R-34
11-03-2003, 09:52 PM
General Motors Corp. faces a safety investigation and potential recall of 2 million of its 1999 to 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks, the automaker's top-selling vehicle, because of tailgate cable failures.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it received 16 complaints, including five injuries, that cables holding the tailgate in place broke. The injuries occurred when a person was standing or sitting on the tailgate or when cables failed during cargo loading, the agency said on its Web site.
Some Ford Motor Co. vehicles also are being investigated.
GM sold 652,646 Silverados in the United States last year. The preliminary investigation on the pickup is the first step in NHTSA's review process, which can lead to a recall or a finding of no defect.
"We just found out about this investigation and we are beginning to look into it," said GM spokesman Bill Kemp, who added that he didn't know whether the company had received similar complaints. "We are cooperating fully."
After getting information from the automaker, NHTSA can upgrade the review to an engineering analysis or close the investigation because no defect was found. About one in four inquiries reach the second step, and more than 70 percent of engineering analyses result in recalls.
The U.S. agency also is investigating 444,000 of Ford Motor Co.'s Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans from the 2000 and 2001 model years for problems with a brake-light switch that led to a recall in 2001. NHTSA said it received at least 11 complaints that involving vehicles that weren't in the recall.
The agency said it will evaluate the effectiveness of the recall, which involved 157,000 cars.
Glenn Ray, a spokesman for Ford, said the automaker "is cooperating fully with the agency and we are discussing next steps. We received this new inquiry from NHTSA late last week and are now reviewing the agency's data in order to make the best decision about how to proceed."
freep.com
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it received 16 complaints, including five injuries, that cables holding the tailgate in place broke. The injuries occurred when a person was standing or sitting on the tailgate or when cables failed during cargo loading, the agency said on its Web site.
Some Ford Motor Co. vehicles also are being investigated.
GM sold 652,646 Silverados in the United States last year. The preliminary investigation on the pickup is the first step in NHTSA's review process, which can lead to a recall or a finding of no defect.
"We just found out about this investigation and we are beginning to look into it," said GM spokesman Bill Kemp, who added that he didn't know whether the company had received similar complaints. "We are cooperating fully."
After getting information from the automaker, NHTSA can upgrade the review to an engineering analysis or close the investigation because no defect was found. About one in four inquiries reach the second step, and more than 70 percent of engineering analyses result in recalls.
The U.S. agency also is investigating 444,000 of Ford Motor Co.'s Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans from the 2000 and 2001 model years for problems with a brake-light switch that led to a recall in 2001. NHTSA said it received at least 11 complaints that involving vehicles that weren't in the recall.
The agency said it will evaluate the effectiveness of the recall, which involved 157,000 cars.
Glenn Ray, a spokesman for Ford, said the automaker "is cooperating fully with the agency and we are discussing next steps. We received this new inquiry from NHTSA late last week and are now reviewing the agency's data in order to make the best decision about how to proceed."
freep.com