Nearly half of 2.59 million recalled General Motors vehicles remain unrepaired nine months after the automaker issued a recall due to faulty ignition switches.

As of Oct. 31, a total of 31 deaths have been linked to the defect, along with more in injuries. The problem is reported to prevent airbags from inflating, and interferes with breaking and steering.

Among the fatalities stemming from this was 25-year-old Brittany Alfarone, who drove a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. On Oct. 9, her vehicle crashed into a guardrail and burst into flames.

Prior to Alfarone’s accident, she and her mother Diedre Betancourt had already encountered a problematic instance where the car shut off in the middle of a major road after hitting a small bump.

“She turned the key and realized the car had completely shut off,” Betancourt told the New York Times. “Thank God we did not get hit.”

Company executives have stated multiple times that they would like for all owners of these vehicles to get fixed. The automaker has established a call center with 72 employees to reach out to car owners who have not yet made appointments to do so. Additionally, it is offering gift cards worth $25 to owners who repair their ignition switches at dealerships by Dec. 1.

However, getting vehicles repaired comes with some obstacles. When the company announced the recall in February, parts necessary to perform repairs were not available until two months later. Additionally, owners, including Betancourt, have been refused service when they attempted to get their vehicles fixed.

Betancourt told the New York Times that in one of the two attempts she made to get her car repaired, she was told her car had already been repaired.

An owner of a 2008 Chevrolet from Connecticut reported a similar story, who was told their vehicle was already fixed in May 2014.

General Motors currently has all the parts necessary to remedy affected automobiles, but more than 1 million still require fixing. James Cain, a spokesman for the automaker, said the remainder of unfixed vehicles is partly due to owners who may find it difficult to find time to schedule repairs.

Slightly more than half of the recalled vehicles have been repaired so far, but some of these owners say they still encounter ignition problems, including keys getting stuck and stalling.

More than 1,700 claims have been filed for deaths and injuries resulting in the ignition problem. As a result, General Motors has allocated $400 million and could add $200 million to the amountif necessary. Claims will be accepted until Dec. 31.

(With reports from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and The Detroit News)

(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend November 8-11, 2014 Sec. D pg.4)