Pontiac Recalls Address Faulty Ignition Switches, Power Steering

Owners of certain model years of Pontiac G5, G6 and Solstice vehicles stand to gain from knowing about a few recent Pontiac recalls.

Ignition Flaw Triggers Broad Recall

One of the more notorious of recent Pontiac recalls involves a defective ignition switch.

The faulty switch could easily move out of the “run” position, potentially shutting off the engine and partially cutting off electrical power. Motion of other keys or a fob attached to the car’s ignition key could be all it takes to jar the switch out of position.

In addition to shutting off the engine, the defect can suddenly disable power steering, power brakes and airbags. The airbags may then fail to deploy in the event of an accident, further increasing the risk of injury or death.

Pontiac recalls related to this defective ignition switch affect the G5 from model years 2007 to 2010 and the Solstice from 2006 to 2010.

According to plaintiffs’ rights law firm Hagens Berman, the faulty switch has been implicated in over 100 deaths and over 300 crashes. Today, this single defect could reduce a vehicle‘s value by $2,000 to $5,000.

GM allegedly knew about this ignition defect for years before it finally issued a recall in 2014. Reports from as early as 2005 say that GM issued service bulletins for some GM cars, telling dealers to warn drivers to remove unnecessary items from their key chains to prevent the switch from slipping out of place.

Other reports allegedly show GM corrected the problem in new cars beginning in 2007.

In the litigation over this particular defect, plaintiffs won a breakthrough ruling when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber in New York ruled they could seek punitive damages against GM based on what the company knew about the defect prior to its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring.

Punitive damages are intended to deter companies from engaging in conduct that could harm consumers. Awards of punitive damages are often much larger than those of compensatory damages, which are only intended to compensate victims for their losses.

Judge Gerber noted that plaintiffs can now seek punitive damages based on the knowledge and actions of the “New GM” – that is, the company that emerged out of the 2009 restructuring. But, he added, “New GM” may have inherited responsibility for what “Old GM” knew by inheriting the prior company’s personnel and documents.

Pontiac Recalls G6 for Steering Defect

Another recall arose out of a defective power steering system that could fail suddenly, making the vehicle difficult to steer. GM originally issued this recall in March 2014, affecting an estimated 1.3 million cars.

It was expanded in February 2015 to include 81,000 other models and years, including the Pontiac G6 from years 2006 and 2007.

The recall was expanded after some Canadian vehicle owners complained of power steering problems on cars that had not been covered by the 2014 recall.

Regulators from Transport Canada, that country’s analog to the NHTSA, brought the complaints to GM’s attention. Further investigation by GM uncovered additional problems with the power steering system at issue, prompting the company to expand the recall.

A spokesperson from GM said the company was aware of only one crash related to this defect, with no known related injuries.