U.S. safety regulators reviewed concerns over GM sensor

US Automotive Manufacturing

17/03/2021 10:43

By Mike Spector
    NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. automotive safety
regulators reviewed evidence related to an allegedly defective
steering sensor that was used in roughly 778,000 older General
Motors Co  GM.N  vehicles but ultimately decided against opening
a formal investigation into the matter.
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
told Reuters about the previously unreported review. The agency
evaluated information related to a lawsuit against the automaker
brought by the widower of a 42-year-old woman who died after her
2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV crashed, according to documents
Reuters reviewed. The cause, her widower alleges in the lawsuit,
was a defective steering sensor that the automaker failed to
adequately warn drivers about despite long knowing the component
had issues.
    The lawsuit, filed in a local Georgia court in 2016 and
updated in 2020, is ongoing. GM, the top-selling automaker in
the United States, denies the allegations and declined to
comment on the decision by NHTSA, the primary U.S. vehicle
safety regulator.
    The lawyer representing the widower, Lance Cooper, wrote to
NHTSA in February 2020 urging it to investigate GM for failing
to alert regulators to alleged issues with the sensor in a
timely manner and recall affected vehicles, according to the
letter, which was reviewed by Reuters. Cooper previously
unearthed evidence in another case that helped expose GM's
failure to recall millions of vehicles with defective ignition
switches, a crisis that eventually led the automaker to resolve
criminal charges in a 2015 deferred prosecution agreement. 
    Following a request for information from regulators, GM
provided documents produced in the recent case focused on the
steering sensor, according to court documents.
    On Jan. 28, NHTSA officials determined there was
"insufficient evidence to lead to a formal investigation at this
time," the agency told Reuters, adding it would take future
action if warranted. The agency said the vehicles Cooper
highlighted were built before a U.S. regulation began mandating
electronic stability control in September 2011.
    The sensor is a key part of GM’s version of electronic
stability control, called StabiliTrak. Like other such systems,
StabiliTrak adjusts brakes and engine power to help drivers
avoid losing control and crashing.
    Cooper told Reuters he was disappointed with NHTSA’s
decision to not pursue an investigation. The risk of the sensor
failing and disabling electronic stability control
“unquestionably relates to automotive safety,” he said.
    Two former heads of NHTSA questioned the agency’s decision
not to open an investigation. One said the technology, even if
not required, was well on its way to becoming mainstream at the
time.
    A Reuters review of hundreds of pages of documents submitted
in the litigation shows that GM has since 2007 confronted a
series of issues with the steering sensor, including high levels
of warranty claims and a manufacturing flaw, without recalling
affected vehicles.
    To read a Reuters Special Report on the case,
see urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2LD4AE. 
    GM, in responses to questions from Reuters, said it had
conducted thorough investigations involving experts across many
disciplines. After “a rigorous analysis of internal and external
data,” the company said, “we’re not aware of any other
complaints alleging accidents” that involve StabiliTrak
disengaging due to a faulty steering sensor.
    Current and former GM employees have testified as part of
the litigation that even after losing StabiliTrak, drivers can
still steer and brake, so vehicles remain safe.

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SPECIAL REPORT - Suit over deadly crash renews spotlight on GM
safety practices     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2LD4AE
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 (Reporting by Mike Spector
Editing by Cassell Bryan-Low)
 ((Mike.Spector@thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.com))