General Motors recalls 944,000 vehicles

Due to a glitch in the wiper fluid system that could cause a fire, the auto maker recalls a number of cars, trucks and SUVs.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said Friday it was recalling 944,000 vehicles because of a problem with a windshield wiper fluid system that could lead to a fire.
More than 850,000 sport utility vehicles, trucks and passenger cars in the United States and nearly 100,000 vehicles in Canada, Mexico and the Middle East are involved in the recall, the company said.
GM (GM, Fortune 500) said the recall includes the 2008 Buick Enclave; 2006-2008 Buick Lucerne; 2006-2008 Cadillac DTS; 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade; 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV; 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade EXT; 2007-2008 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban; 2007-2008 GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL; 2006-2008 Hummer H2 and 2007-2008 Saturn Outlook.
The recall involves vehicles with a heated washer fluid system. A short circuit in the system could cause electrical features to malfunction, which could lead to an odor, smoke or potentially a fire.
GM spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said there have been nine reports of fires, with three of them linked to the system. There have been no accidents or injuries connected to the defect, she said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation last February into potential engine compartment fires in 2007 Yukon and Tahoe vehicles. In June, the highway safety agency expanded its investigation into about 2.7 million 2007-2008 GM trucks and SUVs and reported allegations of 41 engine fires.
Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse to fix the problem free of charge, GM said.
For more information, owners may contact Buick at (866) 608-8080, Cadillac at (800) 982-2339, Chevrolet at (800) 630-2438, Saturn at (800) 972-8876, GMC at (866) 996-9436 or Hummer at (800) 732-5493.

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/29/autos/general_motors.ap/index.htm

Comment

The most important question about this article is whether GM was aware about this malfunction before releasing those affected cars or after. Did they maybe have a tight time schedule which didn't allow them to fix the problem with the wiper fluid system in the first place?

In case, GM was trying to hide it in order to achieve its own interests regardless what could happen to their customers, that would have been highly immoral. In the short term, they might benefit in terms of profit, but unfortunately not in the long term.
You may ask why? Because, as soon as the customer finds out about the malfunction and realizes that he or she didn't buy a flawless car, they would lose their confidence in the company which will lead to refusing their products. So, GM would not only lose customers, but profit, as well.

If GM wasn't aware about this issue, they would remain moral. Even if it might lose customers, it won't lose as much as customers as it would when telling not the truth in order to protect their customers from being harmed aside from the fact getting involved in legal actions they would get confronted with.

Oezguer (Oscar).