General Motors Company, one of the world's largest automakers, has expanded its SUV recall from last year to 480,000 for fire risk.
General Motors recalled 249,000 SUVs in August last year for a possible electrical short in the driver's door that could cause a fire. The Michigan-based automobile company has recalled an additional 231,000 SUVs for a thorough checkup for the same fault. The affected vehicles in both the recalls include the 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender.
Majority of the cars, 443,000 out of 480,000, are in the United States, according to GM. The company has reported 58 incidents of vehicle fire and 11 cases of minor injuries. Most of the reported incidents took place in the previous recall. Six fire incidents and one injury was reported in the latest recall.
"The recall is expected to begin July 24, 2013. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463, Isuzu owners at 1-800-255-6727, and SAAB owners at 1-855-880-0808. GM's campaign number is 12180. This recall is an expansion of recall 12V-406. You can also contact the NHTSA Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153)" alerted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The NHTSA said that the fire can occur even when the vehicle is not in use. The agency warns owners of the above listed vehicles to park outside until the problem is fixed. The issue originated in the driver's door module, according to the NHTSA. A fluid leak in the driver's door module causes an electric short circuit when it comes in contact with air moisture. This melts door module components resulting in a fire, NHTSA said.
