Millions of GM cars shared switch defect, e-mail shows

One provocative document came up Wednesday during General Motors CEO Mary Barra’s second appearance before a House subcommittee that’s investigating GM’s delay in recalling small cars with fatally flawed ignition switches.

The hearing overall was much lower-key, less hostile than Barra’s April 1 appearance before the same House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee. But it had sensational moments.

The document — a printed version of an e-mail string involving several GM engineers — shows that in addition to the 2.19 million small cars with switch problems recalled in February and March, millions more larger models have entirely different switches that, nonetheless, could have similar problems.

And the small-car switches and the bigger-car switches both were approved by the same GM switch engineer, the now-fired Ray DeGiorgio.

DeGiorgio was fired recently after his central role in the small-car switch defect was detailed by Anton Valukas’ internal probe of GM. Fourteen others at GM were terminated as well.

Representative Fred Upton, R-Mich., exposed the document in a surprise move.

The subject line in engineer Laura Andres’ first e-mail to DeGiorgio: “Hot alert for the 2006 Chevy Impala Special.”

The document made public by Upton shows that Andres reported in 2005 that the ignition switch in a 2006 Impala she was driving rotated inadvertently out of “run” after she hit a pothole, and the engine died, forcing the car behind her to swerve.

She said a GM technician examined the car and had the same switch problem in a parking lot. The technician said the problem appeared to be the switch design, which wasn’t strong enough to consistently hold the switch in “run.”

In the middle of the e-mail string that included other relevant GM engineers, Andres wrote: “I think this is a serious safety problem, especially if the switch is on multiple (car development) programs. I’m thinking big recall. … I think you should seriously consider changing this part…”

DeGiorgio wrote to her that “there has (sic) not been any incidents reported similar to the ones you described.”

In fact, GM on Monday recalled the 2006-2014 Impala on Monday — part of a recall of several models with a combined total of 3.16 million midsize and large U.S. cars — because their ignition switches inadvertently can move out of the “run” position into “accessory” when the car is jarred, causing the engine to stall.

Millions of GM cars shared switch defect, e-mail shows