Copyright 2014 New York Times News Service
WASHINGTON — General Motors is recalling more than 130,000 vehicles because of a parking-brake defect that can cause brake pads to stay partly engaged, leading to “excessive brake heat that may result in a fire,” according to documents posted Saturday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The recall covers 2014-15 Chevrolet Impalas built between January 2013 and August 2014 and 2013-15 model Cadillac XTS cars manufactured between February 2012 and August 2014.
NHTSA said that the fire risk stemmed from the rear brakes generating “significant heat, smoke and sparks.”
The agency also warned that drivers of the affected vehicles might experience “poor vehicle acceleration, undesired deceleration, excessive brake heat and premature wear to some brake components.”
The Impala has been at the center of numerous recalls and investigations this year, as GM’s string of recalls worldwide approaches 30 million vehicles.
In February, the 2014 Impala was recalled for a transmission defect that could allow a parked car to roll away.
In June, certain Impalas were recalled for ignition problems, and others for a joint fastener that was not torqued to specification.
Then in July, GM recalled more Impalas over a possible loss of power steering, and later that month NHTSA opened an investigation into the potential failure of passenger air bags on 320,000 Impalas, mostly from the 2008 model year.
In March, another NHTSA investigation focused on sudden unintentional braking by the 2014 Impala’s collision-warning system.
Chrysler recall
Separately, the Chrysler Group is recalling nearly 190,000 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles from the 2011 model year because of a faulty fuel-pump relay inside the power module that can cause them to “stall without warning,” NHTSA said Saturday.
The component, known as the totally integrated power module, or TIPM, has been the subject of scores of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, and last month the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, formally petitioned the safety agency to open an investigation into the module’s use in a range of Chrysler’s vehicles.
A federal class-action lawsuit filed last year in California also claims that the TIPM is faulty, leaving the vehicles “incapable of providing reliable or safe transportation.”
