General Motors (GM) has been forced to recall more than 220,000 vehicles after it discovered a brake defect could lead to increased risk of fire.
The fault affects the 2013 and 2014 Cadillac XTS model, as well as recent editions of the Chevrolet Impala.
Most of the vehicles are located within the US and Canada, and the company insists there have been no reported incidents of death or injury resulting from the issue.
According to the recall notice, the
defect concerns the parking brake, which sometimes remains engaged when the car is in motion, causing it
to heat up to a potentially dangerous temperature.
This is not the only safety concern GM is currently dealing with – an investigation is ongoing into claims the manufacturer failed to identify a problem with ignition switches over a period of ten years.
That particular
fault has been linked to 19 deaths and saw the company recall more than 15 million cars globally earlier this year.
Speaking before a US House of Representatives panel assigned to investigate the problem, GM chief executive Mary Barra apologised and vowed to discover how the issue went undiscovered for so long.
"I cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to be announced … but I can tell you that we will find out," she stated.
Last week, David Friedman, the head of the National Highway Traffic Administration, appeared before the congressional panel and was grilled as to why his organisation had not managed to detect the ignition fault. He indicated that GM had withheld vital information that prevented them from doing so.
The ongoing recall issues have significantly affected the manufacturers' financial performance, with the company's latest financial reports showing profits in the second quarter of the year tumbled by 85 per cent to $190 million (£112 million). Repairs related to recalls totalled $1.2 billion during this period, while a further $400 million was set aside for compensation payments.
Posted by Perry Murray