GM recalls almost 3 million vehicles

The US flag flies at the Burt GM auto dealer in Denver June 1, 2009.[Photo/Agencies]

General Motors Co said on Thursday it has issued five more recalls, covering almost 3 million vehicles globally, and is expected to take a charge of up to $200 million.

Still dealing with fallout from the recall of defective ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths, the No 1 US automaker said the largest of the latest recalls covers more than 2.7 million cars for tail lamp malfunctions, including the Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura cars.

The other four recalls cover Malibu, Chevy Corvette sports cars, Cadillac CTS sedans and full-size trucks and SUVs. Most of the vehicles were sold in the United States.

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GM said the new actions were a result of the sharper focus the company has put on safety issues following the recall earlier this year of 2.6 million vehicles for the faulty switch. So far this year, GM has recalled almost 12.8 million vehicles globally, easily topping the 9 million recalled in the previous five years combined.

"We have redoubled our efforts to expedite and resolve current reviews in process and also have identified and analyzed recent vehicle issues which require action," GM's global vehicle safety chief, Jeff Boyer, said in a statement.

Boyer said in an interview that the company's focus has been on the frequency and severity of any potential problems. He added GM continues to study how it handles recalls for further improvement in the process.

GM is under investigation by US safety regulators, Congress, the Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and several states for its handling of the defective ignition switch, which engineers first discovered in 2001. GM has been criticized for failing to detect the faulty part and for not recalling the vehicles earlier.

GM expects to complete an internal probe of its handling of the issue within the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, GM's board has hired New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to provide advice regarding the company's handling of the ignition switch recall, said a person familiar with the matter.