Mississippi receives settlement from Government Motors over ignition switch

Mississippi Receives $1.47 Million from Settlement with General Motors Company Over Defective Ignition Switch

Today, Attorney General Jim Hood announced that Mississippi will receive $1,470,156.60 from a $120 million multi-state settlement with General Motors Company (“GM”). The settlement resolves an investigation into allegations that GM failed to disclose problems with ignition switches installed in 2.1 million automobiles in the United States.

“GM knew that people could be killed or seriously injured because of these defective switches but hid the problem anyway,” said General Hood.

The defective switches, under certain conditions, unexpectedly shifted from the “run” position to “accessory” or “off,” causing vehicles to stall. In addition to shutting down the engine, the defect also disabled power steering, power brakes, and airbags. Although GM became aware of this defect early as 2004, it took no action to notify consumers of the danger until 2014 when it issued the first of several vehicle recall notices. A list of the affected vehicles and the recall notices is included below.

“Anyone who owns a GM vehicle should review these notices to make sure their vehicle is safe,” said General Hood.

Any consumer who has purchased an affected vehicle and believes that they may have a claim against GM may file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office for help processing the claims. Complaints can be filed online at www.agjimhood.com

Ignition Switch Recalls

• NHTSA Recall No. 14V047, which includes these Motor Vehicles: Model Year (“MY”) 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, MY 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, MY 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit, MY 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice, MY 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, MY 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, and MY 2007-2010 Saturn Sky
• NHTSA Recall No. 14V346, which includes these Motor Vehicles: MY 2010-2014 Chevrolet Camaro
• NHTSA Recall No. 14V355, which includes these Motor Vehicles: MY 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, MY 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, MY 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, MY 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, MY 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and MY 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
• NHTSA Recall No. 14V394, which includes these Motor Vehicles: MY 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS and MY 2004-2006 Cadillac SRX
• NHTSA Recall No. 14V400, which includes these Motor Vehicles: MY 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala, MY 1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu, MY 2004-2005 Chevrolet Malibu Classic, MY 2000-2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, MY 1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero, MY 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue, MY 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am, and MY 2004-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
• NHTSA Recall No. 14V490, which includes the Motor Vehicle MY 2002-2004 Saturn Vue
• NHTSA Recall No. 14V540, which includes these Motor Vehicles: MY 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice and MY 2008-2009 Pontiac G8

AG Jim Hood Press Release
10/23/17