Dealers in Eastern Iowa handling faulty air bag problem

Eastern Iowa dealers say a General Motors order to stop selling the automaker's top-selling Chevrolet Cruze does not involve large numbers of vehicles on their lots.

General Motors on Wednesday told its dealers to stop selling roughly 33,000 Chevrolet Cruzes with potentially defective air bags. The company also indicated the issue probably will lead to a recall.

GM officials said the driver-side air bag on 2013 and 2014 Cruze sedans could fail to inflate during a crash. The automaker told Reuters that the cars 'may have been assembled with an incorrect part.”

GM initially said 'many” of the affected Cruzes are either being driven by customers or sitting on dealer lots. The company said it intends to have a recall announced 'soon” with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Jarvin McGrath, general manager of Pat McGrath Chevyland in northeast Cedar Rapids, said he initially was concerned when the stop-sale was announced, but the dealership was notified Thursday morning that only two of their vehicles would be part of the recall and it could sell the vehicles not affected.

'I wouldn't necessarily say it's a problem,” McGrath said. 'Recalls aren't fun for us, but we just worry about what we can control.”

The potential Cruze recall comes on the heels of other air bag issues stemming from the same Japanese supplier, Takata Corp. The air bags could fail to inflate because of problems with chemical propellant degradation.

McGrath said the dealership has faced a handful of recalls for Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and Pontiac Solstices with faulty ignition switches. There are 35 cars on McGrath's lot involved with that recall.

McGrath said he applauds GM CEO Mary Barra for her approach to the issue.

'Honestly, it's the right way to handle it,” McGrath said. 'We will find another vehicle to sell,” adding the recalls have not hurt business with each month's sales surpassing last year's tally.

GM has issued 44 recalls for roughly 20 million vehicles this year, more than any year in the company's history, including the switch recall linked to the deaths of at least 13 people.