Federal regulators have closed a probe into General Motors' Saturn Ion model after the automaker recalled 335,000 vehicles due to power steering issues that have been related to 12 crashes.
Looking at cars from the 2004-07 model years, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the first stage of the investigation in January 2010, according to Reuters.
The Saturn Ions are also included in an unrelated 2.6 million-vehicle recall for problematic ignition switches, an issue that has been connected to 13 deaths.
GM recalled 1.5 million vehicles on March 31, including the Saturn Ion, after customers complained of power steering problems. The NHTSA reported 12 crashes related to power steering in Saturn Ions with two drivers injured. Altogether, the problem spawned some 4,787 complaints and 30,560 warranty claims.
"GM indicated that steering control can be maintained in manual (unassisted) steering mode, but would require greater driver effort at low vehicle speeds, which could increase the risk of a crash," said NHTSA documents quoted by Reuters.
According to CNNMoney, the first report of steering problems in an Ion came to the NHTSA office in June 2004, and the model inexplicably wasn't included in a recall of 1 million vehicles for the same issue in 2010.
A GM spokesman declined to provide further details to CNNMoney. The company's vice president for vehicle safety, Jeff Boyer, told CNNMoney that past attempts to pinpoint issues hadn't been enough, saying, "With these safety recalls and lifetime warranties, we are going after every car that might have this problem, and we are going to make it right."
GM has received criticism related to the power steering issue as well as for delaying fixes on millions of cars for almost a decade after customers reported faulty ignition switches.
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