Everything Comes in Threes- GM Recall #3 - CORVETTES

DETROIT, Feb 10, 2004; Reuters reported that General Motors Corp. said it will recall about 127,000 Chevrolet Corvette sports cars, the automaker's third major recall in less than a week and a blow to its claims of improved quality.

GM, the world's largest automaker, said it will fix the electronic steering column, which can remain locked while the vehicle is being driven. GM said it had no complaints that consumers experienced the problem with their Corvettes, and there are no confirmed crashes related to the condition.

The Corvette is equipped with an electronic column lock system which prevents the steering wheel from being turned when the ignition is off. The system is designed so that if the column fails to unlock when the the vehicle is started, the fuel supply is cut off, GM said in a statement. However, the fuel shut-off many not work if an electronic control malfunctions, and the vehicle could be driven with the steering system locked.

The recall includes approximately 127,000 Corvettes from the 1997-2004 model years, GM said.

Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified in the second quarter and instructed to bring the Corvette to a Chevrolet dealer, who will fix the problem at no charge.

GM has recalled a total of more than 2.4 million vehicles in two other recalls since last Friday. On Monday, GM said it would recall about 636,000 mid-size sport utility vehicles following two reports of crashes related to electronics that could short-circuit when water leaks into a wiper module.

Last Friday, GM recalled about 1.8 million cars to fix an electrical defect that can spark fires in the steering column following 80 reports of problems.

GM said it had no reports of any injuries associated with either of those two problems.