国际英语新闻：GM to recall 1.3 million cars for steering fix

CHICAGO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- General Motors will recall 1.3 million compact vehicles to correct a power steering problem, the company has announced on its website.

Vehicles affected are the 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit sold in Canada, and the 2005- 2006 Pontiac G4 sold in Mexico, according to the announcement issued late Monday.

GM plans to replace defective power steering motors that are prone to failure, but an exact fix for the affected cars isn't yet ready. Customers will be notified when one is, and company officials say the cars can be safely driven until a fix is prepared.

The file photo taken on May 30, 2009 shows the GM logo in front of the headquarters of General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, the United States. General Motors will recall 1.3 million compact vehicles to correct a power steering problem, the company has announced on its website late Monday

"While greater steering effort under 15 mph may be required, these vehicles are safe to drive because the customer can still steer the vehicle," Jamie Hresko, GM's vice president of quality, said in a statement.

GM's announcement comes on the heels of troubling recalls by Japanese rival Toyota Motor Co. following numerous complaints of unintended acceleration and braking issues.

Toyota has issued recalls for more than 8.5 million vehicles, more than 6 million of them in the United States alone.

GM's recall, while smaller in scale than Toyota's, extends beyond earlier problems reported by federal auto safety regulators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a preliminary investigation in late January into more than 905,000 Chevy Cobalts, after receiving more than 1,100 complaints from consumers related to power steering failures.

NHTSA records show 14 crashes have resulted from power steering failures, with one injury reported. A formal investigation was announced in early February.