Court statements have revealed General Motors had prior knowledge of ignition problems that the company's vehicles have been experiencing since 2004.
GM has issued a recall of about 780,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s after engine shutdowns and six crash deaths occurred due to malfunctioning ignition switches, according to Jalopnik.
GM knew in 2004 of the problem its Chevrolet Cobalt had with its ignition switch, USA Today reported. The switch could accidently shut off the engine while driving, and the stall would cut off the driver's brakes, power steering, air-bags and anti-lock brakes.
GM engineers began experiencing problems with the vehicle in 2004, when it went on sale as a 2005 model. One of the six deaths from the Cobalt crashes took place in 2010, when pediatric nurse Brooke Melton died in a crash in a Cobalt she bought in 2005, according to USA Today.
GM sent a technical service bulletin to engineers in 2005 after creating a snap-on key cover to try to solve the ignition issue, and told dealers to install the cover for customers who complained. However, Melton did not receive a cover, and the cars were not recalled for mandatory fix until recently.
In 2006, GM sent a technical service bulletin to dealers warning about the ignition problem serious enough that a heavy key chain hanging from the ignition could turn off the engine on six models, The New York Times reported. However, only two of those models were covered in the recent recall, and GM is now saying the issue can keep air bags from deploying in a crash.
GM spokesman Alan Adler responded to questions of why the vehicles were not recalled earlier, according to The New York Times.
"GM has devoted significant time and resources to evaluate this issue, and has concluded that the 2005-7 Chevrolet Cobalt and the 2007 G5 should be recalled," Adler said.
Joan Claybrook, former chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), stated her disgust with GM's prior knowledge of the safety issues, The New York Times reported.
"This defect is not rocket science," Claybrook said. "General Motors and its executives should be fined the maximum penalties under civil and criminal law for their reckless disregard to the safety of their customers."
