Holden goes ahead with Cruze recall

HOLDEN today announced it was recalling a small percentage of locally built Holden Cruze models in Australia, in response to a recall initiated by Chevrolet in the United States.

The recall involves only 9547 of the approximately 88,000 Cruzes sold in Australia to date – fewer than one in 10 – and involves only those powered by the 1.4-litre engine.

Holden said a condition has been identified where, in some instances, the lower air deflector, also known as the belly pan, can catch oil that might drip from the engine if an oil change is not done properly.

In the event of this oil making contact with hot engine parts such as the exhaust manifold or catalytic converter, a fire could occur.

As GoAuto reported on Monday, there have been no reported cases of engine compartment fires in Australia or New Zealand related to this condition.

However, after considering the situation, Holden has decided to initiate the precautionary vehicle safety recall as safety was Holden’s number one priority, said the company’s director of warranty, customer satisfaction and quality, Craig Porritt.

“We believe Australia’s high standards in servicing procedures significantly reduce the risk of improper oil changes, which almost eliminates the risk of a thermal incident,” said Mr Porritt.

“However we will always err on the side of caution when it comes to initiating safety recalls and campaigns. Even if there have been no reported cases in our market we will take action to assure our customers and their vehicles are safe.” Holden is contacting impacted customers directly to arrange the rectification work, which will take about 40 minutes to modify the lower air deflector under the engine.

In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was aware of 28 fires involving Cruze.

As a result, GM North America last week recalled 413,418 Chevrolet Cruzes built at the company’s Lordstown plant in Ohio.