Parking brake fire risk prompts General Motors to recall 221,558 cars

American car maker General Motors Co announced recall of hundreds of thousands of its vehicles after a defect in the parking brake probably led to the fire.

According to a letter by the top US auto safety regulator, the largest car manufacturer decided to recall the vehicles due to a suspected glitch in their parking brakes that probably caused the fire incident.

The letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), dated September 19, showed that the problem occurred with General Motor’s 2013-2015 Cadillac XTS and the 2014-2015 Chevrolet Impala.

According to the company officials, the total number of 221,558, cars was recalled by the General Motors, including 205,309 in the US and the remaining in Canada and other nations.

The company also confirmed that it has reported no incidences of any fatalities, injuries or crashes as a result of the vehicles’ defect.

Briefing about the technical glitch, the company said that the issue was in the brake’s indicator light that sometimes failed to illuminate while the brake wasn’t completely retracted.

In a statement, the NHTSA said,” If the vehicle is operated for an extended period of time in this condition, there is a potential for the rear brakes to generate significant heat, smoke and sparks.”

“Brake pads that remain partially engaged with the rotors may cause excessive brake heat that may result in a fire,” the NHTSA added.

GM has recalled around 15 million vehicles across the world this year over the issues with the switches.

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Christina Langfold

Remember that weird girl in school who never quite managed to fit in? Who was always silent and strange? That was me during my entire teenage life. A few years after finishing college (with a degree in arts) I decided that the best way to become more sociable, while also feeling safe, is to test my people skills online.