when 10% to 20% of the purchase price goes to things OTHER than building the car? Well, that explains why Ford put in an ESCORT transmission in the first 3 years of the original Ford Exploder; save money to pay for retired benefits! I had my tranny rebuilt FOUR times in 160k miles for a total cost of almost $7000!

    Report Post » TheBurningTruth  
    • DELTAJOHN
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 5:46am

      You are a fool, there is no conceivable way a transverse mounted, FWD Escort transmission will fit in a RWD, rear facing engine vehicle. And BTW, if you maintained that auto tranny, it might have lasted. The auto trans is the least maintained piece of any car, most folks get in, push the pedal and go, and complain why they break! Our ‘95 Crown Victoria had 200K on it when we sold it, with a perfect functioning transmission. I personally changed the fluid and filter every 30K miles. Gee if you maintain it, it might last, wow, there is a concept!

      Report Post » DELTAJOHN  
    • Slipstick
      Posted on November 15, 2011 at 7:26am

      @Burning: I worked for both GM and Ford during my 30 year career as a transmission engineer. Both companies have their problems. I do not live high on the hog with MY retirement benefits, and the healthcare package we retirees have left after the hostile takeover by DC sucks.

      IMHO, you are correct about the Toyota accel problem. I have driven two of them (different models) quite often, recently. Both exhibit the accel problem, and (for me) it happens because of the placement of the brake and gas pedals. You can press both simultaneously when doing a heel-n-toe switch to the brake. Lo, the car goes faster the harder you press on the brake! My GM car doesn’t have the problem. The pedal locations are quite different.

      Regards your tranny troubles, DeltaJohn has a point. Keeping fluids changed is the secret to a relatively long life with a Ford trans. On the flip side, some Ford models would not make 50k without at least one oil change. GM trannys (at least the ones I worked with) will go 150k on the original oil, if not abused or overheated. It wasn’t a recommended practice, but the design(s) were strong enough to be user-proof for a much longer time than ‘the competition.’

      Report Post » Slipstick  
  • brian8793
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 2:50am

    Looks like another great “Obama-investment”

    Government Motors is garbage.

    Report Post » brian8793  
  • USANUMBERONE
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 2:42am

    I always buy Ford

    Report Post »  
  • UrbanCombatSurvivor
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 2:02am

    Nothing to see here, move along. Russian made cars were spectacular and reliable as well. Government made vehicles are always the best, safest and most desirable.

    Report Post »  
  • Darren
    Posted on November 15, 2011 at 12:52am

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/business/economy/21toyota.html

    Will government crackdown on a government-owne company if GM is “just as much to blame” as Toyota was?

    Report Post » Darren  
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