GM Offers Incentives To Speed Up Ignition Recall Repairs
With 2.6 million vehicles needing new ignition switches fueling service bay backlogs, General Motors is offering its dealership network incentives to speed up the process.
Automotive News reports dealership service and parts managers who install 90 percent or more of the ignition-switch replacement kits by July 7 will receive a $250 credit for use at an unnamed online gift shop. The credit carrot/stick combo is part of GM’s Ignition Switch Recall Completion Initiative, which will also offer $4,000 in credit to 50 qualifying dealerships chosen at random, while one dealership will receive $10,000; both credit incentives are meant to be split between service and parts managers.
Meanwhile, 199,457 vehicles have undergone the 70-minute surgery through June 16 according to the automaker, while 400,000 kits have arrived at dealership service bays thus far. GM holds that enough kits will be made to repair the majority of the affected vehicles by October. Customers will also receive new keys to go with the new switches.
Made in supplier Delphi’s plant in Mexico, the kits can also be applied to vehicles other than the ones they were meant to fix, but only if the affected customers aren’t able to have their vehicle repaired “in a reasonable time.” To ensure customers don’t miss out, GM will also conduct an outreach program via email in the next few weeks to those who haven’t begun the process of repairing their affected vehicles.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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so, they're rewarding speedy vehicle turnaround instead of thoroughness and careful quality assurance?
If this recall is panning out as others do, there's almost always a gap between when the public owning these cars finds out about the recall, sometimes accompanied with a fear of God-your car will catch fire-you'll hit a wall and be killed letter, and the dealers receiving sufficient kits to fix the cars each of them are responsible to handle. My experience with Honda is customer-pay service work doesn't jump ahead of scheduling recalls, and when recalls are not leaked to the press before the manufacturer has stocked enough recall kits and notified the dealers that a recall is about to start, they work a lot more smoothly. A note to the press: When you do a story about automotive recalls, please do the complete story. Don't report it during morning drive-time until your local dealers have opened for business and your reporters have called a representative number of them to find out if they're ready for handling the recall. Don't hold off on the story, but include the local dealer response to your reporters questions as part of the first broadcast/announcement of the news item.
such is the price of success!
Perhaps it's time GM reconsider buying critical components from Delphi. I have a feeling Delphi will drive GM back into financial ruin.