Holden recalls Cruze again

GM Holden has recalled 2712 examples of its Australian-made Cruze, following a similar recall announced on Friday in the US, where more than 170,000 Chevrolet Cruzes are affected.

It is the second time the entry-level Cruze Equipe, fitted with a 1.8-litre petrol engine and manual transmission, has been recalled in Australia, following a similar recall to fix faulty drive shafts in the same vehicles last September.

At the time, a product safety recall listed for the 1.8-litre Cruze said “the right-hand tubular driveshaft may fracture” and “may pose a hazard to the driver and/or other road users”.

GM Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt said no driveshafts replaced as part of the previous recall have broken, and described the fresh recall as a precautionary measure as part of a similar new action in the US.

“In response to GM North America’s recall of certain Chevrolet Cruze vehicles, Holden has initiated a precautionary vehicle safety recall on certain 1.8-litre petrol Holden Cruze manual transmission models,” he said.

“A condition has been identified where certain 1.8-litre petrol Cruze vehicles with a manual transmission may have been built with a right-hand front drive shaft that, under specific driving conditions, may fracture and separate.

“It should be noted that no vehicle fitted with a new drive shaft as part of the last field action has fractured. But in the best interest of our customers we are now asking them to come in to have an new improved certified drive shaft fitted.

“This is a precautionary recall and there have been no reports of any accidents or injuries resultant from this condition.

“In September 2013 Holden launched a precautionary recall of 1.8-litre manual Cruzes, with potentially affected drive shafts. Some of the vehicles included in this recall will be part of the current recall in order to replace the drive shaft with new improved certified components.”

The safety recall for the locally built Cruze, first released in May 2009, follows recalls to fix potential fire hazards in 1.4-litre turbo-petrol MY12 and MY13 models in June 2012 and diesel MY2009-2011 models in December 2011.

Before that, the Cruze was also recalled to repair rear seatbelt anchors in 4236 vehicles in May 2011 and potential fuel leaks in almost 10,500 cars in March 2010.

No Holden vehicles are affected by a GM recall to fix defective ignition switches in 2.2 million vehicles globally, for which GM CEO Mary Barra told US Congress yesterday she was “deeply sorry”.

The recall has made front-page news in the US amid claims GM knew of the problem – which has been linked to at least 12 deaths -- as early as 2007, when it reportedly fitted different ignition switches to new vehicles but did not issue a recall.

A range of Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn models built between 2008 and 2010 – totalling 824,000 vehicles – has been added to the original number of pre-2008 models recalled in February, because faulty switches may have been used to repair them.

In other Australian recall news this week, Jeep has recalled 648 Grand Cherokees to fix problems with their 'Ready Alert Braking System' (RAB), which affects brake pedal feel.

The recall does not affect the facelifted Grand Cherokee released last July, but covers WK-series models built between October 11, 2011 and to October 1, 2012.

“Due to increased resistance the driver may not push the pedal as intended, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle,” said the recall notice.