Photo: Chevrolet
A Chevrolet dealer in Phoenix has agreed to pay a civil penalty as part of a settlement for selling two recalled new vehicles without repairing them.
Sands Chevrolet of Surprise, Arizona, has agreed to the $40,000 penalty it has to pay because federal regulators discovered that it sold two 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco units that were part of a recall without repairing them first.
The vehicles were new cars, and were sold as new and without any mention of the recall that was targeting them. The worst offense here was selling the cars without repairing them, while not saying the recall part is the second worse thing that has happened in the case.
The recall campaign that targeted the Chevrolet Malibu Eco sedans involved replacing a malfunctioning generator control module.
Depending on the severity of the situation, the malfunction went from draining the battery and causing the engine to stall, to a burning or melting odor, smoke, and even a fire in the trunk. The latter was a rare occurence, but GM had to mention it when the recall was first announced, because it was a possibility.
The NHTSA investigated the matter over two years, and posted a report on the case for public view. The dealership broke a federal law that prohibited it from selling new vehicles subjected to open recalls without fixing them first.
As Automotive News notes, the dealership in Phoenix has changed internal procedures to ensure they check every vehicle for open recalls before delivering it to customers, and they will do this for used trade-in cars as well. Better safe than sorry, right?
The dealership representatives explained that the sale of the two vehicles was a mistake, caused by the off-site storage of the vehicles. The Chevrolet dealer was storing them off-site because it was involved in a construction project. Fortunately, both customers took delivery of the cars after the units were repaired, so nobody was put in jeopardy, but the damage had been done from a legal point of view.
The vehicles were new cars, and were sold as new and without any mention of the recall that was targeting them. The worst offense here was selling the cars without repairing them, while not saying the recall part is the second worse thing that has happened in the case.
The recall campaign that targeted the Chevrolet Malibu Eco sedans involved replacing a malfunctioning generator control module.
Depending on the severity of the situation, the malfunction went from draining the battery and causing the engine to stall, to a burning or melting odor, smoke, and even a fire in the trunk. The latter was a rare occurence, but GM had to mention it when the recall was first announced, because it was a possibility.
The NHTSA investigated the matter over two years, and posted a report on the case for public view. The dealership broke a federal law that prohibited it from selling new vehicles subjected to open recalls without fixing them first.
As Automotive News notes, the dealership in Phoenix has changed internal procedures to ensure they check every vehicle for open recalls before delivering it to customers, and they will do this for used trade-in cars as well. Better safe than sorry, right?
The dealership representatives explained that the sale of the two vehicles was a mistake, caused by the off-site storage of the vehicles. The Chevrolet dealer was storing them off-site because it was involved in a construction project. Fortunately, both customers took delivery of the cars after the units were repaired, so nobody was put in jeopardy, but the damage had been done from a legal point of view.
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