As Recalls Mount, Lawmakers Will Have Plenty to Ask GM Boss
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — General Motors CEO Mary Barra is expected to face intense questioning during congressional hearings Tuesday regarding the automaker’s recall of 4.8 million vehicles since last month for various problems.
In particular, lawmakers will want to know why GM waited a decade to recall 2.6 million cars with potentially faulty ignition switches that can make the vehicle turn off, deactivating the air bags in the event of a crash.
GM has attributed 13 deaths to the defect, which the company reportedly knew about as far back as 2003.
Late last week, GM expanded its recall of small cars to replace the ignition switch by 824,000. It’s now expected the company will need until October to fix all the switches.
Separately last Friday, the automaker also recalled 490,000 late-model pickup trucks and SUVs due to problems with transmission oil cooling lines as well as 172,000 2013 and 2014 Chevrolet Cruze compacts because of axle shafts that might fracture during driving.
The total of 4.8 million recalls in 2014 is two million more vehicles than were sold by GM in 2013.
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