Uncle Sam gives tyre defect claim the boot!
By: Christopher Jensen, Sydney Morning Heral
The threat of a class action over the safety of the Holden-built Pontiac GTO has receded, writes Christopher Jensen.
The US Government's safety agency has ended an investigation into allegations of a safety defect on the Pontiac GTO, built by Holden. The alleged fault involved the clearance between the front tyres and the suspension components.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it could not find a safety defect and was closing its investigation.
However, the investigator noted that it appeared there was a problem with the suspension settings on many cars, apparently as they came from the factory.
With the government no longer interested in the issue, General Motors still faces a class-action suit filed in California on behalf of owners of 2004 and 2005 model year GTOs, which the suit contends are prone to tyre failure due to a suspension problem. The company denies any defect.
The traffic safety report says GM claimed there were two reasons for premature wear of the front tyres, the source of hundreds of complaints by owners.
One was improper negative camber settings due either to an error at the factory or a sharp impact, such as hitting a pothole, GM said. Negative camber is the slight "lean-in" angle that aids steering and handling. The report quoted GM officials as saying changes were made at the factory starting early in 2005 to the "camber-setting fixture".
Despite admitting a factory error, GM is not notifying owners in the US that it might be responsible for tyre problems, much less making a blanket offer to help replace tyres.
A company spokesman, Alan Adler, said the maker was handling the issue on a "case by case" basis as owners complained. Problems during the first three years or 58,000 kilometres would be covered under the normal warranty, unless the problem resulted from abuse, he said.
The second source of trouble could be the owner using other tyres or wheels, GM told the government.
Investigators apparently agreed with GM's assertion that while some tyre contact might be made with the suspension, it would result in "polishing" and not failure.
Investigators said they reviewed 1400 cases and found nine cases in which air was lost from tyres, with five of those being slow leaks. The agency said it could find no evidence of a safety defect.
The lawsuit against GM contends the company fitted export models with 245mm-wide tyres instead of the 235mm examples used on the Monaro's 17-inch wheels. The suit claims this eliminated the necessary clearance, allowing the struts to "graze" the tyres even during normal driving, making them "unfit for ordinary use".
A judge has yet to allow the case to proceed as a class action by giving lawyers permission to represent all the complainants.
Uncle Sam gives tyre defect claim the boot
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