Attorney General Curtis Hill announced Friday a $120 million settlement with General Motors Company (GM) after allegations of concealed safety issues related to ignition switch defects in GM vehicles.
This comes after a multi-state investigation into GM’s failure to timely disclose known safety defects related to unintended key-rotation-related and ignition-switch-related issues.
It is alleged that certain employees of GM knew as early as 2004 that the ignition switch posed a safety defect, as it could cause the airbag to fail to deploy, but the company decided it wasn’t a safety concern and delayed making recalls.
GM continued to market the vehicles’ reliability and safety.
Under the settlement, GM shall:
- Not represent that a motor vehicle is “safe” unless they have complied with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards applicable to the motor vehicle at issue.
- Not represent that certified pre-owned vehicles that GM advertises are safe, have been repaired for safety issues, or have been subject to rigorous inspection, unless such vehicles are not subject to any open recalls relating to safety or have been repaired pursuant to such a recall.
- Instruct its dealers that all applicable recall repairs must be completed before any GM motor vehicle sold in the U.S. and included in a recall is eligible for certification and, if there is a recall on any certified pre-owned vehicle sold in the U.S., the required repair must be completed before the vehicle is delivered to a customer.
GM will also pay the participating attorneys general a total of $120 million. Indiana’s share is $2,092,425.33.
