And GM Makes Three

GM 2Early today, GM announced a recall of 1.5 million vehicles, becoming the third automaker to do so in recent months. The company is recalling 1,365,070 US vehicles, 98,794 in Canada, 26,228 in Mexico, and 38,093 exported vehicles. The HotShot heated windshield washer fluid system, manufactured by Micro-Heat, has been linked to five fires, with no reports of injuries or crashes.

This same issue in the HotShot system also led to a recall in August 2008. GM says that they monitored the system after the first recall, and received a report about a smoking unity in June 2009. GM withheld payments to Micro-Heat after the first recall in order to recoup costs, forcing Micro-Heat to file for bankruptcy and liquidate.

Since Micro-Heat no longer exists, GM will not be able to replace affected systems with improved designs. The company is therefore offering owners of affected vehicles $100 “for the loss of the feature, not the recall” according to Jeff Boyer, Executive Director of Safety for GM.

Affected models include:

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

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

2008-2009 model year Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS

2009 Chevrolet Traverse

Owners of affected models should contact their dealership who will inspect the module in the vehicle and replace if necessary.

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