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A Look Into GM's Failure to Act

GM Faulty Ignition = Faulty Leadership An ignition switch defect in General Motors cars has contributed to at least 16 deaths since 2004, and the company has issued a mass recall as a result. But what's truly disturbing is that people within GM knew of the potential defect and danger more than a decade ago and did little to nothing to keep consumers safe. Who knew what, when did they know it, and what does that say about GM's dysfunctional corporate culture? Ignoring the Problem Ignition switches in hundreds of thousands of GM cars have proved too sensitive to keys being jostled by drivers while on the road, meaning the cars lose power if the keys are accidentally knocked into the "off/accessory" position during travel. 2008 2009 This calendar shows dates when GM was told or learned about the faulty part (whether by internal or external sources), when the company took action to amend the situation (though always too little, too late) and when engineers and others permitted the parts to continue being installed in vehicles. O Negative report O GM takes action on negative report O GM advances use of switch 171 million Cars recalled for faulty ignition switches CHEVROLET SATURN. Chevrolet Cobalt Chevrolet HHR Saturn Sky Saturn lon 13 Deaths acknowledged by GM in crashed involving cars with switch-related problems PONTIAC. Pontiac Solstice Pontiac G5 $1.5B Which cars? • Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR, all model years • Pontiac G5 and Solstice, all model years • Saturn lon and Sky, all model years in recall costs so far, and 60+ Crashes related to defect $35M. in fines Take a Closer Look or learned many time were faulty. But let's explore just how many reports the company ignored or didn't properly resolve. As we've seen alre GM was years that the ignit switches 1997 A new ignition switch is designed. It's meant to be less prone to failure, less expensive and less likely to catch fire than existing switches. 2001 GM engineer Ray DeGiorgio reports that 10 of 12 prototype switches had failed to meet electrical engineering requirements. 2002 DELPHI. FEBRUARY DeGiorgio discusses with supplier Delphi the fact that the switches also fail to meet mechanical engineering requirements; Delphi says a change could trigger other issues; DeGiorgio takes no action. DeGiorgio MAY GM approves shipment of the new ignition switch, and production of the first cars to use the faulty switches begins later that year. 2004 2003 GM and Saturn open a report to address complaints of stalls while driving, listing 65 Saturn lon stalls. JANUARY DeGiorgio focuses on the non-start problem and not the stall problem, believing them to be duplicate issues. After DeGiorgio finally comes up with a solution to the non-start problem, GM - like DeGiorgio - erroneously presumes those solutions will also resolve the stall problems, and the stall problem report is closed. 212 Saturn lon switches are returned to Delphi under warranty for failing to start the engine when it's cold outside; Delphi reports that analysis of returned switches repeatedly shows no defects. Meanwhile, several GM employees driving 2004 lons report they have inadvertently turned the ignition key off with their knees while driving. GM 2005 JULY GM JULY In the first known death tied to the switch defect, Shara Lynn Towne is killed when her 2004 lon leaves the roadway; the vehicle's airbags do not deploy. FEBRUARY GM GM's internal inquiry determines the design of the switch requires lower-than-desired effort to turn the key. Several possible solutions are presented; the only certain fix would require in-depth reworking of the switch and its placement in the car. GM advises dealers that engineers developed an insert for the key ring to prevent it from moving up and down, as a temporary solution. Though a long-term solution – creating new keys for new cars - is planned, it's not implemented for years. OCTOBER GM engineering manager Gary Altman test-drives a Cobalt with the standard key and fob. He bumps the key, killing the engine and causing a shutdown. GM launches a tracking system inquiry into the problem. Later in the month, GM advises dealers on the possibility that 2005 Cobalt drivers can inadvertently turn off the ignition. SEPTEMBER GM GM learns the ignition of a 2005 Cobalt involved in a fatal crash in Maryland was found in the "off/accessory" position. GM would later settle the case. MARCH The internal inquiry determines the solutions are too expensive and complex, and GM says none of the solutions present "an acceptable business case." The inquiry is closed with no action taken. Altman NOVEMBER GM's company-wide cost-cutting measures include shuttering nine assembly plants and three service and parts plants and shedding more than 30,000 manufacturing jobs. NOVEMBER Engineers assign the problem a severity level 3, meaning it's not considered a safety issue because nobody realizes that a loss of power due to a moving stall means airbags won't deploy. MAY Another internal inquiry is opened for the same problem, which is still not classified as a safety issue. DECEMBER GM issues its first technical service bulletin on the ignition switch issues for Chevrolet Cobalts and HHRS, Pontiac Pursuits and Solstices and Saturn lons. DeGiorgio is notified about the problem - again - as another engineer asks him for possible solutions. DeGiorgio writes two email drafts in response but never sends either one. JUNE Internal Delphi email noting DeGiorgio's concerns says, "Cobalt is blowing up in their face in regards to turning the car off with the driver's knee." 2006 FEBRUARY GM settles in the fatal Maryland crash case. MARCH GM receives notice of other crashes involving faulty ignition switches. APRIL GM DeGiorgio approves the redesigned ignition switch that increases torque force in switch. MAY DeGiorgio acknowledges that the switch will maintain its part number despite being redesigned, a violation of GM policy that ends up misleading investigators later on. 2007 FEBRUARY The Wisconsin State Patrol files a report on the October 2006 crash. The report determines that the airbags didn't deploy as a result of the ignition switch slipping out of the "run" position - a conclusion GM won't come to until 2014. AUGUST GM opens another internal inquiry on cars stalling while driving after the company received another complaint from a 2005 Cobalt owner. A group of GM employees in Washington for an unrelated meeting with National Highway Transportation & Safety Administration officials are informed by NHTSA officials of findings in a Cobalt crash that determined the key was in the off/accessory position. OCTOBER That inquiry is closed with no action taken. The company re-issues its previous technical service bulletin and updates it to include the 2007 model year. APRIL NHTSA commissions a team of researchers from Indiana University for a report on the October 2006 crash; they come to the same conclusions the Wisconsin State Patrol did about the faulty ignition switch. GM settles in the Towne case, following her death in July 2004. A Wisconsin teen dies when the ignition in the Cobalt she's riding in switches off. The car veers off the road and crashes into trees; the airbags don't deploy. 2008 GM's legal team continues to discuss the ignition switch defect, but no engineering solutions are addressed. 2010 The company is warned by outside counsel that it could face punitive damages in a 2009 crash. 2009 MARCH GM approves a design change in the key, changing from a slot to a hole, and implements the change in 2010 Cobalts. GM is hit with more litigation following more fatalities. JUNE The company files for bankruptcy protection. 2011 2012 MARCH GM engineers discover by accident at a junkyard that the keys turn too easily in Cobalt ignitions. JUNE The parents of a woman killed in a 2010 crash file a lawsuit against GM. JUNE Stouffer inquires about engineering changes with DeGiorgio, who does not inform Stouffer about the change increase switch torque, hindering the investigation. JULY Company attorneys and engineers come together to investigate root causes of the problem after several warnings that GM could face punitive damages in civil liability cases. 2013 APRIL DeGiorgio testifies in a deposition that the design of the switch had been changed sometime between 2005 and 2008 but claimed he did not know how and that GM was unaware of the change. AUGUST Engineering group manager Brian Stouffer is assigned to assist with the investigation. DECEMBER GM engineer Ebram Handy observes that torque performance of the switches is well below minimum specifications. 2014 JANUARY Mary Barra takes over as GM's CEO, becoming the first woman to be the chief executive of a major U.S. automaker. MARCH GM expands the recall again by more than 970,000 vehicles, this time by including model years 2008-11. JUNE GM recalls more than 500,000 cars for faulty ignition switches. BARRA GM recalls another 3.4 million cars for faulty ignition switches. FEBRUARY GM notifies the NHTSA of recall of 780,000 2005-07 Cobalts and 2007 G5s. An attorney representing a family suing GM asks the NHTSA to investigate GM, citing evidence that the company knew of the defect many years before the recall and that other models with the same switch haven't been included in the recall. APRIL Barra tells a Congressional committee that she's "deeply sorry" for the company's slow response to the ignition switch defect problem. The company says it's fired 15 people and disciplined five others for misconduct and failure to act on the defective switches. The company also blames low-level employees and said no cover-up took place. Among those fired are DeGiorgio and Altman, along with five lawyers. MAY GM is fined $35 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation for its delayed response to the crisis. GM recalls another 2.5 million vehicles for faulty ignition switches. GM recalls 8.2 million cars for faulty ignition switches, bringing the total number of ignition switch-related recalls to about 17.1 million. GM expands the recall by more than 700,000 vehicles, including 2006-07 HHRS and Solstices, 2003-07 lons and 2007 Skys. SOURCES http://www.freep.com http://www.npr.org http://www.reuters.com http://money.cnn.com http://www.nytimes.com http://ap.org Link to report by Anton R. Valukas, http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1183506/valukas-report-from-gm-redacted.pdf Renaissance Čenter photo credit: Jason Paris via Flickr (Creative Commons) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2001 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

A Look Into GM's Failure to Act

shared by punkrobby on Aug 27
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To date there has been 17.1 million cars that has been recalled for faulty ignition switches. The stats are mind numbing. For example, there has been 60+ crashes related to the defect. Check out this ...

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