The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and General Motors have announced a recall affecting Chevrolet Malibu sedans sold in the United States. The Malibu shares its platform with the Opel Insignia, linking two global offerings under a common engineering approach. In total, the recall covers 2,108 vehicles.
Within the affected group, roughly 200 units are believed to have a poorly welded front subframe, with the remainder showing issues in other load bearing members of the chassis. These problems can disrupt the proper operation of airbag sensors and create a risk of the front portion of the vehicle staying engaged improperly during a frontal collision. In severe cases, this could lead to unpredictable behavior of the restraint system and increased injury risk for occupants.
To address the issue, dealers will inspect each recalled Malibu and determine whether a repair is feasible. Since the defect is structural and not easily remedied with a simple fix, General Motors has established a plan to buy back affected vehicles from owners when a defect is confirmed. This approach, while costly, avoids extending risky repairs and ensures customers receive a clear resolution.
Given the current market price for a typical Malibu starts around $25,000 in its base configuration, the manufacturer faces a substantial cost in handling the recall. The estimated cost supporting the buybacks and related remediation work is around $5 million for the recalled fleet. This financial figure reflects the scale of the issue and the decision to prioritize safety over longer term asset recovery.
A source: car-motorcycle-and-sport
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