General Motors issued a recall of many of its cars due to a significant GM power steering defect, and some consumers are now coming forward with lawsuits against the company for its part in the danger.

In fact, General Motors CEO Mary Barra may actually have been aware of the GM power steering defect in these cars as early as 2011, when Barra received an email about the issue in cars later recalled during the 2014 recall. The email was released through a House Energy and Commerce Committee investigation.

The GM power steering defect recall was issued on March 31, 2014, citing “sudden loss of electric power steering assist.” The recall affected a total of 1.3 million vehicles. Tens of thousands more have been added to the recall since.

Vehicles Affected by GM Power Steering Defect and Recall

The initial GM power steering defect recall involved a number of vehicles including the Saturn Ion, Saturn Aura, Chevy HHR, and Chevy Cobalt.

So what exactly happened to warrant this GM power steering defect recall? According to that initial announcement, the electric power steering (EPS) systems in these vehicles is defective and may fail at any given time while a person is driving, placing the driver, passengers, and others in danger.

The initial GM power steering defect recall has since been updated to include even more vehicles.

The EPS capabilities have had a variety of problems, which have called for different fixes. GM has replaced the EPS motor, the EPS motor controller, or the torque sensor depending on the model of the vehicle affected. In this new addition to the recall, the torque sensor is the root of the problem.

Other Major GM Recalls

One other GM recall came after an ignition switch defect, which causes engines to turn off when the ignition turns from on to off. According to customers, this is a dangerous defect, since it can be triggered simply by bumping the keys when they are in the ignition.

The GM airbag recall applies to two airbag defects. The first is a problem with a side-impact airbag, which prevents these airbags from deploying due to a wiring harness problem. The second airbag problem is with the frontal airbag software, which may prevent the frontal airbags from deploying in a crash.

Filing a GM Power Steering Defect Lawsuit

The GM power steering defect, which causes the power steering to suddenly fail during use, has been the cause of a recall of over 1.3 million vehicles. As knowledge of the GM power steering recall and other defects spreads, some vehicle owners allege that GM failed to recall its vehicles over defects in a timely manner.  Lawsuits claim that the company covered up ignition, airbag, and power steering defects in dozens of GM models, placing customers at significant risk.

If you own a GM vehicle that has been in a car accident because of the ignition switch engine shut-off defect, the two airbag non-deployment defects, or the GM power steering defect, you may qualify to file a GM recall defect lawsuit.