“The Next Spark car produced and sold by GM Korea violated the safety regulation with the possibility of a drop in its engine output, and so the ministry plans to impose a fine of up to one-thousandth of the car’s overall sales.” (image: GM Korea)
SEOUL, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) – GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., will recall over 66,000 cars sold here for engine and software issues that will also lead to over 1 billion won in penalties, the transportation ministry said Friday.
The Next Spark minicar was found to have a problem with its software that may cause the excessive injection of engine oil into the engine, which in turn may lead to reduced power output of the engine.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the reduction in power output may also exceed the allowed limit of plus or minus 5 percent from the car’s certified specification, which it said is punishable by a fine.
“The Next Spark car produced and sold by GM Korea violated the safety regulation with the possibility of a drop in its engine output, and so the ministry plans to impose a fine of up to one-thousandth of the car’s overall sales,” the ministry said in a press release, adding the maximum fine will be 519 million won (US$459,200).
The recall affects 44,567 units of the Next Spark produced between May 31, 2016, and Jan. 24, 2017.
Chevrolet Malibu. (image: GM Korea)
The carmaker may be hit with an additional fine of up to 541 million won for 21,439 Malibu midsize sedans, whose daytime running lights may fail to work properly under certain conditions due to a software issue.
The Malibu cars subject to the recall were produced between May 10 and Oct. 18 of 2016.
Free repair services for the Malibu cars are now available at any GM Korea service center. Services for the Spark will be provided starting Monday, the ministry said.
(Yonhap)
