The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] said on Monday that it is widening a preliminary investigation that began with 23 complaints about the Saturn Aura sedan from the 2007 and 2008 model years, over a transmission cable issue that may deteriorate over time and fail. If this happens, the shift lever position may not match the car’s actual gear.
The safety agency said it is also looking to see if the same problem exists in at least two more GM models equipped with similar cable installations used on four-speed automatic transmissions, the 2004-2008MY Chevrolet Malibu and 2005-2008MY Pontiac G6.
According to a document filed on the agency’s website, NHTSA received three reports of crashes related to the Saturn Aura’s transmission cable problem, while GM received four, with one person being injured.
NHTSA said that in one incident, the driver allegedly placed the gearshift selector into park but the transmission remained in drive causing the vehicle to suddenly move forward and hit a building.
In another case that was reported to GM, the driver moved the shifter in park but the transmission remained in reverse. “When the driver exited with the engine running, the vehicle continued (accelerated) in reverse and struck a building,” said NHSTA.
In the injury incident reported to GM, NHSTA said that “the driver reportedly placed the shifter in park, exited the vehicle, and was struck when the vehicle unexpectedly rolled backwards”.
The safety agency added that it is upgrading the investigation to evaluate the rate of shift cable failure, the consequences, and the number of vehicles that may be affected from this problem, including the models, model years and transmissions types.
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