General Motors has issued a recall affecting some 293,000 Chevy Cruze compact cars. The reason for the recall is a potential problem with the vehicle’s power-assisted brakes.
Although the Chevy Cruze is manufactured at plants around the world, this recall affects only those vehicles manufactured at the company’s Lordstown, Ohio plant for the 2011 and 2012 model years. These vehicles also must have both the turbocharged 1.4-liter dual overhead cam gasoline engine and the 6T40 automatic transmission. Other engine configurations are not affected by this particular recall.
The problem with the brakes on the Chevy Cruze doesn’t cause a complete failure in the brake system, but it can cause an intermittent loss of the brake assist function. If this happens, then the brakes may require more pressure than usual for drivers to stop their cars. This unexpected change can potentially lead to crashes.
At this point, General Motors knows of 27 crashes related to brake performance issues in the Chevy Cruze, some of which could be a result of this brake pressure problem. These were all low-speed crashes that did not result in any kinds of injuries.
The problem can be fixed by bringing affected vehicles into local dealers who will then replace the original switch in the power brake vacuum pipe assembly with a new one. The repair will be at no charge to vehicle owners.
This is the second recall that General Motors has issued over the course of the summer. Back in June, they recalled 194,000 SUVs over a potential fire risk.
That recall was for the 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL SUVs and 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, SAAB 9-7x, Isuzu Ascender and certain 2005 9-7Xs. An electronic module in the door of these vehicles had the potential to overheat and cause a fire, even if the vehicle was turned off.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
