GM ignition switch recall: SEC opens investigation
DETROIT — U.S. securities regulators are looking into General Motors' delayed recall of more than 2 million cars with a deadly ignition switch problem.
GM disclosed in a quarterly report Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has made inquiries about the recall. It also confirmed for the first time that the U.S. Attorney's office in New York and an unidentified state attorney general are conducting investigations. Congress and federal highway safety regulators also are investigating.
The SEC likely is probing whether GM failed to disclose the switch problem to investors quickly enough, said Peter Henning, a former SEC lawyer who now is a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.
GM is recalling 2.6 million older small cars because the switches can unexpectedly slip out of the "run" position. That can shut down the engine, knock out the power-assisted steering and brakes and disable the air bags. Drivers can lose control of their cars and crash.
The company, which has linked 13 deaths to the problem, has acknowledged that engineers knew about it more than a decade ago. Also, CEO Mary Barra has said she was told of the problem in December, yet it was not disclosed in the company's annual report filed in February.
"That's what the SEC is looking at," said Henning. "If it should have been picked up, or it should have been included in the company's financials, it could be a violation of securities law."
A spokeswoman for the SEC would neither confirm nor deny that the agency is investigating. A message was left for a GM spokesman.
GM also disclosed that it faces 60 class-action lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada from people alleging that their cars have lost value because of the recalls. And it faces shareholder lawsuits alleging that it failed to monitor and disclose the ignition switch problem.
More Industry

Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →
EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge
North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.
Read More →