37 C7's recalled

[StingraySallye]

GM is recalling 33 model year 2014 Chevrolet Corvettes in the U.S. because an internal short-circuit in the sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) could disable frontal air bags, safety belt pretensioners and the Automatic Occupancy Sensing module. GM dealers will replace the SDM on the affected vehicles. GM is unaware of any crashes or injuries related to the condition.

[Glen e]

Source of this?

[StingraySallye]

http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.html

[purpleRac3r]

Here's my take on recalls:

Every automobile is manufactured by humans. No human is perfect. Ergo, there will be faults in the automobiles manufactured by humans. Some faults will be insignificant in the overall scheme of things, others very significant. Every automaker in the world faces this. Most people see a recall as a bad thing, regardless of how major or minor the issue is. I disagree. A recall is a good thing, relatively speaking. That means an automaker is stepping up to fix a problem in one of their vehicles. If they were to resist a recall, that means a problem exists that they are NOT fixing, leaving potential for very serious consequences. Yes, many recalls are forced upon an automaker by outside entities. But at least the problem gets fixed.

Even the automakers themselves tend to view a recall as bad. In someways, that it true. It implies a fault in their engineering, quality control, their manufacturing and management processes. This also is true: every bit of the system is run by imperfect humans, ergo there will be faults.

But in other ways, that recall is a good thing. It indicates a specific problem has been positively identified, that a solution exists, and the manufacturer wants to fix the problem before it gets bigger - or more dangerous for the customer. The important thing is not in that a company must issue a recall, but in how the recall is handled. For an automaker to resist owing up to a given problem until public outcry forces them into making minimal amends is a very poor way to handle it, to say the least. The current fiasco regarding the ignition switch issue is a prime example.

However, again, it all gets handled by imperfect humans, so it is safe to assume there will always be faults in the handling. But there is a big positive that has come out of this: a really major fault in the system at GM has been identified, and steps appear to be taken to correct the problem. Proof is in the very number of recalls willingly issued by GM recently. That to me says a lot, especially since some involve only a couple of dozen vehicles, with apparently no reports of problems by customers.

I personally would much rather have my Stingray willingly recalled for whatever reason, no matter how small, than for a potential safety issue to go unaddressed indefinitely. I've had vehicles in the past that the manufacturer refused to owe up to a well-known problem, the dealer basically considering it "somebody else's problem", souring my enjoyment of the vehicle, reducing my trust in the brand considerably. I've not bought a vehicle from said brand since.

Time will tell if the new attitude at GM is fleeting or permanent. I for one expect that in the long run our cars & trucks will be even better and safer, regardless of manufacturer - they all are watching this GM situation.