GM recalling 1.37M vehicles-Fire Hazard

[Colt]

General Motors Co. is recalling nearly 1.37 million vehicles because a washer fluid heater module could overheat and cause a fire, the National Highway Safety Administration said Tuesday.

The recall covers the 2006-2009 Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, Hummer H2; 2008-2009 Buick Enclave and Cadillac CTS; and 2007-2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL, Saturn Outlook and the 2009 model year Chevrolet Traverse.

The announcement follows a recall in 2008 when GM added a fuse to the vehicles' control circuit harness to address an electrical short. GM, however, has received new reports of "thermal incidents" after the fix.

The car maker did not report any injuries related to the recall.


http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/...n-cars-hazard/

 

[d00df00d]

Ah, the wonders of parts sharing. Even a small failure rate can lead to a huge recall...

Evidently Toyota isn't the only one that leveraged the heck out of parts sharing. I would imagine a lot of companies really did it to help weather the economic downturn. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of this kind of recalls in the coming years.

 

[Colt]

Nothing like doing a fix and it's not fixed.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: Colt
Nothing like doing a fix and it's not fixed.
Hey if it's good enough for a certain Asian manufacturer....

 

[Colt]

Originally Posted By: opus1
Originally Posted By: Colt
Nothing like doing a fix and it's not fixed.
Hey if it's good enough for a certain Asian manufacturer....

But this is on our dime!

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: Colt
Originally Posted By: opus1
Originally Posted By: Colt
Nothing like doing a fix and it's not fixed.
Hey if it's good enough for a certain Asian manufacturer....

But this is on our dime!

You were paid back

 

[cchase]

I wonder how many people will skip this recall since it involves disabling the system (most of the people I know with the feature love it).

 

[MrHorspwer]

This is what happenes when a supplier doesn't live up to their end of the bargin.

Microheat came to GM with a product. GM installed product. Microheat's product was causing fires. Microheat chose to file bankruptcy instead of dealing with the cost of recalling their defective product (the first recall, in 2008)... leaving GM to shoulder the burden, fix the system, and handle any further issues. At one time, GM was seeking damages against Microheat in the $20-25 million range.

That raises alot of issues and highlights some of the issues with dealing with smaller, niche suppliers. Where waqs GM quality control in the beginning, when the system was being integrated to the vehicles? Would all of this been avoided had Microheat not punked out and filed for bankruptcy instead of actually fixing their product?

 

[MCompact]

So, Government Motor's fix is to simply disable the feature. Its new owners have taught them well...

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
So, Government Motor's fix is to simply disable the feature. Its new owners have taught them well...


And what would YOUR solution to the problem be hmmm? Well, they could simply order new and improved parts from the company- OH Wait no they can't, they WENT BANKRUPT and liquidized. It would be way to expensive and a pain to replace the entire system with a different one, having to redesign it to make it be compatible with the old setup.

 

[Vizzy]

I think the root issue here is that increasingly complex systems on cars are almost certain to result in more problems and quality issues...

Note to car makers...not everyone equates value with an excess of gadgets..I'd gladly take a less complicated gadget filled car with great basic hard parts durability than a gizmoed out the butt ride with issues galore everytime I turn around!

The Mercedes W123 (240 series in the USA) from the late seventies and early eighties is the bench mark for me. A generally spartan car but all the important things were done right, nearly perfectly, and built to last and last...and last..sure the car cost quite a bit, but it was worth it, many of them are still around today in tip top shape!

 

[daves87rs]

Sadly, it was a retarded idea in the first place...I actually saw a few fail, right at the factory!

I wondered how long it would take for them to start toasting cars...

 

[L_Sludger]

It blows my mind how some certain losers will talk trash about Toyota because of this recall.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Sadly, it was a retarded idea in the first place...I actually saw a few fail, right at the factory!

I wondered how long it would take for them to start toasting cars...

Ouch.

 

[kb01]

Originally Posted By: cchase
I wonder how many people will skip this recall since it involves disabling the system (most of the people I know with the feature love it).


I had never even heard of such a feature until this recall came out. What is the advantage of a heater vs. just using the low temperature washer fluid?

 

[Colt]

I would think the heated fluid would ice up quickly when applied to a cold windshield on a frigid day anyway.
I've never had a problem with quality windshield washer fluid in winter here in NJ.
Maybe in Canada and Alaska it would be different.`

 

[mc2lizard]

Fix is easy, wire a nice little resistor in line with the unit.. lower voltages=lower heat output But that would make sense, and actually cost them money to fix the right way...

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: mc2lizard
Fix is easy, wire a nice little resistor in line with the unit.. lower voltages=lower heat output But that would make sense, and actually cost them money to fix the right way...



I'm sure it's actually more complicated than that. Let the professional engineers do their job. I'm sure if it would be feasible to fix, they would have done it.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: kb01
Originally Posted By: cchase
I wonder how many people will skip this recall since it involves disabling the system (most of the people I know with the feature love it).


I had never even heard of such a feature until this recall came out. What is the advantage of a heater vs. just using the low temperature washer fluid?


It will melt the ice off the windshield in many cases.

Originally Posted By: Colt
I would think the heated fluid would ice up quickly when applied to a cold windshield on a frigid day anyway.


Hot windshield washer fluid is never worse than cold windshield washer fluid w.r.t. icing issues....

 

[Scdevon]

Stupid features like heated washer fluid are perfect for the American consumer. It's nothing more than a bragging right. "My car has heated washer fluid AND EVERYTHING" !!!!

Most ignorant people have no idea how much senseless complexity options like these add to a vehicle.