General Motors has issued another recall regarding cars and trucks that can leak oil and catch fire. This defect has led to garage and home damage in some cases.
The recall includes 1.4 million vehicles dating to the 1997 model year. The first two recalls designed to address this problem didn’t work, and 1,300 cars caught fire. The first two recalls occurred in 2008 and 2009, and GM told owners to park their cars outside until the repairs were completed.
The recall is related to a faulty valve cover gasket that degrades over time, causing oil to leak. That oil drips onto the exhaust manifold, which generates heat, and catches fire. The fire usual spreads to the plastic spark plug wire channel and then the rest of the engine.
Since 2007, GM has reported 19 minor related injuries. The next year, GM announced that the cars caused 267 fires, including 17 that caused structural damage to dwellings.
“Companies have a responsibility to alert consumers of defects and to fix the problems it is aware of,” according to Peter J. Mougey, head of Levin, Papantonio’s Business & Securities Litigation Section.
For more on this story, visit AP “GM recalling 1.4M cars; oil leaks can cause engine fires”
