General Motors recalls 2,615 Chevrolet Cruzes for potential airbag problem

Cruze.JPG Chevrolet Cruze models await delivery to dealerships from General Motors' Lordstown plant in this file photo. GM is recalling Cruze's built over a nine-day period earlier this year after discovering flaw at an airbag supplier's plant.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A tool failure at a supplier's plant this summer will force General Motors to recall 2,615 Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze models and a handful of other cars.

"Most of these that had the condition were discovered during pre-delivery inspection at dealerships," GM spokesman Alan Adler said in an email. He added that there were "no incidents of customers being affected."

In its report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, GM said it learned of the problem, driver-side airbags with improper electrical connections, when 15 consecutive cars set off airbag failure notices on June 13. Because of an intermittent short, the airbags might not have deployed in an accident.

The following day, GM engineers investigated the problem, identifying a faulty piece of equipment at a supplier plant by June 16. The new tool went into service on June 22.

GM also is recalling a few hundred Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano models built in Michigan that got airbags from the same supplier.

In its report to NHTSA, GM said it thought it had caught all of the vehicles before they left the plant, but after going over warranty data, it discovered a few that may have been built before it discovered the defect.

All of the Cruze models to be recalled are 2012s. Adler said GM will send letters to owners over the next few weeks. Dealers will replace the steering wheel airbag coil to ensure that the electrical connections are properly in place.

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