General Motors Corp. is recalling 1.5 million 1986-87 model cars to repair faulty V6 engines that cause the vehicles to stall.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the stalling problem was blamed by customers for 300 accidents and one death.Recall letters with apologies were sent to car owners in mid-December, but GM did not announce the recall to the media, as it often does. The recall was first publicized in the Jan. 13 issue of Ward's Automotive Reports.
The affected cars include several Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac models.
A GM spokesman said in The New York Times today that as many as one-quarter of the 3.0- or 3.8-liter engines in cars covered by the recall stall when starting or driving at normal speeds.
The engine flaw apparently was not discovered until July 1990, the Times said.
The recall comes at an awkward time for the huge company. GM recently announced plans to close 21 plants and lay off 74,000 workers, and President Bush's trade mission to Tokyo brought harsh scrutiny to all U.S. automakers.