Year 2013 GM Rollaway Vehicle Recall

A long list of recalled General Motor vehicles was released on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. It stated that those vehicles are at risk to have a manufacturing defect that can cause them to roll away at an unprecedented time. A defect like this can cause the destruction of property and possible injury or death.

Stamped with a report receipt date of Jan 02, 2013 the recall includes all 2013 GM models: Cadillac’s Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet’s Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC’s Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL. The vehicles were manufactured from November 7, 2012 through December 18, 2012.

The government auto safety agency stated that the auto manufacturer failed to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102 “Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect,” and FMVSS No. 114, “Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention.” This is partly because while at the manufacturing plant, the vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.

Consequently the vehicles may shift from the Park position with the ignition key removed or the key in the OFF position. Also, the vehicle could shift out of the Park position without the application of the brake pedal while the key is turned to the off position. Facing any of these instances, the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle.

A roll away vehicle could encounter various scenarios, amongst them the possibility of a crash, which is one of the major reasons why the vehicle is being recalled. Property could be damaged and people could get injured or in more serious situations, killed.

To rectify the situation GM has alleged to contact owners of the vehicles, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column if it is necessary – free of charge. So if you own one of these vehicles make sure that you contact a dealer to ensure the problem is taken care of by their mechanics. Otherwise, expect to have unwarned accidents.

If you’ve been injured in by a roll away GM vehicle, contact a car accident attorney today. You may be eligible to receive compensation to pay for damages and loss wages. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so don’t delay.

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